PCN Lead Pharmacist

Overseeing the professional clinical and pharmaceutical aspects of medication management, collaborating with medical staff and adhering to guidelines to ensure safe, cost-effective medication use while minimizing inappropriate usage risks. Providing leadership to a team of pharmacy professionals, driving evidence-based pharmaceutical care within primary care, ensuring patient safety and effective outcomes.

Job Description:

Clinical:

• To lead and direct clinical pharmacy activities when delivering a specialist pharmacy service, including identifying and resolving individual patient medicines care issues and providing specialist pharmacy advice. This involves employing a systematic approach to individual patient care, conducting drug monitoring (TDM), and addressing adverse drug reactions (ADR) promptly and effectively.
• To develop, implement, and support pharmacy-led clinics (e.g., polypharmacy, minor ailment, chronic disease state) and share best practices across PCN (Primary Care Network) to ensure high-quality patient care.
• To provide education and support, as part of the multidisciplinary team, to patients managing long-term conditions, enhancing patient knowledge and concordance.
• To lead multidisciplinary working groups in developing and implementing protocols, guidelines, and patient group directions, also participating in national-level guideline development as required.
• To promptly and efficiently answer medicines information queries from patients and healthcare professionals, improving information provision and pharmacy awareness.

Team Management:

• Provide leadership, direction, and support to wider pharmacy team in their roles and tasks related to prescribing.
• Set performance objectives, conduct regular evaluations, and provide constructive feedback to ensure high-quality work output from the wider pharmacy team, including clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
• Coordinate the workflow within the team, ensuring efficient processes, and timely completion of tasks related to prescribing activities within the PCN.
• Coordinate the rota, and coordination of tasks and activities among team members, ensuring adherence to NHSE and local protocols and guidelines for efficient processes and timely completion of prescribing-related tasks.

Resource Management:

• Lead the identification and delivery of prescribing efficiencies with medicines, contributing to the managed entry of new medicines and ensuring adherence to local and national recommendations.
• Manage staff on a day-to-day basis, including recruitment and HR functions, to ensure delivery of the clinical pharmacy service within the specialist area aligns with national standards and service specifications.

Prescribing Management:

• Contribute to the development and implementation of evidence-based prescribing systems for primary care, ensuring adherence to local and national recommendations and attainment of Prescribing Indicators.
• Provide leadership and contribute to the development of clinics and systems to maximise benefits and minimise risks to patients of medicines, particularly in chronic disease management.
• Analyse individual practice prescribing and budget information to provide prescribing budgetary management advice, promoting good quality prescribing and improving cost-effectiveness within the practice.

Clinical Governance:

• Influence NHS strategic and operational planning for chronic disease management, contributing to quality outcomes for patients through the GMS contract.
• Facilitate the delivery of national and local NHS Health strategy policies, monitoring and evaluating prescribing against quality standards to ensure safe practices and service quality improvement.

Community Pharmacy Development:

• Participate in developing Cam Medial PCN (Primary Care Network), supporting key projects and task groups, and fostering relationships between community pharmacists and practices.

Education and Research:

• Lead pharmacy research and audit, reporting findings at local and national levels.
• Liaise on legal, ethical, and professional aspects of proposed clinical trials within the PCN (Primary Care Network), providing advice on suitability.
• Deliver education and training to pharmacists, healthcare professionals, students, patients, and carers through formal settings, workshops, and teaching sessions.

Communication:

• Document pharmaceutical care issues in patient records and inform medical/nursing staff of urgent actions required.
• Implement and communicate clinical governance and medicines management objectives, ensuring adherence to guidelines and safe prescribing practices.
• Provide specialist information and support to junior pharmacists, overcoming communication barriers as needed.
• Convey pharmaceutical information tactfully to patients and healthcare professionals, ensuring understanding and compliance.
• Facilitate effective communication within the pharmacy team and with other healthcare providers to ensure continuity of care.

Quality:

• Lead the development and implementation of pharmacy and practice-wide guidelines and policies, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation.
• Maintain quality and accuracy in all pharmacy activities despite interruptions, adhering to medicines legislation and safety guidelines.
• Support senior pharmacy management in meeting CQC requirements and managing risks associated with medicines management.
• Support senior management and partners across the PCN in various activities including CQC requirements, governance, and risk management, with a focus on medicines management.
• Lead the oversight to ensure effective monitoring and action-taking on high-risk drug alerts and patient safety alerts, with accountability for compliance during CQC inspections.

Research & Audit:

• Conduct and lead audits and research to improve services and ensure compliance with guidelines.
• Present audit data and research findings to pharmacy teams and the PCN Board for review and action.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: From £49,000.00 per year based on experience

• Company pension
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexitime

Schedule:

Experience:

• team management: 1 year (required)
• primary care: 1 year (required)

Licence/Certification:

• GPhC (required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Cambridge CB2 1RG

Seniority level

Mid-Senior level

Employment type

Full-time

Job function

Health Care Provider

Industries

Medical Practices