Clinical Primary Care Pharmacist - LIMOS

Job overview

Interested in working in developing your clinical skills and working in the community setting?

An exciting vacancy has arisen for a motivated, patient centred pharmacist with strong clinical skills to work across both the interface and community setting as part of the domiciliary care arm of the Lewisham Integrated Medicines Optimisation Service.

This is a unique opportunity to work in an award winning service and gain experience in working with older people across care systems to improve independent and safe use of medicines whilst addressing challenges around overprescribing.

Responsibilities includes providing direct patient care and holistic patient centred structured medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy and adherence concerns, in older people and those with multiple long term conditions. The role involves visiting patients both in the hospital and home setting as an integrated approach as part of existing pathways of medicines support in Lewisham and further evolving models of Neighbourhood Care.

This post requires close partnership and team working with members of the MDT to co-ordinate medicines related aspects of care across both health and social care interfaces.

Whilst experience in primary care is not essential, an interest in older people, strong communication skills and lots of enthusiasm to working as part of multidisciplinary approach care are essential.

Main duties of the job

The award winning LIMOS service provides a formal pathway for the referral of patients with medicine-related problems for assessment, support and follow-up by a specialist pharmacy team, working across primary and secondary, and health and social care interfaces. Joint polices around medicines support across health have enabled a collaborative approach to care across the pharmacy and wider workforce.

As a patient facing role, the role offers a great opportunity to utilise and further develop strong clinical skills as an independent prescriber as part of a Neighbourhood team approach to care.

Being supported by a network of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, this post is an exciting opportunity to work in the primary care and interface setting. but maintain strong links with pharmacy colleagues in both secondary and community settings. This close working also includes the ability to access continuing professional development via peer learning events with pharmacy professionals within both secondary care and community settings.

The postholder would work across the Borough, delivering care to an allocated neighbourhood and be based at either South Lewisham Health Centre or University hospital Lewisham.

As a patient facing role, regular home working is not included within this role. However some hybrid working may be required when working in the community setting.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Purpose

To support the Lewisham Integrated Medicines Optimisation Service (LIMOS) across community, interface and care home settings, providing specialist medicines optimisation for patients with complex polypharmacy, adherence issues and long-term conditions. The post holder will undertake patient-centred medication reviews, provide prescribing and medicines management advice, and work collaboratively across primary, secondary, community and social care services to improve patient outcomes, safety and continuity of care.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct comprehensive medication reviews for high-risk and vulnerable patients, including older people, frail housebound patients, and those with multiple long-term conditions.
• Optimise medicines use to improve adherence, reduce medicines-related harm, hospital admissions and avoidable waste.
• Prescribe independently within agreed scope of practice and provide specialist advice to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.
• Support safe transfer of care through medicines reconciliation and communication across primary and secondary care interfaces.
• Contribute to quality improvement, clinical audit, service evaluation and data collection to demonstrate outcomes.
• Support implementation of prescribing initiatives, formulary guidance, shared care protocols and medicines optimisation programmes.
• Provide education, training and clinical leadership on medicines optimisation for multidisciplinary teams across health and social care.
• Work with GP practices, community pharmacies, PCNs, the ICB and hospital services to improve prescribing quality, safety and cost-effectiveness.
• Develop and improve systems and pathways relating to medicines ordering, supply, repeat prescribing and medicines support services.
• Accurately document clinical activity and maintain appropriate records on Trust and primary care clinical systems.

Key Outcomes

• Improved medicines optimisation and patient safety.
• Reduced medicines-related admissions and avoidable harm.
• Enhanced patient adherence and experience.
• Delivery of commissioned service objectives and performance targets.
• Improved integration of care across community, primary and secondary care settings.
• Increased prescribing quality, effectiveness and value for money.

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.