Job SummaryThis exciting new role provides the opportunity to work with the General Practice and alongside a team of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to support the delivery of pharmacy services in general practice.
You will be part of a dynamic, forward-thinking, pharmacy team delivering medicines management across a PCN with the support of a named pharmacist. The team comprises a clinical pharmacist, pharmacy technicians, a Lead Pharmacist and GP clinical colleagues, providing appropriate clinical supervision, support and multidisciplinary working.
You will be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews, responding to medication queries, signing prescriptions, and to proactively manage people with polypharmacy and multi-morbidities.
You will have the opportunity to attend meetings at practice, PCN, and ICB level, deliver training to practice and pharmacy team colleagues, mentor students and junior colleagues, and develop innovative services in response to local gaps in healthcare.
Main duties of the jobProvide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health and social needs of patients in GP practices
Reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and wasteful prescribing through clinical medication review
Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues
Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service
Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates
Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries
About The Station PracticeThe Station Practice is a friendly, forward-thinking NHS GP practice based within Station Plaza Health Centre in the heart of Hastings, caring for a diverse population of approximately 18,000 patients.
We are committed to providing high-quality, safe, effective and compassionate care, with a strong focus on holistic healthcare, reducing health inequalities and improving the health and wellbeing of our local community.
We are a busy multidisciplinary team comprising GPs, nurses, healthcare assistants, pharmacists, mental health practitioners, physiotherapists and dedicated administrative and reception teams. We work closely with our local Primary Care Network and wider health and community services to provide joined-up care for our patients.
We embrace innovation and modern ways of working, including digital technology and AI-supported tools, to improve efficiency and support our clinicians and patients.
Our practice values are Excellence, Caring, Integrity and Teamwork. We believe in supporting our staff, encouraging professional development and creating a positive environment where everyone is valued and can make a difference.
If you are looking to join a supportive, progressive and busy primary care team where patient care and teamwork are at the heart of what we do, we would love to hear from you.
Job responsibilitiesThe post holder will work within their clinical competencies as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide expertise in clinical medicines management, provide face to face structured medication reviews, manage long term conditions, management of medicines on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, manage repeat prescription authorisations and reauthorisation, acute prescription request, while addressing both the public health and social care needs of patients in the GP practice.
The post holder will perform face to face and telephone medication review of patients with polypharmacy especially for older people, people in residential care homes and those with multiple co-morbidities, those with mental health conditions. The post holder will provide leadership on quality improvement and clinical audit and well as managing some aspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework and work closely with high risk drug monitoring.
This role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver an excellent service within general practice.
Main duties of the jobProvide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health and social needs of patients in GP practices
Reduce inappropriate poly-pharmacy and wasteful prescribing through clinical medication review
Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues
Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service
Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates
Manage patients and health care professionals medicine queries
Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA cycles
Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of prescribing
Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g. MHRA aimed at improving medicines safety
Work with primary care professional and patients to implement NICE and other evidence based guidelines
Run clinics where medicines are the main interventions e.g. anticoagulant monitoring clinics, dependence forming medication reviews.
Contribute to multimorbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews
Provide medicines information and training to Practice healthcare professionals and admin staff
Review Pathology results for patients on known medicines and as part of medication review and request outstanding bloods where needed.
Act as a source of medicines information for all of the practice team and patients (e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives e.g. around out of stocks)
Working within the practice based team to undertake medication reviews particularly in high risk groups such as:
- Frail elderly
- Polypharmacy
- Renal impairment
- Hepatic impairment
- Substance misuse
- Patients on high risk medicines
- STOPP/START identified patients
- Revolving door Hospital admissions
Improve prescribing practice through educational support for all prescribers within the practice
Lead on where changes in evidence require changes in prescribing across patient population eg where a drug is withdrawn or indications change
Liaise with colleagues in community pharmacy to align support for referrals, medicines adherence, optimisation and management
Support improvements in clinical care through practice based audit and implementing change
Prescribing advice to prescribers in practice e.g. temporary non availability of drugs
Ensure patient safety when they are transferred between care providers through reconciliation of prescribed medicine
Working closely with the pharmacy team and ICB team to support CQC Arden searches and completion MOIS ICB Project work
Providing support to pharmacy technicians, junior pharmacists and Lead Pharmacist
Any ad hoc duties as needed
You will be delivering SMRs, LTC, high risk medication reviews, Auditing, working closely with the multidisciplinary team to respond to queries, sign prescriptions and problem solving. Your role will impact on the patients medication journey, focusing on de-prescribing, improving quality of care, and reducing medicines related admissions. You will manage long term conditions, support hospital discharge prescribing arrangements, provide specific advice for those on polypharmacy, and support the practices to develop the clinical pharmacist role. You will support the prescription team and ensure pharmacists in the network, and other local networks, collaborate ideas and support each other.
You will be confident, enthusiastic and adaptable to change, with excellent clinical, communication and ICT skills.
You should exhibit good organisational skills and ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of healthcare professionals and other stakeholders including patients, families, and carers.
You will be comfortable working independently and as part of multiple teams as described.
Person SpecificationQualificationsEssential- Current GPhC registration
- Independent Prescribing qualification
- At least 6 months experience practising as an Independent Prescriber
- Pharmacy degree (MPharm or equivalent)
- Demonstrable clinical pharmacy experience
- Ability to practise safely and competently within their prescribing scope
- Understanding of medicines optimisation, medication review and safe prescribing
- Ability to assess clinical information, pathology results and identify prescribing medicines related risks
- Good clinical reasoning and decision making skills
- Ability to recognise limitations and escalate appropriately to a GP or a senior clinician
Desirable- 1-2 years experience working in general practice
- Experience undertaking Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs)
- Experience managing long-term conditions and multimorbidity
- Experience with high-risk medicines monitoring
- Experience with repeat prescribing and prescription authorisation
- Experience with clinical audit, QI or PDSA and medicines optimisation projects
- Completion of the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway (PCPEP)
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. For further information please see NHS Careers website. 