Specialist Clinical Pharmacist – Antimicrobials, OPAT and VWS
Join our team as Specialist Clinical Pharmacist - Antimicrobials, OPAT and VWS.
Are you ready for an exciting opportunity to lead a dynamic service in the restructured pharmacy team at West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust?
Job duties and responsibilities
1. The post-holder will support the Lead Pharmacist – Antimicrobials in developing the specialist clinical pharmacy service to the outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) and Antimicrobial Stewardship teams within, in line with local and national standards and policies, ensuring the safe, clinical and cost‑effective use of medicines and staff resources.
2. The post-holder will support the Lead Pharmacist – Virtual Ward Service to ensure that the supply and service provision of OPAT within the virtual ward service is maintained.
3. The post-holder will be a source of specialised advice within their area of clinical specialism to other pharmacists and healthcare professionals, including participation in multidisciplinary and governance meetings.
4. The post-holder will support the Lead Pharmacist for Education & Training in delivering training to pharmacists and foundation pharmacists within their area of clinical specialism and must undertake clinical supervision, mentoring and ward-based assessments of junior pharmacists, medicines management technicians and foundation pharmacists.
5. The post-holder will undertake clinical pharmacy audit and practice research under the guidance of the Lead Pharmacist – Antimicrobials and the Lead Virtual Ward Service Pharmacist.
6. Provide cover for the Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist and Lead Virtual Ward Service Pharmacist as required.
Main duties of the job
* Support for both Antimicrobial Pharmacist and the antibiotics at home service (OPAT and VWS) in conjunction with the Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist and Lead VWS Pharmacist.
* Provide a highly specialised level of pharmaceutical care to patients and will support pharmacists and other healthcare staff in meeting risk management, financial management and clinical governance responsibilities around the use of medicines. Part of this will include participation in multidisciplinary and governance meetings.
* Deliver training to pharmacists and foundation pharmacist trainees within their area of clinical specialism and must undertake clinical supervision, mentoring and assessments of junior pharmacists, medicines management technicians and pre‑registration pharmacists.
* Carry out clinical pharmacy audit and practice research in conjunction with the Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist.
* Participate in the rota for clinical screening and professional supervision of the dispensary acting as the Responsible Pharmacist in accordance with the GPhC.
Job responsibilities (detailed)
1. Clinical Services
To be the primary Specialist Pharmacist for the OPAT/antibiotics at home service, working closely with the OPAT Specialist Nurses, Consultant Microbiologists, Lead Antimicrobial Pharmacist and Virtual Ward Services Pharmacy team. This will include clinical review of all patient cases (including inpatients, outpatients and admission avoidance), reporting and actioning any pharmaceutical care plans with the OPAT team and achieving safe and effective medicines optimisation.
Attendance at weekly multidisciplinary teams will provide further opportunity for discussion.
Ensure that the repeat OPAT dispensing process is well organised in correlation with available pharmacy technician resource for all OPAT patients (corresponding with the Dispensary Manager). Liaise with the Lead Pharmacist for Virtual Ward Services for this aspect of operational governance.
Support the delivery of the clinical pharmacy service within a refined list of medical division wards, by providing a specialised level of pharmaceutical care. This will include visiting wards, speaking to individual patients to discuss all aspects of their medicines, ensuring that prescriptions are appropriate and safe, arranging supply, and when necessary, liaising with other healthcare professionals with regard to all aspects of a patient’s prescription and pharmaceutical care.
Practise as a specialised clinical pharmacist within local and national policies and standards to deliver medicines optimisation to individual patients.
Develop and maintain highly specialist knowledge in the use of medicines within a defined speciality.
Clinically review individual patients treatment and determine the most appropriate choice of medication in response to complex series of data relating to their condition, their response to treatment and reduction of avoidable adverse events.
Where the post holder is an Independent Prescriber, prescribe drugs within their area of clinical expertise and scope of practice.
Support the medical, nursing and the site management team to facilitate patient discharges in order to maximise patient flow.
Authorise electronic discharge prescriptions, resolving prescribing errors and ambiguities with prescribers.
Provide information about medicines to all ward staff, in areas such as the correct calculation of doses and administration of intravenous medication, clinical interpretation of potential drug interactions and dose adjustments to be made for patients with complex medical problems.
Ensure that a complete and accurate drug history and medicines reconciliation is carried out and documented for all newly admitted patients and that any discrepancies or problems are resolved.
Provide each patient on the ward with appropriate pharmaceutical care, responding to individuals requirements.
Provide specialised medication related advice, including individualised advice on medication dosing, drug choice, administration, drug level monitoring and dose adjustment, the use of unlicensed medicines, the use of medicines outside the terms of their product licence and advice on the safety of medications.
Advise clinicians of all levels to influence treatment decisions that will lead to improvements in patient care.
Carry out a comprehensive medication review for high‑risk patients, to ensure medicines optimisation, and avoidance of predictable adverse drug reactions and interactions. Report or otherwise encourage the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions via the MHRA yellow card scheme.
Ensure that all patients understand how to take their medication prior to discharge, and counsel any patients when necessary, particularly those taking complex drug regimes, those who are anxious or with physical or mental disabilities and those with language difficulties.
Provide appropriate verbal or written information to patients or their relatives about their medicines when necessary, particularly where this may influence the success of treatment once the patient has been discharged.
Respond appropriately to patients or relatives complaints about pharmaceutical issues arising on the ward.
Ensure that all prescriptions comply with legal requirements and with Trust policy.
Ensure that the cost‑effectiveness of medicines is taken into account when prescribing decisions are made and that prescribing is in accordance with the hospital formulary. To follow Trust Policy when determining if there is a genuine clinical need for a drug to be prescribed outside the formulary for an individual patient.
Liaise with medical and nursing staff to ensure the timely supply of medication to inpatients to minimise missed doses and to facilitate the discharge process by ensuring the timely availability of medication.
Ensure the safe and legal storage of all medicines on the ward including controlled drugs (CDs) and carry out 3‑monthly CD audits under the direction of the Lead Pharmacist Team.
Liaise with the primary care sector to ensure follow‑up of pharmaceutical care in the community for patients needing additional pharmaceutical support, such as compliance aids.
Work with the Ward Technicians to ensure an efficient and effective pharmaceutical service for patients.
Respond to requests for medical information following Medicines Information procedures and protocols, carrying out literature searches and analysis of complex information to provide clinically interpreted responses.
2. Education and Training
Support the delivery of training and competency assessments of allocated foundation pharmacists to the standards established by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), identifying the need of further training if necessary.
Supervise allocated foundation pharmacists and act as a post graduate foundation pharmacist tutor in accordance with the requirements of the GPhC.
Carry out GPhC quarterly appraisals of foundation pharmacist tutees, inform the GPhC of their progress and final competence to become registered pharmacists.
Supervise allocated pharmacists in their clinical diploma activities and act as a clinical diploma pharmacist tutor in accordance with the requirements of their university provider.
Undertake regular accompanied ward visits and ward‑based assessments with pharmacists to ensure practice standards and competencies are being met.
Provide clinical education, training and development of all pharmacy staff.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications
* Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
* Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy Practice (or equivalent) or nearing completion, or equivalent demonstrable experience
* Registered as a pharmacist with The General Pharmaceutical Council
* Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
* Member of the UK Clinical Pharmacist association
* Member of the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
Experience and knowledge
* Post‑registration experience with substantial hospital experience
* Experience in providing a pharmacy clinical service to patients in various specialities
* Experience of delivering a high‑quality clinical pharmacy service to a range of clinical specialities
* Experience of multidisciplinary team working
* Experience in providing pharmacy education & training, including mentorship
* Experience of medicines management services to individual patients at the bedside.
* Evidence of on‑going revalidation with the GPhC
* Specialised knowledge of the treatment of patients requiring antimicrobial therapy
* Knowledge of how the delivery of the clinical pharmacy service must meet the needs of local and national priorities
* Knowledge to teach higher‑level clinical pharmacy practice
* Knowledge of pharmacy‑based computer systems
* Experience in the provision of pharmacy expertise to the clinical governance agenda
* Experience of managing or supervising other staff
* Experience of implementing and/or reviewing policies, guidelines, PGDs or equivalent
* Experience of objective setting for other members of staff
* Experience of change management
Skills and abilities
* Able to communicate effectively with a wide range of healthcare professionals and patients
* Able to provide specialised advice on the use of medicines to treat patients within a specialist area
* Able to manage time effectively and meet tight deadlines
* Able to prioritise and manage workload
* Able to demonstrate a specialised level of reasoning and judgment
* Able to undertake prescription review of complex medication regimes
* Able to apply evidence‑based medicine to prescribed regimes and to balance the risks and benefits of prescribed treatments for the individual patient
* Attention to detail and good problem‑solving skills
* Takes responsibility for own actions and promotes positive team working ethic
* Shares information and good practice appropriately
* Treats others with courtesy and respect at all times
* Maintains high levels of concentration for prolonged periods of time
* Excellent verbal and written skills
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.
£49,387 to £56,515 a year per annum pro rata
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