Advanced Clinical Pharmacist For Mental Health

Job summary hours per week.We are seeking an exceptional pharmacist with a passion for mental health to join our pharmacyteam.
You will be a confident,motivated individual who will work closely with other health careprofessionals within the organisation to deliver a responsive and pro-activepeople focused service to continuously improve clinical pharmacy delivery within mental health.As part of a team of advanced clinical pharmacists in mental health you will have theunique opportunity to rotate and work across different areas within mental health and specialise in a chosen area.
You will be able to further develop your knowledge and careeraspirations.
You will also be involved in developing junior members of the team in mental health sharing your passion and inspiring them to continue in this fascinating, and increasingly important area.In this post your personal and professional development willbe key to achieving job satisfaction and success.
You will be supported in yourclinical and leadership development by the pharmacy senior leadership team and other members of the health care team, including Psychiatrists and specialist nurses.At LSW we support flexible working and value work lifebalance.
We currently provide pharmacy services Monday to Friday, withno on-call, late nights, weekend or bank holiday working.
We have free parking availableon site.Interviews will take place between 9th and 13th December 2024.
Main duties of the job This is a key role within LWSW and the Pharmacy Team, providingclinical and managerial support to the Mental Health Pharmacy Team.
You will be leading and delivering a high quality, specialised clinicalpharmacy service to mental health areas in the Organisation and linking withour System partners.You will be jointly responsible for the coordination of clinical pharmacy services towards, units, and service areas, including responding to and further developinga medicines information service whilst setting standards for the juniorpharmacists to emulate.
They will lead on and develop clinical auditswithin mental health and have the opportunity be involved in research andfurther develop their career.You will have input into the strategic development of Medicines Optimisation inMental Health Services and hold a highly visible role within the organisation.You will be a pharmacist with a passion and commitment in this area who wantsto help develop the service whilst ensuring medicine related governance is inplace, bringing the additional skills of an experienced pharmacist to the team.This role may not be eligible for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker route.Please note that LWSW may close the job advertisement earlier than the specified deadline if a high number of applications are submitted.
Therefore, we recommend you submit your application at the earliest opportunity.All Livewell staff are expected to be able and willing to work across a 7 day service.
About us Livewell Southwest is an independent, award-winning social enterprise providing integrated health & social care services for people across Plymouth, South Hams & West Devon, as well as some specialist services for people living in parts of Devon & Cornwall.
With teams in community hospitals, GP practices, sports centres, health & wellbeing hubs.As an organisation with a strong social conscience, we always value being kind, respectful, inclusive, ambitious, responsible and collaborative.
Transforming services to make them sustainable, ensuring that we value, support & empower each other.We are committed to involving the people we care for, families & carers in everything that we do, working towards co-production where we can.
Helping us to deliver the right care for people, in the right place & at the right time.
By putting people at the centre of what we do, we ensure to support people to lead, healthy independent lives & be the very best at helping people to live well.Valuing our employees making an investment in their development a priority.
We offer:Protected CPD time for registered staffVarious development pathways and ongoing regular training packages for all staffLeadership & mentoring programmesAccess & funding for training including Care Certificate, Assistant Practitioners Course & Scholarship Into Nurse TrainingA Robust PreceptorshipA bespoke induction programmeExisting members of the NHS Pension Scheme can continue their membership when they join the organisation.
Job description Job responsibilities Clinical / Professional Tobe responsible for and lead the provision of a high quality, specialisedclinical pharmacy service to ensure the safe, clinically effective and cost-efficientuse of drugs in mental health.Tobe responsible for the delivery of the clinical pharmacy services to nominatedareas, including attendance at consultant ward rounds, providing expertpharmaceutical advice and setting standards for junior pharmacists to emulate.Tobe responsible for the provision of professional pharmaceutical advice tohealthcare colleagues, patients, and carers asnecessary.To develop and monitor pharmacy initiatives such asmedicines reconciliation on admission and provision of discharge summaries toGPs, which promote seamless transfer of patients from secondary care to primarycare and vice versa.To beresponsible for the development of ward/unit based pharmaceutical careinitiatives self-medication schemes, use of patients own drugs inhospital, one-stop dispensing, patient and carer counselling, dischargeplanning, assessing patient concordance and improved communication with primarycare healthcare professionals withinmental health.Tolead on and develop policy or service changes within Mental Health whichimprove ward or community services and be responsible for their implementation.Topromote and monitor compliance with the South and West Devon Joint Formularyand to assist in formulary applications and review for medicines to be used inMental Health.To be responsible for monitoring prescribing practice topromote cost-effective and economic use of resources and contribute to theestablishment and implementation of prescribing guidelines within mental health.Tobe lead on and be responsible for reporting and review of clinical and otherpharmacy related audits within mental health.Tobe responsible for the development of junior pharmacy staff within mentalhealth including rotational pharmacists and trainee pharmacistsTo provideevidence of Continuing Professional Development on an annual basis atappraisal, in accordance with guidance issued by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).Tocover for ward pharmacists as required, during periods of absenceOccasionaldispensary cover including dispensing and checking of medication followinglocal SOPs.Analytical and Judgemental SkillsHave highly developed skiIls foranalysing drug, patient intimation in mental health in order to provide adviceon medicines, dosages, production issues/ in areas where information is lackingand medical or other opinion differsClinical screening of prescriptioncharts and discharge prescriptions, to ensure prescriptions are safe and appropriate.Responding to and recording medicinesinformation requests from prescribers and other healthcare professionalsrelating to mental health and providing advice on medicines proactively.
Inmany cases this is a complex task involving highly specialist up to dateknowledge, effective search strategies, evaluation of the evidence base andformulation of an appropriate response.To be responsible for the investigationand monitoring of medicines related incidents relating to mental health,recommending and implementing change as required to improve patient safety,collating these for discussion at pharmacy team meetings and at the Medicines Governance Group (MGG).Clinical GovernanceTo be responsible for and lead onclinical governance and risk management through interventions which optimisethe management of medicines in mental health, supporting best practicethroughout all areas of responsibilityTo participate in and leadmultidisciplinary groups in the review and development of selected medicinesrelated policies and procedures relating to mental health and present to theMGG.To lead on the development and review ofdocuments Patient Group Directions, Policies, Guidelines and Protocolsrelating to mental health and presenting reviewed documents to the MGG To support professional leads inidentifying and addressing evidence-based medicine practice consistent with therequirements of clinical governance and of national directivesTo work with the Pharmacy SeniorManagement Team to lead on continuous quality improvement projects and auditwithin mental healthManagerialTo providementoring, training, supervision and line management of mental healthsubstantive and rotational pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other pharmacystaff and students as required, including appraisals and performance reviews.Toorganise the trainee pharmacist timetable when they rotate through mentalhealthToact as Designated Supervisor to a Trainee Pharmacist annually as required.To mentor/buddy other NMPswithin Mental Health.
To Act as a Designated PrescribingPractitioner, Educational supervisor or Practice Supervisor as appropriate formembers of the team undertaking their independent prescribing training.Freedom to ActPharmacists are expected to work largelyunsupervised and to act on their own professional judgement.Clinical supervision from another healthprofessional can be arranged and is to be encouraged.Technical roles are defined by standardoperating procedures which should always be followed.Clinical roles are supported by policiesand guidelines within which the pharmacist is allowed professional discretion / interpretation.This roleincludes setting the parameters under which other pharmacy staff will operate.Training andEducationTo lead on the training and developmentof pharmacy staff within Mental Health and support training of other staffmembers within the team as appropriateTo plan, develop and deliver appropriatetraining and education to healthcare colleagues, carer groups and outsideagencies to promote the safe use and clinical application of medicines within mental healthTo beresponsible for and lead on the induction of new pharmacy staff with mental health To assist and lead, where appropriate,on the training provided to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and otherpharmacy staffHealth, Safety andSecurityTo worksafely in the dispensary, ward and office environments ensuring any risksidentified to health and safety are managed or escalated to line managerTo ensuresafety and security of medicines, prescription stationery and patientidentifiable documents according to locally agreed standard operating procedures.To informline manager of any breaches of safety or security or if agreed procedures arethought to be inadequate to manage the risk.COMMUNICATIONS AND RELATIONSHIPS The ability tocommunicate highly complex drug or medicine related information to prescribers,clinicians, patients, relatives within the mental health service.
Well-developed verbal andwritten communications skills (including telephone and email) are essential tothe role.To liaise with all levelsof healthcare staff and professionals working in the multidisciplinary team within mental health.The ability to challengeand accept professional challenge from other health care professionalsTo liaise with patientsand carers, the acute hospitals, doctors, GPs, community nurses and communitypharmacists to ensure appropriate supply ofmedicines.To communicate pharmacy /medication issues clearly and concisely at team meetings and governance groupsTowork virtually through use of technology where required.PHYSICAL DEMANDS OF THE JOB There is a need to travel between units in a timely fashion,therefore ability to drive and to use own car is an advantage.Goodkeyboard / computer skills are essential.Limitedmanual handling of static loads.
Person Specification Experience Essential Experience as a practising pharmacist, including experience of working in mental health and as a member of a Multidisciplinary Team Experience of networking with other healthcare professionals across the full range of disciplines at all levels Experience of review and development of pharmacy / medication related policies, procedures and PGDs Experience of audit work Experience of delivering education to healthcare staff and patients / carers via workshops, informal discussion or formal lectures Desirable Experience of preparing documents for clinical governance groups and presenting these to a committee Experience of leading on audit and producing reports Experience of mentoring, supervision and line management Experience of influencing, negotiating and implementing change in practice Qualifications Essential Masters Degree (or equivalent) in Pharmacy Registered Practising Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council Specialist knowledge acquired by postgraduate diploma or equivalent evidence of specialist knowledge, competence and achievements in practice in mental health Evidence of Continuing Professional Development and revalidation Desirable Postgraduate qualification in psychiatric pharmacy Member of specialist interest groups Working towards membership of the RPS Faculty or towards being a credentialed member of the College of Mental Health Pharmacy Independent prescriber or willingness to work towards Skills Essential Excellent communication and interpersonal skills including verbal, written and formal presentation skills for a wide variety of audiences Computer literate including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Email and Internet Excellent critical appraisal and analytical skills, with a sound understanding of evidence based medicine Good listening skills & excellent networking / negotiating skills Can work with and influence managers, nursing and medical staff Leadership and team working skills Ability to act as an excellent role model or mentor Self-motivated and able to motivate others with enthusiasm Able to reflect on and appraise own performance and that of others Ability to plan and prioritise own work and that of others with good organisational and time- management skills Able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines Ability to travel across the LSW area Desirable Ability to influence and negotiate with a range of stakeholders to implement change in practice Able to resolve conflict and disagreement Ability to manage change Access to own transport Knowledge Essential Excellent knowledge of clinical pharmacy as it relates to mental health and substance misuse Knowledge and understanding of antimicrobial stewardship Understanding of non-medical prescribing, patient group directions and other alternatives to medical prescribing Aware of current healthcare targets, NICE guidance and other national directives and the implications for implementation in primary and secondary care Desirable Highly specialised knowledge of drug use within mental health and substance misuse Broad knowledge of the structure, organisation and priorities of the NHS and other healthcare services at a national and local level