Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Roles and responsibilities

1. Clinical Practice
   • Be responsible and accountable for the clinical pharmacy service provided to the Surgery and I&A directorates. This includes the surgery wards and clinical areas, theatres, outpatient clinics.
     • 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
     • Ensure the effective outcomes of treatment with
     • Monitor patients for potential and actual adverse effects of their
     • 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
     • Support the planning of patient discharge with respect to medication, including the transcription of requests for
     • Demonstrate professional accountability to
   • Liaise with the Lead Directorate Pharmacists to provide and develop clinical pharmacy services to the directorate including ward pharmacy and medicines
   • Aim to provide safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of drugs in the patients as
   • Make appropriate referrals where necessary; ensure the clear and effective communication of patients’ pharmaceutical needs to other pharmacists and health care professionals both within the trust and in other health care
   • 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
   • Participate in the post-take ward rounds to integrate into the multidisciplinary team and raise the pharmacy profile via contributions at consultant
   • Demonstrate appropriate clinical reasoning and
   • Work across traditional boundaries, including the transcription of discharge
   • 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 health care professionals including medical
   • Proactively provide advice and information on any pharmaceutical issues within the Surgery and I&A directorates to pharmacy staff and other healthcare professionals as
   • Demonstrate awareness and commitment to the Trust’s Clinical Governance
   • Support the maintenance and development of the Medicines Management Initiatives including use of patients own medicines and self-medication.

2.       Leadership

• Act as a role model for junior pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacists in the
• Promote best practice e.g. evidence-based practice through prescription
• Implement and/or follow agreed clinical governance initiatives such as incident/error
• Develop clinical pharmacy services in line with local and national objectives and contribute to pharmacy research initiatives being undertaken within the

3.       Management of service

• Ensure national and local agendas are
• Follow and conform to relevant standards of
• Identify and manage risks in relation to medicines use according to policy/protocol.
• Delegate duties / responsibilities appropriately to junior
• Evaluate the performance of junior staff against identified criteria using departmental/Trust IPR tools and General Level Competence
• Provide evaluated pharmaceutical and financial information in accordance with the needs of the directorate.
• Identify changes in prescribing practices that may impact on the drugs budget, thereby providing information on drug usage and expenditure to the

4.       Evaluation of Service

• Monitor clinical pharmacy in order to ensure safe, clinically effective and cost efficient use of drugs in these
• 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, based on national and service priorities e.g. NICE, CLAHRC research and locally agreed requirements.
• Undertake assessments/evaluations as required e.g. of new products within the allocated specialty

5.       Research and Service Development

• Demonstrate a critical approach towards pharmacy practice within the Surgery and I&A
• Integrate research evidence into
• Facilitate the implementation of relevant clinical trials.
• Develop clinical pathways within specialty
• Actively seek to improve the ward and clinical services
• Assist with the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate
• Adopt continuous improvement methodology and support Pharmacy in becoming a continuous improvement

6.       Education and Training

• Participate in the training and supervision of junior pharmacists and pre-registration pharmacy graduates in providing a clinical pharmacy service to medical patients
• Identify training needs of junior staff in order to undertake their required
• Develop strategies to meet the training needs of
• Provide education and training to pharmacy and other
• Evaluate the training
• Participate in the clinical training of the ward
• Identify own training needs and maintain a portfolio of
• Participate in the Departmental Education and Training Programme and ensure that a written record of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is maintained for review at
• Participate in in-service clinical pharmacy teaching and multi-disciplinary teaching as

7.       Other

• Maintain a broad level of pharmacy practice through ensuring a sound base of pharmaceutical knowledge.
• Ensure all communication, which may be complex, contentious or sensitive, is undertaken in a responsive and inclusive manner, focusing on improvement and ways to move
• Ensure all communication is presented appropriately to the different recipients, according to levels of understanding, type of communication being imparted and possible barriers such as language, culture, understanding or physical or mental health
• Participate in education and training programmes to develop skills as part of a commitment to continuing education and the concept of lifelong
• 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 Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.
• Follow legal, ethical, professional and employers’ codes of
• Any other duties as reasonably required by the Chief

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.