Specialist Clinical Pharmacist

TN United Kingdom; London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 70,000

Job description

We are keen to recruit an enthusiastic, forward-thinking pharmacist to work with the Lead Pharmacist for Hammersmith and Fulham local inpatient services to continue to develop the clinical pharmacy service within Local Services. The outstanding work to date has been extremely well received, and we are keen to build on that success. The post is rotational, so the candidate will also develop through experience in mental health inpatient services and forensic services.

The successful candidate will be a highly motivated individual with good communication skills and a keen interest in mental health who derives satisfaction from providing an outstanding clinical pharmacy service to the service users and from working with colleagues to continue to develop the service. The applicant should be able to work well both in a team and autonomously.

The pharmacist will join a vibrant, expanding team. Building on the excellent pharmacy service with bases in the five main Trust sites, the team includes pharmacists dedicated to the OPMHS teams, CAMHS, perinatal and the Crisis Teams as well as MINT. There is a team focus on growth and development, including Clinical Diplomas, non-medical prescribing qualifications, consultant pharmacist accreditation and writing articles and posters for publication.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will provide an outstanding clinical pharmacy service to the service users who are served by the Local Services located in the borough the pharmacist is allocated to. This service will include:

1. Completing Level 2 Medicines Reconciliations
2. Clinical screening of medication charts
3. Ensuring continuity of supply of medications
4. Responding to clinical queries with medicines information and advice
5. Providing medicines-related information and advice while taking part in team MDT meetings
6. Joining doctors’ clinics for service users who have particularly complex medicines management needs
7. Providing medicines information and advice to service users and carers, via service user 1:1s or medicines education groups

The successful candidate will contribute to the clinical governance agenda within the Trust, via audits, QI projects, incident reporting and investigations, writing/updating policies and procedures and contributing to the implementation of the resulting action plans for service improvement.

The successful candidate will be expected to undertake CPD. Depending on education and experience, the candidate may start at Band 6. Progression to Band 7 would be on completion of at least the certificate level of the Postgraduate Diploma in Pharmacy Practice or equivalent.

Working for our organisation

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.

The Trust is rated as ‘Good’ overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as ‘Outstanding’.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.

Person specification

Qualifications

• Masters Degree in Pharmacy or equivalent
• General Pharmaceutical Council membership
• Postgraduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice (Band 7);
• Commitment to undertake the Postgraduate Certificate in Pharmacy Practice (Band 6)

Experience

• Post-registration training and experience in hospital Pharmacy. This must include a solid grounding in all aspects of hospital pharmacy practice (medicines information, aseptic services, ward services and dispensing)
• Demonstrate the ability to appropriately recommend, substantiate and communicate therapeutic options for patients
• Practical Clinical experience including: Multidisciplinary team experience and Direct Patient contact with Mental Health patients
• Demonstrable use of clinical audit to improve practice
• Experience of working within a mental health environment
• Working with or experience of Directorate pharmacy service

Knowledge

• Knowledge of mental health pharmacy acquired through training and experience
• Knowledge of Pharmacy Law and Ethics
• Experience of IT Dispensing and Stock Control software relevant to Pharmacy practice
• Knowledge of the Mental Health Act

Skills

• Good verbal and written communication skills
• Good ability to organise and prioritise work
• Good clinical practice knowledge
• Ability to influence senior pharmacy and medical staff, the multidisciplinary team and management
• A good understanding of national and local priorities
• Analytical ability for problem solving
• Good ability to use computer systems including Excel and Word
• Good personal organisation and time management skills
• Able to work effectively alone and in a team
• Ability to identify and manage risks
• Demonstrates awareness of and commitment to the Clinical Governance agenda
• Good time management
• IT skills and Computer literacy
• Ability to develop and maintain working relationships with different grades of staff
• Position of Integrity and respect for particular highly confidential requirements

Other Requirements

• Good verbal and written communication skills
• The ability to communicate empathetically towards patients
• Ability to communicate highly complex information to decision makers
• Confidence in talking to those with serious enduring mental illness