Job Description

Job summary

The Penge Primary Care Network (PCN) is seeking a motivated and clinically skilled Clinical Pharmacist to join our multidisciplinary team. Working across our network practices, you will play a key role in delivering high-quality medicines optimisation, improving patient outcomes, and supporting safe, evidence-based prescribing. The role includes conducting clinical medication reviews, supporting long-term condition management, improving medicines safety, reconciling medicines following hospital discharge, and providing expert pharmaceutical advice to clinicians, patients, and care home teams. You will also contribute to audits, policy development, and the implementation of national and local prescribing guidance across the PCN. This is an excellent opportunity for an enthusiastic pharmacist looking to develop their clinical practice within a supportive primary care environment.

Main duties of the job

Key duties include conducting clinical medication reviews, supporting long-term condition management, and promoting safe, effective prescribing. You will reconcile medicines following hospital discharge, review high-risk medicines, and work closely with GPs, nurses, and care home staff to improve medicines safety. The role also involves answering medicines-related queries, supporting repeat prescribing processes, contributing to audits and data analysis, and implementing national and local prescribing guidance. You will help develop clinical pathways, provide patient-facing advice, and deliver training to the wider primary care team.

Job responsibilities

1. Patient-Facing Clinical Work

Conduct clinical medication reviews for patients with single or multiple long-term conditions (e.g. COPD, asthma), focusing on medicines optimisation. Review patients' ongoing medicines, monitoring requirements, and adherence, ensuring safe and effective use. Provide patient-facing clinics and a telephone helpline for queries or concerns about medicines. Manage a caseload of patients with common, minor, or self-limiting conditions, working within the scope of competence. Signpost patients to community pharmacy and refer to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate. Attend multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings and refer patients when necessary. Provide follow-up to monitor the effectiveness of medication changes.
2. Medicines Reconciliation & Safety

Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge or transfer of care, identifying and resolving discrepancies. Set up and manage systems to maintain medicines supply for high-risk groups (e.g. compliance aids, care home residents). Review use of medicines linked to unplanned hospital admissions and implement actions to reduce risk. Identify high-risk patient cohorts through clinical system searches and share learning across the PCN.
3. Prescribing & Medicines Optimisation

Make recommendations for medicines optimisation to senior pharmacists or GPs. Provide pharmaceutical advice for prescribing decisions, monitoring requirements, and appropriate deprescribing. Support practices to develop and implement repeat prescribing policies, Working toward standardised Network-wide protocols. Manage the repeat prescribing authorisation process, including reviewing medicines at their review dates. Ensure appropriate monitoring is in place for medicines requiring regular review. Contribute to the development of local treatment pathways, patient information resources, and new services involving medicines.
4. Clinical Governance & Audit

Analyse and present prescribing data to identify risks, variation, or improvement opportunities. Lead or contribute to PCN-wide audits and support implementation of resulting changes. Support implementation of MHRA alerts, product withdrawals, and national or local guidance across all PCN practices. Monitor prescribing against local RAG lists and make recommendations for red/amber drug responsibilities. Assist practices in maintaining practice formularies and work toward a PCN-wide formulary. Audit compliance with NICE technology appraisals and support implementation of improvements.
5. Education, Training & Communication

Prepare newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages for the PCN. Provide education and training on therapeutics and medicines optimisation to the primary healthcare team. Support general practice teams to maintain CQC standards relating to medicines. Contribute to public health campaigns and provide specialist knowledge on available public health programmes.
6. Leadership & Collaboration

Collaborate with PCN pharmacists to ensure consistent implementation of medicines optimisation initiatives across all practices. Ensure effective communication across the Network to support uptake of best practice.
Job Type: Fixed term contract
Contract length: 6 months

Pay: From 45,000.00 per year

Work Location: In person