Job Description

Brighton North & Central PCN Pharmacist

and Person Specification

Job title:

Primary Care Network (PCN) Pharmacist

Base location:

Work equally across GP practices within PCN

Salary:

Recommended salary AFC Band 7 or above equivalent. Salary dependent on experience

Length of contract:

Permanent

Hours:

Full Time

PJob Summary:

This is an exciting time to be working in general practice and shaping the future for primary care. We are seeking an experienced, motivated and forward thinking pharmacist to be an integral part of our pharmacy team for Brighton North and Central PCN. We are a network of four GP practices working collaboratively for our local population of approximately 42,000 patients within Brighton comprising the following practices:

Carden & New Larchwood Surgery

Montpelier Surgery

The Seven Dials Medical Centre

The Health Centre at the University of Sussex

We are a dynamic and supportive PCN, covering a diverse cohort of patients with different demographics within each GP practice, including a student population.

The successful candidate will be joining a well-established innovative PCN pharmacy team, consisting of four clinical pharmacists and four pharmacy technicians, supported by a lead PCN pharmacist.

The post-holder will be given opportunities to shadow other healthcare professionals and be supported to develop and advance the role within the PCN pharmacy team, working both autonomously and in collaboration with other members of the wider multidisciplinary team.

In addition, the successful candidate will be supported with regular clinical pharmacist team meetings to share experiences, good practice and resolve issues.They will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. They will be expected to be enthusiastic, autonomous and flexible, personable, and work as a team player.

The post-holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. They will help support the repeat prescription system, medication reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing. The post holder will manage some aspects of the quality and outcome framework (QOF), contribute to the delivery of enhanced and local commissioned services the local medicines optimisation strategy and deliver on and/or oversee relevant aspects of the PCN Directed Enhanced Service (DES).

We are passionate about developing the pharmacy professionals of the future and the successful candidate will be supported to enrol in the CPPE primary care pharmacy education pathway and would be provided with a clinical supervisor from the PCN. The post holder does not have to be an independent prescriber, but if they would like to become one, the PCN would encourage and support this development.

Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility

Provide medicines optimisation to PCN patient population

Work across the PCN as required to ensure a consistent approach with regards to medicines optimisation and safe, effective, high quality patient care.

Monitoring patients with complex long term conditions such as hypertension or diabetes

Review patients and in partnership with primary healthcare colleagues ensure that medication is optimised, titrated, monitored and complied with.

Provide patient facing clinics (either face-to-face or virtually where appropriate) for patients with chronic conditions (e.g. warfarin monitoring and dose adjustment for patients requiring long?term anticoagulants).

Review the on-going need for each medicine, review monitoring needs and document appropriately to support achievement of relevant QOF targets.

Use each consultation as an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines.

Undertaking Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs)

Identify and undertake SMRs on appropriate population cohorts as stipulated in the Network Contract DES (including patients with multi?morbidity and/or prescribed inappropriate polypharmacy).

Review medication for newly registered practice patients.

Management of self-limiting ailments

Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate.

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Act as a source of medication information for all of the practice team and patients, (e.g. dosing instructions, adverse effects, possible alternatives, i.e. around out of stocks).

Recommend and implement solutions as appropriate.

Provide medicines information and training to practice healthcare professionals and administrative staff.

Unplanned hospital admissions

Work with case managers, multidisciplinary (health and social care) review teams and hospital colleagues to manage medicines?related risk for readmission and patient harm.

Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of high risk medicines to high-risk patient groups.

Primary and secondary care interface

Work in partnership with colleagues across the interface to ensure safe transfers of care and to proactively manage patients at high risk of medicine related harm to ensure continuity of care.

Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospital, intermediate care and/or into care homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes, manage and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

Signposting

Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the right care.

Repeat prescribing

Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review.

Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

Patient facing care/residential home SMRs

Support and work with the ICB Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) team to undertake SMRs with patients with multi-morbidity and polypharmacy living in long term residential care.

Differential/un-differential diagnosis

Manage own caseload for patients and diagnose people with long term ailments while remaining within scope of practice and limits of competence.

Refer to GP and/or other healthcare professionals where appropriate.

Frailty

Take a leading role in the contractual requirements to support frail patients with their medication including patient identification (i.e. patients with problematic polypharmacy) and undertaking SMRs in this patient cohort.

Medicines safety

Identify national and local policy and guidance that affects patient safety through the use of medicines, including MHRA alerts, product withdrawals and emerging evidence form clinical trials.

Manage the process of implementing changes to medicines and guidance for practitioners.

Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols and liaise with specialist secondary colleagues to ensure high risk medicines are monitored appropriately.

Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high-risk groups of patients.

Conduct clinical audits and medicine optimisation projects with colleagues such as GP registrars, practice managers etc. feeding backing and implementing changes in conjunction with practice team.

Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Work with ICB MMT, primary and secondary care colleagues to implement local and national guidelines.

Liaise with hospital colleagues where prescribing needs to be returned to specialist if appropriate.

Education and Training

Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.

Contribute to practice team meetings, clinical meetings and case reviews.

Provide training to medical, nursing, pharmacy and other healthcare students where appropriate.

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved. Undertake risk assessment and ensure compliance with medicines legislation.

Public health

Support public health campaigns.

Provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public.

Role may evolve to include

Patient facing domiciliary/home visits

Manage own caseload of patients admitted due to harm from poor use of medicines, implement own prescribing changes (as an independent prescriber) and ordering monitoring tests.

Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary team meetings. Identify key areas of need for vulnerable patients and formulating care plans.

Medicines Quality Improvement Programme

Work with colleagues, identify and provide leadership on areas of prescribing and medicines optimisation.

Contribute to national and local research initiatives i.e. PINCER.

Special Working Conditions

The post holder is required to travel independently between practice sites and to attend meetings etc. hosted by other agencies.

Health Clearance

Health clearance is required for this appointment. Applicants must complete an Occupational Health questionnaire and if required attend for a consultation prior to appointment.

Disclosure and Barring Service Checks

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and disclosure will be required before appointment for all posts with access to children or vulnerable adults or where the post holder has access to patient information.

Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information

In the course of your normal work you will come into possession of confidential information concerning patients and practice staff. This information should always be treated according to the each practices' confidentially policy. Any inappropriate disclosure may be subject to disciplinary procedures.

Raising concerns

Staff may on occasion have genuine concerns about healthcare matters. These must be highlighted in a responsible and appropriate manner, and in accordance with the Raising Concerns at Work Policy.

Data Quality/Security

The post holder is responsible for ensuring that he/she maintains the integrity and quality of both computerised and manual data.

Acceptance of Gifts and Hospitality

The conduct of staff in the PCN should be scrupulously impartial and honest and in this context any offers of gifts or hospitality should be discussed with your manger, prior to acceptance.

Codes of conduct and professional standards

All staff must adhere to any codes of conduct or professional standards set out by the regulatory bodies with whom they are registered or by professional bodies of which they are a member. It is the post holder's responsibility to ensure they are familiar with these requirements and maintain their professional membership to the relevant body.

Risk (managerial and supervisory staff only)

Managers are responsible for implementing and monitoring any identified and appropriate risk management control measures within their designated area(s) and scope of responsibility. Full details are set out in the PCN's Risk Management Policy.

Health and Safety

All staff are advised that, under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and associated legislations, it is the duty of every employee to take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of other people who may be affected by their activities at work, and also to co-operate fully with the PCN and others in connection with any arrangements to satisfy the statutory duties and responsibilities under the Act, including undertaking appropriate mandatory and health and safety training.

Infection Control

All staff must at all times be aware of their responsibilities for ensuring infection control and to maintain hygiene standards in accordance with infection control policies and instructions.

Personal Property

The PCN is unable to accept responsibility for articles of personal property lost or damaged in any of the GP premises whether by burglary, fire, theft or otherwise and staff are advised to insure against all risks.

Equal Opportunities

Equality of opportunity is an integral part of the PCN's recruitment and selection process and recruiting managers must ensure that they comply fully with each practices' Equality & Diversity Policy. The PCN aims to ensure equality of opportunity for all irrespective of their age, colour, creed, ethnic or national origin, marital status, nationality, physical or mental disability, race, religious belief, sex or sexual orientation.

No Smoking/Vaping

Smoking or vaping by staff, patients and visitors, will not be permitted anywhere on any of the practices' premises.

Security

Staff must wear their identity badge at all times to assist in maintaining the security of the organisation; be observant and not afraid to enquire of people as to their business in the practice premise. Any suspicious behaviour must be reported to your line manager.

Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults

The PCN as an employer is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk of harm and expects all employees to share this commitment. If the post is one that involves access to children and vulnerable adults during the course of their normal duties, an enhanced DBS check will be required. All employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their daily duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.

Training and development

The successful candidate will be expected to be responsible for his/her continuing professional development (CPD) and to take a proactive approach to maintaining personal and professional effectiveness in an evolving role.

Agreement

This job description is intended to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities only. There may be other duties required of the post-holder commensurate with the position. This description will be open to regular review and may be amended to take into account development within the PCN. All members of staff should be prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain the efficient running of the PCN.

This job description is not a definite or exhaustive list of responsibilities but identifies the key responsibilities and tasks of the post holder. The specific objectives of the post holder will be subject to regular review and amendment as necessary in consultation with the post holder.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Permanent

Pay: 47,810.00-54,710.00 per year

Benefits:

Company pension Flexitime Work from home
Ability to commute/relocate:

Brighton: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Experience:

Pharmacy: 2 years (required)
Work Location: In person