Job summary
- Main area
- Pharmacy
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week (Seven day working, late duty and senior on-call commitment)
- Job ref
- 343-7283565-FM-AG
- Employer
- Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- St Helier
- Town
- Carshalton
- Salary
- £59,490 - £66,239 Pro-rata pa inc HCAS (Outer London)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 20/07/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Principal Pharmacist, Biologics
Band 8a
At Epsom and St Helier Hospitals, above all we value respect. We put respect at the heart of all we do, by living up to our shared behaviours of kindness, professionalism, positivity and teamwork. This enables us to provide great patient care and make ESTH a great place to work. When you sign up to work with us, you sign up to this and we welcome applicants who share our values.
Job overview
We are looking for a proactive and dynamic individual with the requisite knowledge, skills, experience, and expertise to join our team to provide a high quality specialist pharmacy service for patients using biologics and high cost drugs.
Due to service expansion, and in collaboration with the existing Principal Pharmacist, this is a unique opportunity to lead, strategically develop, and deliver a specialist service for patients requiring biologics and high cost drugs, including via homecare. This will include working closely with multidisciplinary teams within defined specialties and using independent prescribing to provide pharmacist-led clinics to optimise the use of biologics and high-cost drugs to improve patient care. It will also include contributing to the development and tracking of Cost Improvement Plans (CIPs), including biosimilar switching programmes.
You will also be involved in the development of Trustwide treatment guidelines and protocols, divisional reporting, clinical audit, risk management, multi-professional teaching, and supervision of other pharmacy staff.
The post includes participation in the late duty, weekend, bank holiday and senior on-call rotas.
Main duties of the job
• To be responsible for leading, managing, strategically developing and delivering a specialist pharmacy service for patients requiring biologics and high cost drugs, including via homecare.
• To provide specialist advice regarding the use of biologics and high cost drugs for patients and clinicians across the Trust and facilitate good prescribing practice in these areas.
• To work as part of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) within a defined specialty and to use independent prescribing to provide pharmacist-led clinics to ensure the optimal use of biologics and high-cost drugs to improve patient care.
• To develop, implement, evaluate and monitor medicines management guidelines, policies and procedures related to biologics and high cost drugs, in collaboration with appropriate specialists and in line with national guidance.
• To undertake risk assessments and ensure compliance with medicines legislation within the relevant areas.
• To contribute to the development and tracking of Cost Improvement Plans (CIPs), particularly relating to biologics and high-cost drugs, to achieve Trust and system savings, including biosimilar switching programmes.
• To work collaboratively with South West London and Surrey Integrated Care Systems High Cost Drugs teams to implement NICE Technology Appraisal guidance and local policies regarding biologics and high cost drugs.
• To provide education and training to pharmacy staff and other health care professionals as required.
Working for our organisation
Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust provides a range of medical services to approximately 490,000 people living across southwest London and northeast Surrey. In addition, we provide more specialist services, in particular renal and neonatal intensive care, to a wider area, covering parts of Sussex and Hampshire.
We serve an area that is rich in diversity, with a mix of urban and rural areas, and differing levels of quality of life. We cover some of the most prosperous postcodes in the country, as well as some poorer areas. Together with our colleagues at NHS Surrey and NHS Sutton and Merton, we work to make sure that we deliver the best possible care to the communities we serve.
The Trust employs approximately 5,000 staff across its hospitals and is supported by over 500 volunteers.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the attached supporting job description and person specification document which contains more information about the role and requirements. Please ensure your application refers to the job description and person specification.
Person specification
Qualifications and Training
Essential criteria
- Masters in Pharmacy Degree – MPharm
- 1 year pre-registration training Professional registration with General Pharmaceutical Council
- Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- Membership of Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Member of the faculty of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (or working towards) at Faculty Advanced Stage II or Advanced level practice against the Core Advanced Curriculum
- Independent Prescriber
- Leadership/management qualification
Experience & Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Extensive post registration hospital experience
- Demonstrate a good understanding of biologics and areas of medicine where these are used
- Understanding of Homecare service issues
- Significant and relevant clinical experience
- Demonstrates evidence of excellent clinical knowledge and skills
- Experience in liaison across the primary/secondary care interface
- Experience of developing and leading on projects including change management and service development
- Staff training and appraisal, including providing feedback on performance
- Previous management experience with responsibility for pharmacy staff
- Principles of Clinical Governance
- Knowledge of funding routes and commissioning of high cost drugs
Desirable criteria
- Knowledge of CMM (formerly JAC) pharmacy computer system
- Risk management and assessment
- Procedure and business plan writing
- An understanding of how digital tools / EPR functionality can improve clinical practice in the hospital setting
- Experience of biologics and high cost drugs
- Demonstrates a whole system patient focused approach to work
- Experience of using Blueteq funding system
Skills/abilities
Essential criteria
- Excellent organisational and time management skills-self and others
- Computer literate including familiarity with electronic prescribing systems
- Demonstrates initiative and problem solving skills
- Excellent time management
- Excellent communication skills-verbal and written
- Excellent numeracy skills
- Ability to work under pressure and prioritise work
- Ability to motivate self and others
- Able to influence and negotiate with all grades of staff
- Excellent interpersonal skills
- Team player with leadership skills
- Demonstrates ability to plan develop and implement
- Knowledge and experience of clinical audit methodology
Desirable criteria
- Up to date on changes to pharmacy and hospital standards
- Ability to implement and manage change
- In-depth understanding of the principles of Quality Improvement
- Ability to understand the needs of a breadth of stakeholders, including patients, and develop solutions
Your application: Please ensure that you have read the job description and person specification and that your supporting statement reflects these, as your application will be assessed and scored against these criteria.
References: You will be required to provide 3 years of employment/educational history. We do not accept references from personal email addresses such as Hotmail, Gmail etc. therefore please ensure you are providing professional working email addresses within your application form. If you are unable to provide professional email addresses and are invited to an interview, please ensure you advise the interviewers of this - otherwise, this may delay your pre-employment checks.
Closing date: In order to streamline recruitment within our Trust, we reserve the right to expire vacancies prior to the advertised closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications.
Shortlisting: You will only be contacted via e-mail/SMS by the SWL Recruitment Hub if you are successfully shortlisted for this post. Please ensure that you check your Trac registered e-mail regularly.
DBS: We are committed to safeguarding children and adults who are at risk of abuse. As such, if this post will have access to children or vulnerable adults, you will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check. However, all employees have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults in the course of their duties and for ensuring that they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
Telephone: 02082963786
Text: 07501066267
Email: [email protected]. Employer certification / accreditation badges
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Applicant requirements
You must have appropriate UK professional registration.
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Amy Fox
- Job title
- Lead Pharmacist Formulary & Medicines Optimisation
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 0208 296 2000
- Additional information
0208 296 2000 Extension: 6075
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