Clinical pharmacist

The Clinical Pharmacist will play a key role withinthe GP surgery, working as part of a multidisciplinary team to optimisemedicines use, improve patient outcomes, and support safe, effectiveprescribing. The postholder will provide expert clinical advice on medicines,undertake structured medication reviews, and contribute to the management oflongterm conditions.

They will be involved in reviewing complexpolypharmacy, addressing medicationrelated queries, and ensuring highquality,evidencebased prescribing. The role includes responsibility for reducingmedicinesrelated harm and supporting patients to get the best from theirtreatment through personalised care and shared decisionmaking.The pharmacist will also contribute to widerpractice priorities such as QOF, IIF, medicines safety audits, andimplementation of NICE guidance.

They will work closely with the pharmacy team,community pharmacy, and secondary care to ensure seamless medicines managementacross the patient pathway.This role is essential in enhancing access toclinical support, reducing GP workload, and delivering high quality, patientcentredcare within the surgery.

Main duties of the job

Clinical pharmacists workwithin multidisciplinary teams in patientfacing roles, using their expertmedicines knowledge to assess and treat patients in defined disease areas. Theyare prescribers or training to prescribe, supporting general practice bymanaging patients with chronic conditions and conducting clinical medicationreviews, particularly for those with complex polypharmacy, frailty, COPD, CVDand diabetes. They provide specialist expertise in medicines use, supportpublic health and social care needs, and help reduce health inequalities. Theylead on personcentred medicines optimisation, antimicrobial stewardship, andquality improvement, contributing to QOF and enhanced services. Throughstructured medication reviews, they help patients use medicines effectively,reduce waste and promote selfcare.

Clinical pharmacists alsosupport integration between general practice and wider healthcare teams,improving outcomes, access and workload management. They build strongrelationships across PCNs and the wider health and social care system. Theyplay a central role in shared care protocols, medicines related research,liaison with specialist and community pharmacists.

You will be expected to work with the general practiceteam to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines areinvolved.

About us

Weare a practice based in leafy Buckinghamshire with approximately 11000patients.Wehave a great team which includes 2 GP Partners, 1 salaried and 3 locum GPs.They are supported by 3 Physicians Associates, 1 Advanced Nurse Practitioner, 1First Contact Practitioner, 4 Practice Nurses and 2 Healthcare assistants.Wealso have 3 in house pharmacists, 1 Social Prescriber and an admin team of 12staff members.

Job responsibilities

See where appropriate patients with single or multiple medical problems wheremedicine optimisation is required e.g. COPD, asthma.

Reviewthe on-going need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and anopportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they getthe best use of their medicines i.e. medicines optimisation. Makeappropriate recommendations to Senior Pharmacists or GPs for quality improvement.

Undertakeclinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations forsenior clinical pharmacist, nurses and/or GP on prescribing and monitoring.

Undertakeclinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for thesenior clinical pharmacist, nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Workwith care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering andadministration.

Undertakeclinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for thesenior clinical pharmacists, nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences.

Managecaseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while workingwithin a scope of practice and limits of competence.

Signpostto community pharmacy and refer to GPs or other healthcare professionalswhere appropriate.

Providepatient facing clinics for those with medicines queries.

Providea telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns abouttheir medicines.

Answerrelevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, otherhealthcare teams e.g. community pharmacy and patients with queries aboutmedicines. Suggest and recommend solutions.

Providefollow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

Reviewthe use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospitaladmissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews.

Putin place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to highriskpatient groups.

Reconcilemedicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into carehomes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and workingwith patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive themedicines they need post discharge. Set up and manage systems to ensurecontinuity of medicines supply to highrisk groups of patients.

Ensurepatients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for theappropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time.

Produceand implement a practice repeat prescribing policy.

Managethe repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requestsfor repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates andflagging up those needing a review. Ensure patients have appropriatemonitoring tests in place when required.

Identifycohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-preparedpractice computer searches. This might include risks that are patientrelated, medicine related, or both.

Contributepharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new servicesthat have medicinal components.

Analyse,interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to supportdecision- making.

Undertakeclinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the Accountable ClinicalDirector (ACD) for the network, feedback results and implement changes inconjunction with the ACD.

Implementchanges to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal andother local and national guidance.

Monitorpractice prescribing against the local health economys RAG list and makerecommendations to GPs for medicines that should be prescribed by hospitaldoctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs).

Assistpractices in seeing and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted onthe practices computer system. Auditing practices compliance against NICEtechnology assessment guidance. Provide newsletters or bulletins on importantprescribing messages.

Provideeducation and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics andmedicines optimisation.

Workwith the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQCstandards where medicines are involved.

Supportpublic health campaigns. Provide specialist knowledge.

Person Specification

Personal Attributes

• Professional approach to work demonstrating excellent interactive patient skills. Guided by professional code, accountable and responsible for own professional actions
• Ability to gain the confidence and credibility of a range of professionals
• Able to work under pressure and prioritise tasks to ensure urgent work is completed on time
• Able to engage rapidly with existing stakeholder and networks
• Builds credibility (personal and organisational) and rapport quickly
• Able to communicate effectively and engage with individuals from other agencies, including patients and the public
• Ability to travel between sites in a timely manner if required.

Experience

• Capacity to be innovative and develop the role of a practice pharmacist
• Effective interpersonal, communication (both written and oral) presentation and influencing skills
• Ability to work with a range of clinical and non-clinical personnel as part of a team
• Ability to communicate medicines and service-related information to decision makers at all levels and have advice challenged
• Ability to work independently and effectively with a high degree of motivation for long periods
• Ability to prioritise and work to deadlines, often with frequent interruptions and urgent requests
• Ability to motivate people and facilitate change
• Ability to define, collate, analyse and interpret data
• Able to utilise databases and information technology, including word processing, spreadsheets and presentation packages effectively
• Ability to communicate information to patients and carers in an appropriate manner, using well developed empathy skills
• Ability to deal with occasionally distressing or emotional circumstances, including contact with terminally ill patients and their carers or relatives
• Accepts responsibility for own work with freedom to take action based on own interpretation of broad clinical/professional policies
• Knowledge of issues regarding the protection of vulnerable adults and children, frail elderly and those with dementia
• Knowledge of medicines management issues across primary, acute and domiciliary care settings including strategies for the improvement of prescribing
• Understanding and appreciation of National and local policies which impinge on primary care prescribing
• Understanding of the current issues facing primary care team.
• Understanding of the principles of clinical governance and how these apply in the broader arena
• Understanding of personal health and safety responsibilities
• An understanding of prescribing budgets and financial information

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy (MPharm) or equivalent
• Registered with GPhC
• Specialist knowledge through a Postgraduate Diploma and
• qualifications (eg clinical, community, therapeutics) or equivalent
• Evidence of recent and relevant Continuing Professional Development
• Independent prescriber status or a commitment to undertake the course
• At least 2 years post registration experience in a hospital, community or general practice setting
• Experience of undertaking medication or medicine use reviews, and patient counselling
• Experience of working with clinicians and multidisciplinary/multiagency work
• Experience of facilitating change to improve clinical practice
• Experience of delivering training sessions to varied groups
• Experience in undertaking clinical audit

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

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.