BELVEDERE MEDICAL CENTRE
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title
Senior Clinical Pharmacist (General Practice)
Hours
Full-time (Part-time considered for an exceptional candidate)
Accountable to
- GP Partners
- Practice Manager
Responsible for
- Pharmacy Technician
- Clinical oversight of outsourced pharmacy services
- Pharmacy workflow and medicines optimisation services
Job Purpose
The Senior Clinical Pharmacist is the professional lead for pharmacy services at Belvedere Medical Centre and plays a pivotal role in delivering safe, effective, evidence-based and cost-effective prescribing.
The post holder will provide expert clinical pharmacy leadership across the practice, ensuring that pharmacy services are delivered to the highest possible standard whilst continuously improving quality, efficiency and patient outcomes.
Working alongside GPs, the Consultant Nurse Practitioner, Physician Associates, Nurses, Healthcare Assistant, Pharmacy Technician and external pharmacy providers, the post holder will lead the ongoing development of pharmacy services and act as the principal source of pharmaceutical expertise within the practice.
The successful candidate will have the autonomy to identify opportunities for service improvement, redesign clinical processes and implement innovative solutions whilst maintaining the highest standards of patient safety.
Our philosophy is:
Quality without efficiency is unaffordable, and efficiency without quality is unsafe.
We believe exceptional patient care is achieved by delivering both.
About Belvedere Medical Centre
Belvedere Medical Centre is a forward-thinking GP training practice caring for approximately 18,000 patients.
Our multidisciplinary clinical team includes:
- 8 GPs
- 1 Consultant Nurse Practitioner
- 3 Physician Associates
- 3 Practice Nurses
- 1 Healthcare Assistant
- Pharmacy Technician
- Paramedics
- Experienced Reception, Administration and Management teams
- Attached Community Healthcare Professionals
We have an open-door culture where clinicians work collaboratively and senior clinicians are always available for advice and support.
Our pharmacy model consists of one senior in-house Clinical Pharmacist providing clinical leadership, supported by a Pharmacy Technician and carefully selected outsourced pharmacy services to provide additional resilience and capacity.
Although we do not provide protected learning time, we actively support professional development through relevant courses, workshops and educational opportunities that benefit both the individual and the practice.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
The Senior Clinical Pharmacist will provide professional leadership for all pharmacy services delivered within the practice.
Clinical Responsibilities
The post holder will:
- Undertake structured medication reviews.
- Independently prescribe where clinically appropriate.
- Optimise medicines for patients with long-term conditions.
- Manage patients with complex polypharmacy.
- Review prescribing for frail and vulnerable patients.
- Undertake medicines reconciliation following hospital discharge.
- Review hospital outpatient correspondence.
- Respond to prescribing queries from clinicians, patients and community pharmacies.
- Manage high-risk medicines monitoring.
- Optimise repeat prescribing systems.
- Undertake medication alignment.
- Support chronic disease management where appropriate.
- Review prescribing against NICE guidance, local formularies and evidence-based practice.
- Support implementation of MHRA Drug Safety Updates and National Patient Safety Alerts.
- Participate in medicines-related significant event reviews.
Leadership Responsibilities
The Senior Clinical Pharmacist will:
- Lead all pharmacy services within the practice.
- Act as the principal point of contact for all pharmacy-related matters.
- Provide professional supervision and support to the Pharmacy Technician.
- Provide clinical oversight of outsourced pharmacy providers.
- Monitor the quality, safety and consistency of outsourced pharmacy work.
- Develop and review pharmacy Standard Operating Procedures.
- Review and improve pharmacy workflows.
- Identify opportunities to improve efficiency without compromising patient safety.
- Promote multidisciplinary working.
- Support recruitment, induction and development of pharmacy staff where required.
- Provide expert prescribing advice to all members of the multidisciplinary team.
Medicines Optimisation
Lead and support delivery of:
- Structured Medication Reviews
- Medicines optimisation
- Prescribing quality improvement
- Polypharmacy reviews
- Deprescribing initiatives
- Cost-effective prescribing
- High-risk medicines monitoring
- Repeat prescribing optimisation
- Medicines reconciliation
- Prescribing safety audits
Clinical Governance
The post holder will:
- Participate in clinical governance activities.
- Support compliance with CQC standards relating to medicines management.
- Ensure compliance with MHRA guidance.
- Participate in significant event analysis.
- Undertake prescribing audits.
- Support implementation of NICE guidance.
- Review prescribing safety alerts.
- Maintain accurate clinical records.
- Promote safe prescribing throughout the practice.
- Contribute to risk assessments relating to medicines management.
Service Development and Innovation
Belvedere Medical Centre encourages innovation and continuous improvement.
The successful candidate will:
- Identify opportunities to improve patient care.
- Review existing pharmacy systems and workflows.
- Develop new pharmacy pathways.
- Improve efficiency across pharmacy services.
- Introduce innovative ways of working.
- Analyse prescribing data and use it to improve quality.
- Evaluate new initiatives.
- Support implementation of digital technologies where appropriate.
- Work collaboratively with practice leadership to develop future pharmacy services.
Contractual Performance
The post holder will support delivery of all pharmacy-related contractual requirements, including:
- QOF prescribing indicators
- Medicines optimisation requirements
- Local Enhanced Services
- National Enhanced Services
- Local Incentive Schemes
- National Incentive Schemes
- ICB prescribing initiatives
- Medicines safety programmes
- Local prescribing quality initiatives
Annual Pharmacy Business Plan and Key Performance Indicators
As the professional lead for pharmacy services, the Senior Clinical Pharmacist will prepare and maintain an annual Pharmacy Business Plan, agreed with the GP Partners.
This should include measurable objectives for service development, quality improvement and operational efficiency.
Key performance indicators will include, but are not limited to:
- Delivery of high-quality, safe and evidence-based prescribing.
- Achievement of agreed prescribing quality indicators.
- Delivery of medicines optimisation projects.
- Performance against local and national prescribing initiatives.
- Timely completion of pharmacy workflows.
- Continuous improvement in prescribing safety.
- Development and supervision of the Pharmacy Technician.
- Effective oversight of outsourced pharmacy services.
- Reduction in prescribing-related risk.
- Successful implementation of service improvement projects.
- Contribution towards CQC readiness.
- Improvement in patient outcomes and patient experience.
- Efficient utilisation of practice resources while maintaining the highest standards of care.
Performance objectives will be reviewed regularly with the GP Partners and updated annually.
Working Relationships
The Senior Clinical Pharmacist will work closely with:
- GP Partners
- Salaried GPs
- Consultant Nurse Practitioner
- Physician Associates
- Practice Nurses
- Healthcare Assistant
- Pharmacy Technician
- Practice Manager
- Reception and Administration Teams
- Community Pharmacies
- Secondary Care
- Integrated Care Board
- External Pharmacy Providers
Professional Development
Although the practice does not provide protected learning time, Belvedere Medical Centre actively supports professional development through relevant courses, workshops and educational opportunities that contribute to both personal development and the needs of the practice.
The post holder will maintain professional competence and undertake continuing professional development in accordance with GPhC requirements.
General Responsibilities
The post holder will:
- Work within GPhC Standards.
- Maintain confidentiality and comply with UK GDPR.
- Work within practice policies and procedures.
- Promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Participate in multidisciplinary meetings.
- Support colleagues across the practice.
- Undertake any other duties appropriate to the role and commensurate with the seniority of the post.
Pay: Up to £65,000.00 per year
Benefits:
Licence/Certification:
Work Location: In person
