Duties and Key Tasks

Clinical/Operational

To be responsible for the provision and development of a clinical pharmacy service to a specific clinical speciality or patient group as agreed with the Deputy Chief Pharmacist and Lead Clinical Pharmacists. This will include:

• Completing medicines reconciliation for patients on admission.
• Reviewing patients’ medication to ensure safe, effective and economic use.
• Formulating individual patient pharmaceutical care plans.
• Therapeutic drug monitoring for specific drugs.
• Education of patients about their drug therapy.
• Participation in consultant wards rounds.
• Developing evidence-based treatment protocols for use either within the directorate or across the Trust where appropriate.
• Facilitating implementation of local and national guidelines where appropriate.
• Challenging inappropriate prescribing.
• Providing information to medical staff, other healthcare professionals and members of the public regarding medicines.
• Delivering clinical and final dispensing checks within the systems for dispensing and issuing medication from the pharmacy, in accordance with the prevailing safe systems of work. Acting as the pharmacist on-duty for the dispensary as allocated.
• Responsibility for ensuring that medicines are available to meet the patient’s individual treatment needs in a timely manner.
• Managing clinical incidents involving medicines and explore ways of minimising risk of future re-occurrence.
• Facilitating patient discharge in line with departmental procedures to ensure seamless pharmaceutical care across the primary/secondary care interface.
• Co-operating with objective setting, individual personal assessment and continuing education and training programmes, in order to ensure continuing professional development and competence to practice as required by clinical governance.
• Participating in out-of-hours service offered to all directorates and external bodies where appropriate, weekend and Bank and Public Holiday working, in keeping with the Pharmacy Directorate arrangements.
• Recording clinical interventions and activities in line with departmental policy
• Documenting patient care contributions in the patients’ history notes and use the trusts incident reporting system to report any medication errors.
• Attending and participating in pharmacy clinical meetings.
• Working in conjunction with the self-medication / PODs system with technicians and nurses/midwives to promote the reuse of medicines.

Enhanced clinical

• Facilitate the implementation of local and national guidance, including National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) where appropriate.
• To work collaboratively with Consultants, junior doctors, nurses, midwives and other allied health professionals within a nominated department.
• To have or have the desire to obtain and use a non-medical prescribing qualification. 

Professional

• Work closely with and provide professional supervision to pharmacists and technical staff as needed during the provision of pharmaceutical care at ward level and within the dispensary.
• Provide guidance on the legal and ethical aspects of drug use as necessary.
• Ensure that security is maintained at all times, including that relating to computer systems.
• Participate in Continuing Professional Development as per the national guidelines of the General Pharmaceutical Council and the department policy.

General

• Communicate effectively with all health professionals, using verbal, written and electronic methods as appropriate.
• To respond positively and in a timely way to those changes which may occur and affect the nature, direction and delivery of pharmacy services.
•  To ensure that total confidentiality with regard to the business of the Trust is upheld at all times.
• To act in the best interests of patients at all times to ensure they receive safe, effective and timely care.

Clinical Governance/Quality

• To participate in the Trust’s Adverse Drug Reaction (ADR) Reporting Scheme, in accordance with other local and national initiatives/schemes and the requirements of Clinical Governance.
• To promote and implement the Trust’s Medicines management agenda: Including formulary, Prescribing Guidelines and policies to ensure the safe and cost effective use of medicines throughout the Trust and the Primary/Secondary Care interface.
• Undertake clinical audit within the hospital.

Education and Training Development

• To provide and participate in education and training programmes for Pharmacy staff, other health care staff and patients.  (This may include a role in undergraduate and post-graduate courses by agreement.)
• To act as a mentor to vocational students, pre-registration and rotational pharmacists when appropriate.
• Education of pharmacy, medical, nursing and other staff in medicines management
• The post-holder must comply with all Trust policies and procedures and attend all necessary mandatory training.

General

• Undertake any duties required by the Chief or Deputy Chief Pharmacist, commensurate with the grade of the post.
• Comply with the legal and other requirements related to the purchase, supply, use, safe custody and destruction of medicines within the pharmacy and in all other clinical areas of the hospital, reporting any areas of concern to the Chief or Deputy Chief Pharmacist.
• Maintain safe systems of work under relevant current and future legislation e.g. COSHH, Health and Safety at Work Act, Medicines Act.
• Provide professional and legal clinical supervision and act as the designated Responsible Pharmacist in the dispensary as allocated.
• Prepare pharmacy rotas as required.
• Participate as necessary in the on call, Saturday, Sunday, Bank Holiday and emergency duty rotas.