Advanced Pharmacist for Homecare
Job summary
The Advanced Pharmacist for Homecare is a Band 8a pharmacist role combining leadership of the Trust's Homecare Medicines Service with the provision of highly specialised clinical pharmacy services. The post holder will divide their time equally between leading Homecare services and delivering expert clinical pharmacy care across medical and surgical specialties.
The role is responsible for developing, managing and improving Homecare services in line with Royal College of Pharmacy Homecare Standards, ensuring safe, effective and patient-centred care. Working closely with the Principal Pharmacist for Medicines Optimisation, clinical teams, Homecare providers and external stakeholders, the post holder will oversee service performance, governance, contracts, digital systems, risk management and service development.
A key responsibility is leading the Trust's biosimilar switching programme, supporting the adoption of cost-effective medicines and delivering medicines optimisation benefits while maintaining high standards of patient care and safety.
The post holder will also provide a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service, undertake independent prescribing within their area of competence, promote safe and evidence-based prescribing, and contribute to quality improvement, audit and clinical governance initiatives. They will provide leadership, education and mentoring to pharmacy staff and contribute to regional and national Homecare workstreams.
Main duties of the job
- Lead and develop the Trust's Homecare Medicines Service, ensuring compliance with Royal College of Pharmacy Homecare Standards.
- Work with the Principal Pharmacist for Medicines Optimisation, clinical teams and Homecare providers to deliver safe, effective and patient-centred services.
- Lead the implementation and review of Homecare policies, procedures and digital systems.
- Manage Homecare provider performance, contracts, service level agreements, incidents, complaints and risk management processes.
- Lead the Trust's biosimilar switching programme and support the adoption of cost-effective medicines.
- Monitor, analyse and report Homecare activity, quality and financial performance data.
- Provide a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service to medical and surgical wards.
- Undertake independent prescribing within own area of competence and promote safe, evidence-based prescribing.
- Deliver expert medicines advice to healthcare professionals, patients and carers.
- Support medicines optimisation, clinical governance, patient safety and discharge planning initiatives.
- Conduct audits, service evaluations and quality improvement projects to improve patient outcomes and service delivery.
- Deliver education and training programmes for pharmacy and multidisciplinary staff.
- Contribute to local, regional and national Homecare and medicines optimisation projects.
- Participate in the pharmacy 7-day, bank holiday and on-call rotas.
About us
We hold a unique position in the Stockport community as the provider of healthcare and we are one of its largest employers.
We believe that the best organisations are those that reflect the communities they serve. We are therefore seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce to make it truly representative of our local population.
We actively encourage applications irrespective of race, age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage & civil partnership, or pregnancy or maternity. Recognising those communities that are underrepresented within our workforce, we would particularly welcome applications from you.
If you require support with your application please contact a member of the recruitment team, who can discuss alternative application methods.
We recognise that flexible working is important. We take requests for flexible working seriously, consider any request we receive and try to work with you, so we can explore if your request may fit with the needs of the service.
Benefits we offer to you:
- Between 27-33 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
- NHS pension scheme membership
- Salary sacrifice schemes for lease cars, home electronics and more, to make your salary go further
- NHS Staff discounts
- Cycle to work scheme
- Salary finance - for loans, savings, budget planning and tips on managing debt
- Stockport Credit Union- for local financial advice
Job description
Job responsibilities
Main Duties and Responsibilities
- Work alongside the Principal pharmacist for medicines optimisation and wider Homecare Pharmacy Team to plan, lead, deliver, develop and evaluate pharmacy homecare medicines in accordance with the Pharmacy department and Trust Strategies; and the Royal College of Pharmacy Professional Standards for Homecare Services recommendations
- To support and lead on the implementation and updating of trust polices relating to homecare services.
- To support and manage the development of digital initiatives that promote safe medication practices to reduce clinical and operational risks with Homecare services.
- Be responsible for maintaining digital systems used for homecare services.
- To co-ordinate, provide and evaluate education and training of all qualified pharmacists, trainee foundation pharmacists, non-pharmacist members of the pharmacy department and other Trust staff on Homecare functions.
- To lead on the handling of complaints and incidents relating to homecare, escalating concerns/trends to the Principal Pharmacist for medicines optimisation.
- Identify areas for, and carry out, audits which contribute to patient care, safety and experience in relation to homecare services; and follow-through on identified action plans.
- Support in the setting up of service level agreements (SLAs) ensuring that contracts held are valid and compliant.
- To attend regular service review meetings with Homecare Providers and ensure that Provider performance is monitored and reviewed in line with nationally set and locally agreed Key Performance Indicators.
- To contribute to regional and national Homecare work streams.
- Be responsible for the accurate collection and compilation of pharmacy data and reports submitted to finance and the commissioners.
- To plan for the prompt adoption of biosimilars in collaboration with local and regional procurement teams.
- To work closely with clinical teams to facilitate the smooth transition from originator high-cost drugs to the most cost-effective generic / biosimilar.
- Minimise the clinical risk associated with medicines use by ensuring that: Prescriptions are clinically coherent, legally acceptable and complete, Doses are acceptable and there are no clinically significant interactions or allergies apparent. Formulary arrangements and/or local guidelines are being complied with Medicines are supplied at the appropriate time.
- To provide clinical supervision and mentoring and review development and competency of junior pharmacists.
- Undertake prescribing as an independent prescriber within area of competence.
Other duties:
- To take part in the 7-day working and bank holiday rotas and on-call arrangements.
- To participate in multidisciplinary, pharmacy practice and prescribing audits conductedin the specialty/area.
Communications
To improve clinical pharmacy services for patients in accordance with the national and corporate priorities to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient use of drugs.
To identify and promote best practice and actively seek improvement.
To ensure delivery of the clinical governance agenda in relation to drug use in the Business Group.
To ensure that issues relating to pharmaceutical care are appropriately represented within the Business Group, particularly at meetings and in working groups.
To develop links and work collaboratively with pharmacists, other healthcare professionals and agencies to ensure optimum pharmaceutical care whist the patient is in hospital and on discharge
To investigate problems arising from the use of medicinal products and assist in developing new methods of treatment
To give advice on complex Medicines Information queries to prescribers, patients and carers and other healthcare personnel
Advising medical and nursing staff on the actions, properties and the safe, cost-effective use of drugs.
To be able to communicate on different levels with many different healthcare personnel and patients
Responsibility for Patient Care
- To ensure the implementation of the Trust Pharmaceutical care standards by all pharmacists to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines
To support the Principal Pharmacist for Clinical Services to produce business plans for all advancements of pharmacy services relating to discharge
To utilise the knowledge and skills gained as an independent prescriber.
- To provide a highly specialised clinical pharmacy service.
To ensure pharmaceutical service facilitates early discharge where appropriate.
- Promote safe cost effective and evidenced based prescribing.
To act as a resource in the provision of highly specialised pharmaceutical advice both to pharmacists and to other health care professionals.
Ensure delivery of the clinical governance agenda in relation to drug use
Planning and organisingTo work across traditional boundaries e.g. primary / secondary care.
To ensure national and local agendas are delivered.
To delegate authority appropriately
To ensure that all legal requirements relating to prescribing, dispensing and storage of medicines are met in the Business Group. This includes controlled drugs.
Advise and monitor the storage of medicines on the wards to ensure potency and quality are maintained.
To be able to plan and organise own and others workload
To be able to prioritise and meet set deadlines particularly when under pressure.
Responsibilities for Physical and / or Financial Resources- To monitor drug expenditure and savings from the discharges service
To identify changes in prescribing practices that may impact on the medicines budget.
To ensure the cost-effective use of drugs on the ward.
To deliver drug expenditure savings in line with the Business Group cost improvement target
Responsibility for Policy and Service Development and ImplementationTo assist in the development of Medicines Management Policies within the Business Group
To take a lead role in forward planning of the pharmaceutical service to the Business Group and in particular the implementation of new developments
To proactively develop clinical pharmacy services for the Business Group in line with local and national objectives
To work in conjunction with the multidisciplinary team to develop and implement policies and guidelines involving medicines within the Business Group
Work collaboratively on medicines management issues with nursing staff in the Business Group.
To participate in departmental audit, record clinical interventions and activity data
Responsibilities for Human Resources and Leadership- To manage the day-to-day work of discharge service
To provide pharmacist supervision in the dispensary on a regular basis
To manage technicians and band 6 pharmacists when working on the wards
Motivate and inspire others to create and maintain a good working environment and facilitate staff retention.
Responsibilities for Teaching and TrainingTo assist in training and assessing rotational pharmacists and trainee pharmacists working in their area
- To provide training to pharmacy, medical, nursing, other healthcare staff and patients.
- To identify own training needs and show a commitment to CPD
- To identify and promote best practice and actively seek improvement.
To monitor clinical pharmacy services to the wards to ensure safe, clinically effective, and cost-efficient use of medicines in these patients.
- To undertake intervention monitoring on the ward as a way of monitoring the contributions of pharmacists working on the wards to patient care
- To undertake assessments / evaluations as required.
- To identify risks involved in the service to the wards.
- To demonstrate a critical approach towards pharmacy practice
- To integrate research evidence into practice
- To support others undertaking research
- To undertake clinical audit as in accordance with the audit plan
Physical Skills and Effort
- Some occasional lifting of boxes
Person Specification
Education and Qualification
- Master's degree in pharmacy
- Registration with GPC
- Prescribing qualification
- Postgraduate UK Diploma or higher in Clinical Pharmacy/Pharmacy Practice
Knowledge
- Evidence of clinical IT systems
- Advanced level of clinical knowledge
Experience
- UK Hospital pharmacy experience
- Experience in audit
- Experience in delivering training
Skills & Abilities
- Good communication skills
- Able to work under pressure and prioritise workload
- Computer literate
- Able to work as part of a team or as an individual
- Well organised and able to organise others
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.
Certificate of Sponsorship
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants.
UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.
Employer details
Employer name
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Address
Stepping Hill Hospital
Poplar Grove
Stockport
SK2 7JE
United Kingdom
Employer's website
http://www.stockport.nhs.uk/