Band 8a Specialist Pharmacist Prescriber – Bristol

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Deliver pharmaceutical care and medicines optimisation in line with NICE, Trust and other evidence based guidance.
2. Work as an independent non-medical prescriber within their scope of competence and in accordance with Trust policy, procedures and other evidence based guidance, taking full responsibility for the service user as well as the medicine prescribed.
3. Be responsible for clinically assessing service users, establishing a diagnosis and the clinical management required – prescribing or de-prescribing where necessary, as specified in a ‘scope of practice plan’, agreed with the line manager and medical supervisor.
4. Where it is recognised that the service user’s needs are outside your own clinical and professional experience, take responsibility to make referrals to a doctor or other appropriate clinician.
5. For prescriptions when the post-holder is not the prescriber: clinically screen prescriptions to ensure the safe, efficient, evidence-based and rational use of medicines.
6. Provide specialist pharmaceutical expertise to multidisciplinary teams and answer medicines information enquiries appropriate to the level of the post which will involve literature searches and the production of oral and written responses.
7. Provide mental health specific advice and support to ICB Prescribing Advisers; primary healthcare professionals including GPs, pharmacists, dentists and consultants.
8. Follow the Trust procedure on medicines reconciliation when service users change care settings to ensure a smooth and safe transition, without inadvertent changes in medication.
9. Liaise with other parts of the service, GPs and non NHS organisations wherever applicable to enhance service user care.
10. Support discharge planning to provide a smooth and safe transition of care. Prepare discharge summaries or check those produced by colleagues to ensure correct information is recorded at transitions of care. Ensure seamless pharmaceutical care across the AWP teams where the post is based. This may include supporting the clinical pharmacy service to inpatient settings, when needed.
11. Provide advice and information to service users and carers about medicines to help them understand their choices with due consideration of the appropriate legal framework. Counsel service users to ensure they understand how to take their medicines correctly, advising on likely benefits and potential common side effects.
12. After assessment, to safely and effectively manage the patient, by working collaboratively as part of a multidisciplinary team, with the patient and carers, communicating all prescribing decisions and clinical rationale, within a treatment plan (for IPs) or within the CMP (for SPs), while taking full accountability and responsibility for medicines prescribed.

Person specification