Bury St Edmunds Primary Care Network (PCN) is seeking a motivated and enthusiastic clinical pharmacist to join our expanding multidisciplinary team on a full-time basis. This is an exciting opportunity to play a vital role in improving patient care and medicines management across our practices.
The main responsibilities of the role include:
- Clinically assessing and treating patients, using expert knowledge of medicines, for specific disease areas.
- Providing specialist expertise in the use of medicines and medicine information (e.g. side-effects, dosage).
- Providing pharmaceutical medication review and health education advice to patients, by face-to-face, telephone or notes-based review, as agreed with the practice.
- Providing leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation and quality improvement.
- Contributing to public health campaigns, including flu vaccinations, childhood immunisation and adult immunisation programmes.
- Processing specialist treatment letters.
- Supporting practice dispensary.
- Acting as a key contact, for all medication related queries.
- Supporting improvements in clinical care, through practice-based audits and implementing change.
- Running clinics where medicines are the main interventions e.g. anticoagulant monitoring clinics.
- Conducting, diabetic foot checks and NHS health checks, as well as other tasks, as required, on completion of appropriate training.
- Reviewing daily pathology results and act on results.
- Undertaking minor ailments triage and directing patients, based on clinical need.
- Capturing relevant patient health information at all consultations including contributing to the quality outcomes framework.
- Monitoring patients with complex, long-term conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and COPD, ensuring that medication is optimised, titrated, monitored and complied with.
- Providing clinical advice and expertise on medication.
- Establishing ongoing professional relationships with individual patients.
- Liaising with other providers, such as secondary care, community pharmacy and care or nursing homes, as necessary, to ensure the safe transfer of care.
- Delivering on and/or overseeing relevant aspects of the PCN Directed Enhanced Service (DES).
- Taking a central role in the clinical aspects of shared-care protocols, clinical research with medicines and liaison with specialist pharmacists.
- Being part of a professional clinical network and having access to appropriate clinical supervision.
- Supporting the PCN clinical director as necessary.
- Managing the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process, by reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates.
- Reviewing prescribing against local and national targets, and engaging with the wider prescribing team to rectify any issues.
- Carrying out structured medicines-optimisation reviews in care homes.
- Contributing to the reduction of medicine wastage within practices across the PCN.
You will be a qualified pharmacist with strong experience within primary care and have the following skills and qualifications:
- Completion of a degree in pharmacy and registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
- Post-qualification experience in pharmacy (hospital, primary care or community), or working towards obtaining this;
- Qualified independent prescriber, or working towards this.
- Awareness of the breadth of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in a general medical practice.
- Ability to demonstrate general pharmaceutical skills and knowledge in core areas.
- Ability to plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general care plans for patients with long-term conditions.
- Ability to demonstrate accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision as an individuals.
- Ability to recognise priorities when problem-solving and identify deviations from normal patterns, referring to seniors or GPs with confidence, when appropriate.
- Ability to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies, procedures and codes of conduct.
- Ability to assist patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE guidance.
- Non-judgemental attitude and ability to be flexible and adaptable.
- Self-motivated with excellent communication skills.
- Understand the need for patient confidentiality.
Bury St Edmunds Primary Care Network consists of five surgeries and serves some 66,000 patients from the town and surrounding villages.
Our vision is to deliver the highest standards of care, with equality, dignity and respect, to our patient population. Our aim is to create a system where member practices work closely together in collaboration with health and social care, voluntary sector, community groups and local people, to deliver inclusive and personalised care.
Bury St Edmunds Primary Care Network is a growing PCN with already existing roles including, care coordinators, social prescribers, clinical pharmacists, paramedics, and pharmacist technicians that support GPs and other clinical teams to enhance patient services in the local community.
Why join us?
- Be part of a friendly and forward-thinking PCN dedicated to high-quality patient care.
- Join a supportive multidisciplinary team with opportunities for collaboration and learning.
- Access to NHS pension and staff benefits.
- Ongoing training and funded development opportunities, including independent prescribing
We can offer you:
- NHS pension scheme: The NHS pension scheme is a defined benefits scheme - 20% employer contribution;
- Eye-care vouchers;
- Health service discounts;
- Annual Leave: minimum 33 days FTE, with enhancements for long service.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
Please note this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
