Specialist Pharmacist - HIV/GUM&Gender Dysphoria

Roles and Responsibilities

Clinical Practice

Be responsible and accountable for the day-to-day clinical pharmacy service provided within the HIV/GUM Directorate, as directed by the Lead Directorate Pharmacist HIV/GUM. Review prescriptions for accuracy and legality and identify actual or potential problems. Ensure the effective supply of medicines suitable for use as an inpatient and appropriately labelled for discharge if applicable. Ensure the effective outcomes of treatment with medicines.

Monitor patients for potential and actual adverse effects of their medicines. Take steps to ensure patients understand the purpose of their medicines and deal with any practical issues that may prevent the optimal use of their medicines. Liaise with medicines management technicians to conduct medicines reconciliations and support the seamless planning of patient discharge with respect to medication, including the transcription of requests for dispensing. Demonstrate professional accountability to patients.

Support the Lead Directorate Pharmacist to provide and develop clinical pharmacy services to the Directorate including ward pharmacy, medicines management and independent pharmacist prescriber clinics. Aim to provide safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient use of drugs in the patients as allocated. Make appropriate referrals where necessary; ensure the clear and effective communication of patients' pharmaceutical needs to other pharmacists and healthcare professionals both within the trust and in other healthcare environments. Demonstrate and apply general pharmaceutical knowledge, and where applicable, specialist clinical pharmacy knowledge in core areas in order to plan, manage, monitor and review therapeutic programmes for patients allocated, thereby ensuring the quality of patient care.

Work across traditional boundaries, including the transcription of discharge medication. Participate in the development of Directorate Patient Group Directions where appropriate. Participate in multidisciplinary ward rounds within the directorate where appropriate, to integrate into the multidisciplinary team and raise the pharmacy profile via contributions at consultant level. Demonstrate appropriate clinical reasoning and judgement. Be readily available and keen to answer any general medicine-related pharmaceutical queries from patients, pharmacists and other members of staff within pharmacy as well as from other healthcare professionals including medical staff.

Proactively provide advice and information on any pharmaceutical issues within the HIV/GUM directorate to pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals as needed. Contribute to the specialist clinics across the Directorate sites as required e.g. Virtual Clinic. Participate in pharmacy cover arrangements for directorate clinics across multiple sites i.e. Kobler, 56 Dean Street, 10 Hammersmith Broadway and West Middlesex University Hospital.

Assist in completion of specific patient information leaflets for drugs used in HIV. Demonstrate awareness and commitment to the Trust's Clinical Governance Agenda. Support the development of Specialist Role within the directorate.

Leadership

Line manage a resident pharmacist (as directed by Lead Pharmacist for Education and Training) and act as their Educational Supervisor, overseeing their progress through the JPB diploma. Act as a role model for junior pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacists in the rotation. Support, supervise and participate in the training of pharmacists, pre-registration pharmacists, pharmacy undergraduate students and multi-disciplinary staff. Promote best practice e.g. evidence-based practice through prescription monitoring. Implement and/or follow agreed clinical governance initiatives such as incident/error reporting.

Develop clinical pharmacy services in line with local and national objectives and contribute to pharmacy modernisation initiatives being undertaken within the department.

Management of Service

Support delivery of national and local agendas. Follow and conform to relevant standards of care, standard operating procedures and policies. Identify and manage risks in relation to medicines use according to policy/protocol including reporting of incidents where appropriate in line with Trust processes. Delegate duties/responsibilities appropriately to junior staff. Evaluate the performance of junior staff against identified criteria using departmental/Trust APR tools and General Level Competence Framework.

Provide evaluated pharmaceutical and financial information in accordance with the needs of the directorate, as directed by the Lead Directorate Pharmacist HIV/GUM. Identify changes in prescribing practices that may impact on the drugs budget, thereby providing information on drug usage and expenditure to the Directorate as directed by the Lead Directorate Pharmacist HIV/GUM. Assist in the set-up and implementation of clinical trials and named patient drug programmes in HIV/GUM. Deputise for the Lead and Highly Specialist Directorate Pharmacists HIV/GUM as required and represent pharmacy at directorate management meetings when considered appropriate, for example at clinic-level head of department operational management meetings.

Evaluation of Service

Monitor clinical pharmacy in order to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost-efficient use of drugs in these patients. Document the workload and quality of pharmacy services in line with departmental and corporate objectives. Perform audits of drug usage within the Directorate as part of the multi-disciplinary audit process. Undertake assessments/evaluations as required e.g. of new products within the allocated speciality.

Research and Service Development

Demonstrate a critical approach towards pharmacy practice within the HIV/GUM Directorate. Integrate research evidence into practice. Develop clinical pathways within the speciality area. Actively seek to improve the ward and clinical services provided. Undertake practice research in accordance with the pharmacy research agenda. Assist with the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate projects.

Education and Training

Participate in the training and supervision of junior pharmacists, pre-registration pharmacists, and pharmacy undergraduate students in providing a clinical pharmacy service to patients in the HIV/GUM directorate. Act as an Educational Supervisor for a foundation pharmacist undertaking the JPB diploma, as directed by Lead Pharmacist for Education and Training. Identify training needs of junior staff in order to undertake their required roles. Identify own training needs and be able to devise solutions to meet these needs using SMART objectives. Develop strategies to meet the training needs of staff. Provide education and training to pharmacy and other staff. Evaluate the training provided. Participate in the clinical training of the ward staff and of multidisciplinary HIV/GUM directorate staff.

Identify own training needs and maintain a portfolio of practice. Participate in the Departmental Education and Training Programme and ensure that a written record of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is maintained for review at appraisal. Attend and participate in clinical pharmacy teaching and multi-disciplinary directorate teaching as appropriate.

Other

Participate in other areas of clinical pharmacy practice in order to ensure a broad base of pharmaceutical knowledge. Participate in education and training programmes to develop skills as part of a commitment to continuing education and the concept of lifelong learning. The post holder will be required to travel to clinical areas of the directorate not on the Chelsea and Westminster site. The post holder will be required to participate in early and late shift rotas, and weekend rotas as dictated by the needs of the service. The post holder will be required to participate in the back-up on-call rota.

Liaise with other clinical pharmacists to ensure efficient transfer of drug-related care. Be aware of, and apply, relevant legislation such as the H & SAWA, COSHH, Medicines Act, GMP etc. At all times practice in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the General Pharmaceutical Council. This job description may be subject to change according to the varying needs of the service. Such changes will be made after discussion between the post holder and his/her manager. All duties must be carried out under supervision or within Trust policy and procedure. You must never undertake any duties that are outside your area of skill or knowledge level. If you are unsure you must seek clarification from a more senior member of staff.