Band 8A Senior Specialist Pharmacist – Gastroenterology

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The post-holder will be expected to contribute to the safe, clinically effective, and cost-efficient use of medicines to optimise patient care including;
CLINICAL RESPONSIBILITIES
To provide a high-quality clinical pharmacy service as part of the multidisciplinary team to gastroenterology patients, to ensure maximum efficacy, safety, and economic drug use and to demonstrate professional accountability to enhance patient care, including;
·         Regular attendance of consultant wards rounds and multidisciplinary team meetings
·         Demonstration of expert clinical knowledge
·         Delivery of a high quality, specialist ward-based pharmacy service including drug supply, review of highly complex medication regimens, drug history taking, drug interaction monitoring, adverse drug reaction monitoring and discharge planning
·         Communication of complex pharmaceutical information, according to the level of understanding, direct to patients/carers and healthcare professionals
·         To empathise and counsel patients/carers who may be distressed, on all aspects of their medication to aid compliance and understanding
·         To make clinical decisions where limited/conflicting information is available
·         Promotion of high quality and cost-effective prescribing
·         Contribute to the development of and ensuring adherence to evidence based prescribing guidelines
·         Making evidence-based decisions, in partnership with patients and other professionals within gastroenterology
·         Liaising with other ward pharmacists to ensure continuity of medicines management, and to implement systems for the effective transfer of medicines between wards
·         Development and review of Patient Group Directions
·         Development and review of Shared Care guidelines
·         Implementation of relevant local and national guidelines
·         Identify, implement, and evaluate Drug Usage Reviews
·         Audits
·         Actively involved in the development of relevant patient information leaflets which complement licensed product information
·         Provision of support on concordance related issues to patients
·   Provision of expert medicines information to clinicians and healthcare professionals and ensure that this information is utilised in a systematic and appropriate way to optimise patient care
·         To provide advice on high-cost drugs to facilitate the seamless transition of patient care between primary and secondary sectors, by liaising with consultants, Service Performance and Primary Healthcare Professionals
·         To liaise and work with other specialist pharmacists to share the best practice, to strengthen patient focused pharmaceutical care
·         To qualify as a supplementary/independent prescriber and to implement supplementary/independent prescribing within the specialist area
·         Management of high-costs drugs within IBD including clinical review and supply of medication via homecare, where appropriate
RESPONSIBILITY FOR PATIENTS
·         To assist in identifying and managing changes necessary to maintain a high-quality service responsive to patients needs and to consider the implications of changes for other areas/personnel
·         To assist in the planning and organising of a clinical pharmacy service to the gastroenterology patients in both the inpatient and outpatient settings
·         To deal effectively with situations where medication errors have occurred, including liaising directly with patients and staff concerned
·         Liaising with other pharmacists to ensure continuity of medicines management, and to implement systems for the effective transfer of medicines between primary or secondary care
·         Assist in responding to complaints from patients and the public in relation to medicines management issues, as required
·         To deliver a high quality and comprehensive medicines counselling service to patients and/or their relatives on all aspects of their pharmaceutical care including specialist and unlicensed drugs.  To overcome communication barriers through use of interpreters or other forms of communication
POLICY AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
·         To contribute to the continuing development of policies and procedures to ensure that gastroenterology complies with existing legal requirements and best practice in the field of gastroenterology and requirements of the Care Quality Commission.

• To identify, prioritise, and implement long term strategic plans for the gastroenterology service. Development of clinical pharmacy services in line with national guidance alongside the senior management team across all sites
• To contribute to the development of business plans for the development of the pharmacy service provided to the speciality
• To identify the risks of medicines use in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with key stake holders within the speciality
• To assist in the management of changes to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel
  
  FINANCIAL AND PHYSICAL RESOURCES

·         Provision of detailed evaluated reports on drug expenditure to the Division

• Identify options for reducing drug expenditure
• Management of the high-cost drugs within gastroenterology
• Forecasting new drug developments and identify changes in prescribing practice that may impact on the drugs budget
• Contributing to the annual pharmacy department drug cost pressure document
• Interpreting published data on new drugs for use within gastroenterology and to prepare evaluations and present applications to the Drugs, Therapeutics
• Liaising with the key decision makers to ensure provision of funding for high-cost drugs within the Directorate

LEADING AND MANAGING
·         To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forums, and bodies
·         To deputise for the principal pharmacist
·         To ensure that all pharmacy activities within the speciality are carried out in accordance with standard operating procedures and relevant medicines legislation
·         To ensure that all activities, procedures, and documentation meet the requirements of current legislation
·         To assist in the formulation, prioritisation, and implementation of long-term strategic plans for clinical pharmacy services in line with local, network and national objectives
·         To manage, appraise, support, and facilitate the development of junior pharmacists rotating through gastroenterology
·         To support and facilitate the development of junior pharmacists, foundation-trainee pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians
·         To assist in the management of changes that need to occur to maximise patient care and to consider and act upon the implications of the change to other areas/personnel
·         To manage difficult and ambiguous situations and be aware of ethical dilemmas that may present in patient care and provide support and guidance to colleagues in any decision-making process
·         To contribute to the implementation of the risk management and Trust Clinical Governance agenda within the directorate
·         To identify the risks of medicines use in the directorate and implement strategies to minimise them, working closely with the specialities clinical risk management committee
·         To attend and be an active participant in relevant clinical and managerial groups divisionally, corporately and externally, in order to ensure the delivery of best care to patients
·         To represent pharmacy and act as link person at relevant meetings and conferences and disseminate knowledge of developments to other staff
·         To act as an effective role model and provide advice and support on clinical issues to junior pharmacists and members of the multi-disciplinary team
·         To support the implementation of the trust pharmacy strategy by participating in trust and divisional initiatives to develop clinical pharmacy practice
·         To support an innovative approach to practice, whilst being aware of boundaries and limitations
·         To share expertise with healthcare professionals on a nationwide level through professional conferences, forums, and bodies

• To be competent in the use of JAC pharmacy system, Cerner/EPMA and other relevant hospital IT systems
• To be compliant with Trust Data Protection and Patient Confidentiality policies
• To prepare reports in response to freedom of information act enquiries.
• To assist in the implementation of electronic Medicines Management within the specialist areas

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

• To support relevant medical, nursing and pharmacy staff to ensure that gastroenterology trials are run efficiently and effectively
• To support clinical research and to monitor the relevant clinical trials protocols submitted to the ethical committee within the specialist area and identify and resolve pharmaceutical issues
• To provide expert specialist information to research nurses and consultants regarding new drugs and therapies to be used within clinical trials
• To undertake and co-ordinate clinical research and audit projects and publish or present these findings.  To supervise and advise other members of the pharmacy team on research projects
• To implement findings of research into clinical practice.

EDUCATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES
·         To act as a resource for gastroenterology issues across the trust and community, where appropriate/necessary
·         To participate in the development of clinical based pharmacy training programmes
·         To contribute to the departmental appraisal and development programme for junior pharmacists and technicians. Including participating in the departmental teaching commitments, acting as a tutor for diploma students and foundation trainee pharmacists
·         To contribute to the education and training of pharmacy, medical, nursing and other healthcare workers