County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
Chief Pharmacist and Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer
The closing date is 04 June 2025
County Durham and Darlington NHS FoundationTrust is composed of 2 acute hospitals, 1 elective surgical and rehabilitationhospital and 5 community hospitals. As an integrated Trust, we also have alarge community based team supporting patient care closer to home, with a newVirtual Wards frailty service. Pharmacy operate 7 day services from our 2 acutehospital sites.
The Pharmacy department iscomprised of dispensaries at both Durham and Darlington, a Section 10 AsepticUnit at Darlington and a centralised store in Durham. We also have a satelliteclinical team based at Bishop Auckland Hospital supporting the electiveOrthopaedic, Frailty and rehabilitation wards.
In terms of infrastructure we arewell supported. Our robot in Durham and isolators in Darlington were replacedwithin the last 3 years and The Trust has been using the Cerner Millennium EPRsince 2022. We have started the process of installing electronic medicinescabinets on our 2 acute sites with the goal to expand this to all wards.
The post-holder will be supportedby an experienced and stable senior pharmacy management team aligned to bothoperational functions and our clinical care groups.
Main duties of the job
Develop the Trust Pharmacy andMedicines Optimisation strategy in conjunction with the Deputy Chief Pharmacistand senior team.
Act as Chief Pharmacist as definedin the Medicines Act and the Chief Pharmacist Standards by the GeneralPharmaceutical Council.
Act as Controlled DrugsAccountable Officer for the Trust.
Chair or attend sub-boardcommittees as required.
Provide advice on interpretationof local and national guidance documents in relation to the use of medicines.
Provide advice on appropriateschemes to ensure medication savings are delivered.
About us
If you are being interviewed you must accept an interview slot in the system to continue, even if you have arranged with the manager.
You must be able to produce ALL certificates stated essential in the person specification or you will not be able to complete pre-employment checks.
We provide hospital services from two acute sites - Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham. We have a centre for planned care in Bishop Auckland and provide care from community hospitals in Chester-le-Street, Shotley Bridge, Barnard Castle, Sedgefield and Weardale as well as over 80 other community based settings and providing care in patients' homes.
We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as BAME and disabled people are currently under-represented.
Full Job Descriptions can be found in the adverts supporting documents.
Over reliance onAI-generated content is discouraged and may diminish the applicant's chances ofsuccess.
For the most up-to-date information on visa requirements and eligibility, please check online to determine whether you can apply.
From April 9th 2025 - Healthcare assistants - You must have a minimum of two yearsof experience working within the NHS as a HCA for the Trust to considersponsorship (we will only consider sponsorship if you meet this criteria andhave a current visa expiring within 3 months).
Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached Job Description for full details of the role.
The Trust ChiefPharmacist has a number of specific and distinct job roles within the Trustincluding:
Responsible for theleadership, management and strategic development of pharmacy services acrossthe Trust.
Corporate, statutoryresponsibility for medicines management across the entire Trust with directaccountability to the Medical Director for ensuring that safe, effective andcost effective systems are in operation for the prescription, dispensing andadministration of medicines.
The post provides astatutory defence against criminal sanctions for inadvertent preparation anddispensing errors for pharmacy staff provided the post-holder meets thestandards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council.
Person Specification
Special Requirements
* Be able to travel between and work at different locations, locally, regionally and nationally as required.
Special Skills & Knowledge
* Extensive knowledge and experience in the successful delivery of the performance agenda and targets specifically relating to Pharmacy.
* Strategic and operational leadership skills to lead change through people.
* Performance improvement knowledge and skills.
* Financial management experience and expertise.
* Highly developed interpersonal and communications skills necessary to establish and maintain effective working relationships across and between a variety of diverse interest groups, and the ability to communicate highly complex information and negotiate effectively where there may be significant barriers to acceptance.
* Proven visionary leadership with the ability to set out a clear vision for services, to persuade others of the benefits and requirements of the plan for the future and overcome obstacles.
* Able to make effective, prompt decisions when faced with variable, complex information and situations.
* Ability to present all work in a clear and concise manner appropriate to the target audience.
* Demonstrate an ability to lead and motivate individuals and teams.
* Proven ability to produce information reports and apply analytical/problem solving skills.
* Awareness of and commitment to the clinical governance agenda.
* Research active.
* Ability to anticipate and plan for changes.
Qualifications
* Masters degree in Pharmacy or equivalent experience and learning.
* Additional postgraduate clinical qualification, preferably at Masters level.
* Additional postgraduate management qualification, preferably at Masters level.
* Evidence of continuing professional development.
Experience
* Extensive relevant experience as a senior Pharmacy manager in the acute NHS sector with proven ability to manage a significant human and financial resource in a complex environment.
* Experience in service, policy and strategic development.
* Experience of strategic management at a senior level with responsibility for a wide range of management activities.
* Experience and evidence of delivering high standards of performance to achieve national and local targets.
* Experience of managing change in a complex environment (developing existing services and implementing new services).
* Experience of working effectively in collaboration with other agencies and other healthcare stakeholders.
* Proven track record of managing and developing staff.
* Experience in dealing with difficult situations including the resolution of conflict and influencing others to accept demanding outcomes.
* High levels of resilience, tenacity, self-belief, confidence, and personal integrity.
* Self-motivated to transform services for patients.
* Able to achieve demanding tasks and objectives against deadlines.
* Team worker who builds effective working relationships, as well as individual achiever.
* Able to manage a range of responsibilities, giving priority to all dimensions of the role appropriately and meeting necessary deadlines.
* Experience of managing and successful delivery of projects using a formal project management methodology.
Statutory Registration
* Registered member of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
* Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).
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.
County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
#J-18808-Ljbffr