Advanced Pharmacist - Critical Care

Job overview

Main duties of the job

To have responsibility for delivering and developing specialist clinical pharmaceutical services to Critical Care. This will include the provision of expert advice on all pharmaceutical matters in line with application of legislation, national guidance and regulatory frameworks (e.g. CQC).

To actively participate in consultant and MDT ward rounds with joint regular reviews of prescriptions.

To ensure seamless pharmaceutical care during admission and on discharge from Critical Care. This includes ensuring medicine reconciliation takes place on the unit if not previously done on admission. Ensuring communication with the MDT and accurate documentation where discrepancies are noted.

To provide handover (verbal or written) to other pharmacist colleagues for patients transferred from Critical Care to ensure continuity of care.

To liaise with other health care professionals in primary care or other hospitals to ensure full information regarding a patient’s drug history is available and there is no delay to patients receiving ongoing further supplies of medicines.

To work with the Critical care practice development team to provide education for the MDT on pharmaceutical matters.

To prescribe medicines to patients as laid out in the non-medical prescribing scope of practice. To undertake all prescribing as per Trust prescribing standard.

To attend Critical Care MDT meetings to discuss pharmaceutical care of current inpatients.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Communication

To ensure seamless pharmaceutical care during admission and on discharge from Critical Care. This includes ensuring medicine reconciliation takes place on the unit if not previously done on admission.

Ensuring communication with the MDT and accurate documentation where discrepancies are noted.

To provide handover (verbal or written) to other pharmacist colleagues for patients discharged from Critical Care to ensure continuity of care.

To work with the Critical care practice development (PD) team to provide education for the MDT on pharmaceutical matters.

To communicate with Critical Care team, and EPMA pharmacist to ensure prescribing system is up-to-date relating to formulary, clinical guidelines and policies.

Planning and Organising To monitor and report on drug spend within Critical Care, and theatres, noting reasons for variance (including changes in prescribing practice) and to identify priority areas for action to reduce expenditure or justify appropriate budgetary changes and methods of funding treatment.

To highlight potential implications of the introduction of new medicines and national guidance (e.g. NICE publications) on the directorate, Trust expenditure and continued prescribing issues in primary care

Personal and People development To supervise and facilitate ongoing training of foundation trainee pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and early career pharmacists. This may include accompanied ward visits and ward rounds including joint review of prescriptions.

To contribute to competency assessments and testimonials required of training records.

To act as mentor or tutor for junior pharmacists working within Critical Care.

To line manage one or more junior pharmacists or pharmacy technicians.

To undertake regular 1:1s, annual appraisals and provide ongoing support.

To provide educational training on medicines management topics related to own area of expertise to medical, nursing and other clinical staff within the Trust.

This will include working with Critical Care teaching staff in developing training content and delivery for the provision of training sessions for Critical Care nursing staff and healthcare assistants. In addition, to help in the supporting of staff for any additional educational requirements in response to learning from medication errors.

To contribute to the training and competency assessment of junior rotational medical staff for safe prescribing at discharge of the for electronic prescribing in Critical Care patients.

To monitor and work with staff on analysis of any medication errors (prescribing and administration) in order that staff can pro-actively learn from any errors and practice changes are made as a result.

To provide induction training sessions for all resident doctors on rotation to the Critical Care Unit.

To undertake personal development and continuing education and training as necessary, ensuring a high level of competency and clinical knowledge in order to provide a highly specialist pharmacist role. To maintain own CPD records as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

To achieve accreditation with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society as an Advanced Specialist Practitioner.

Health, safety and security To promote the safe, cost-effective and evidence based use of medicines throughout the business unit (including Theatres, and Recovery) and offer specialist knowledge and expertise on drug therapy. To participate in the review of the Trust formulary for medicines used in specialist area of practice. To assist consultant medical staff in any formulary submissions to the New Medicine Group (NMG), ensuring that prior approval by the divisional management has been gained prior to NMG approval. To identify any risk management or clinical governance issues with the use of medicines within the division and liaise with those staff who may need to be aware of the risks and initiate remedial action, ensuring safe practice at all times. To work collaboratively with ward managers to ensure the safe and secure storage and handling of medicines, including controlled drugs in Critical Care and in line with CQC requirements. To provide advice and where necessary conduct risk assessments with Critical Care staff when issues of policy compliance may occur. To review the ward inventory (stock list) on a 3 monthly basis to ensure the continuing needs of the unit are met and that stock issues are in line with knowledge of prescribing practice and medicines administration records on the unit.

Service Improvement To be responsible for the development of pharmaceutical policies and procedures within Critical Care. To initiate and implement clinical guidelines and other multi-disciplinary protocols relating to the safe and cost-effective use of medicines for patients within Critical Care thereby ensuring that patients receive optimal medical therapies whilst also ensuring their use has been sanctioned through due process within the Trust medicines management strategy. To work with lead Intensivist/s to ensure that any Critical Care specific medicine related clinical guidelines are available and regularly updated on the Trust internal website. To foster, participate in or undertake practice research and clinical audit in specialist area of pharmaceutical practice. To undertake drug utilisation reviews ensuring that prescribing represents best value for money in terms of cost effectiveness as well as efficacy. Ensure that any changes meet the Trust and directorate SIP targets and are measurable and accurate. To assist the lead pharmacist for Clinical Trials with any prospective clinical trials that are proposed and running in Critical Care and Theatres. Thematically review existing medication practices, incident reporting and other intelligence to support safer medication practices. To contribute to and where necessary prepare business cases for additional pharmaceutical resources (staffing, equipment or service development) in conjunction with Critical Care management and the Chief Pharmacist.

Quality To work as an Independent prescriber alongside other MDT members of the Critical Care team. To work with all other clinical pharmacists in the provision of an out of hours on call service for advice and emergency supplies of medicines. To support the provision of a limited pharmacy service over weekends (for Saturday and Sunday sessions) and bank holidays on a rotational basis. This role includes weekend working and on-call commitments.

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.