Advanced Specialist Pharmacist - Physical Health

Job overview

This role provides specialist clinical pharmacy support within the Primary Healthcare team at West London Forensic Services, focusing on the optimisation of physical health medications for patients with mental health conditions. As an Advanced Specialist Pharmacist, the post-holder will work alongside a multidisciplinary team to ensure safe, effective, and evidence-based use of medicines for physical health management, particularly in populations with complex forensic mental health needs.

This fixed-term post is an ideal opportunity for an experienced pharmacist with a strong background in physical healthcare and a passion for improving the physical health outcomes of mental health service users.

The successful candidate will need to be confident working autonomously within a forensic mental health setting, with strong communication and collaborative working skills.

Experience with managing metabolic health, cardiovascular risk, and weight management interventions is essential, as is the ability to contribute to ongoing clinical and service development work.

Main duties of the job

A key area of focus in this role is the review and management of medications related to metabolic health, including the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight management in patients with antipsychotic-induced weight gain and metabolic syndrome. The successful candidate will take a lead on this initiative, ensuring appropriate prescribing, monitoring, and outcomes evaluation in line with national guidance and local policy.

Other responsibilities include conducting physical health medicines reviews, supporting clinical staff with prescribing queries, contributing to patient care planning, and identifying opportunities to improve prescribing practices through audits and service development projects. Close collaboration with physical and mental health teams is essential to enhance patient outcomes in secure settings.

The role also involves line management of senior (band 8a) pharmacists, supporting their development and ensuring consistent clinical standards.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.

The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.