Job summaryWe are seeking a pharmacist with previous experience of working in primary care to develop and manage Medicines Optimisation services within general practice. The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. They will take responsibility for areas of chronic disease management within practices and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy.
Main duties of the jobThe post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescriptions and medication queries. They will help support the repeat prescribing system, medicines reconciliation, and support systems for safer prescribing. They will be expected to provide expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patients.
The post holder will provide clinical leadership on Medicines Optimisation and manage some aspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and Enhanced Services. They will ensure that practices integrate with community and hospital pharmacy to facilitate effective communication across different healthcare settings.
The role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver excellent service within general practice.
About usIslington GP Federation (IGPF) is a growing organisation representing 31 practices; we have established ourselves as a leader in new ways of working, including running Islingtons extended access primary care services (I: HUB) as well as supporting the Islington Primary Care Networks (PCNs).Our current range of services include the Extended Access Service, I: HUB, Community Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), Integrated Community Gynaecology, practice-based pharmacists, and a range of practice support mechanisms.
IGPF works very closely with a range of partners including the regional commissioning group, NHS England, Healthy London Partnership, Public Health, local hospitals such as UCLH, Whittington Health and the London Borough of Islington.
IGPF is the host organisation for the Primary Care Network (PCN) workforce and the Islington Training Hub and has been working for over two years to create training and development programmes that meet the needs of staff working in primary and community care settings.IGPF runs four Islington GP practices.
Job responsibilities- Frail elderly patient with problematic Polypharmacy, renal and/ or hepatic impairment
- Patients on high-risk medicines
- STOPP/START identified patients
- Revolving door Hospital admission
- LTC: Diabetes, Hypertension, Asthma, COPD
- contraception
- Learning Disability reviews
- Rheumatoid arthritis reviews
- Musculoskeletal pain management, e.g. osteoarthritis
- Ongoing care of defined conditions, e.g. eczema, psoriasis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Contribute to multimorbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews
Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments- Managing caseload for patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence.
- Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate
Repeat Prescribing- Produce and implement robust systems for repeat prescribing
- Support the management of repeat prescribing reauthorization process by reviewing complex patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines overdue a review
- Coordinate with patients and community pharmacies as appropriate
Management of medicines at discharge from hospital- To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes
- Perform a clinical medication review, produce a post discharge medicines care plan including dose titration and booking of follow up tests and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge
Risk Management and Patient Safety- Responsible for high risk drug monitoring
- Responsible for design, development, and implementation of system searches to identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines.
- Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA cycles
- Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g. MHRA aimed at improving medicines safety
Medicine information to practice staff and patients- From patients, community pharmacy, secondary care
- From admin staff
- From clinicians
Act as a source of medicines information for the practice team and patients (e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives for out of stocks).
Care Quality Commission- Provide leadership to the general practice teams to ensure practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
- Undertake risk assessment and management and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.
Public health- To contribute to public health campaigns, including u vaccinations, and adult immunisation programmes
Medicines quality improvement- Identify medicine-related areas of care (including using software tools) to improve patient safety and use of medicines
- Conduct medicine-related audits, significant event audit and complaint review.
- Contribute to medicine-related complaint response letters as appropriate
- Lead on use of TARGET toolkit for antimicrobial stewardship.
- Lead on stopping over-medication of people with a learning disability, autism, or both (STOMP) and people with dementia.
Medicines safety- Identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety using medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and emerging evidence form clinical trials.
- Manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners.
Person SpecificationKnowledge and skills - Essential- In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare.
- Basic understanding of General Practice, primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing.
- Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
- Demonstrate ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisation issues in core areas for long term conditions.
Qualifications - Essential- Independent prescriber or working towards/intent of gaining an independent prescribing qualification.
- Specialist knowledge acquired through post- graduate diploma level or equivalent training/experience.
- Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Qualifications - Desirable- Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
- Faculty membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Experience - Essential- Minimum of 2 years post-qualification experience.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. Applicants must have current UK professional registration. 
