Deputy Chief Pharmacist

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead for a Band 8c Deputy Chief Pharmacist.

We are seeking an experienced, dynamic, strategic, and motivated senior pharmacist who is passionate about pharmacy services. You will be responsible for driving forward the professional leadership and management of the Trust’s pharmacy services.

You will have knowledge and experience of national developments in medicines management and the critical role of the pharmacy team in delivering safe, high quality and clinically effective pharmacy services.

Main duties of the job

The role will provide strategic leadership and operational management across all aspects of the pharmacy operations and medicines management at the Trust.

As a key member of the Pharmacy Senior Team, the post holder works closely with senior pharmacy colleagues in promoting a collaborative culture, embedding effective leadership, inputting to strategic planning, and supporting the Trust’s governance framework and transformation agenda.

The role requires excellent organisation and leadership skills, a patient-centred approach, strong communication and influencing skills, resilience, and an ability to secure engagement from staff across the Trust and a broad range of service users. The Deputy Chief Pharmacist role supports the regulatory compliance (GPhC/CQC/ MHRA/NHSE) of the pharmacy service.

The post holder will ensure high quality and compassionate care to patients, with a strong emphasis on digital enablers, robust governance, clinical innovation and research.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• To support the delivery and continuous improvement of innovative, high quality, cost effective pharmacy services within the Trust in accordance with national and local priorities for healthcare.
• To help develop and drive a strategy that delivers a patient-focused clinical pharmacy service underpinned by an effective and efficient infrastructure of supportive services.
• To ensure that medicines are provided in a suitable form for inpatients and patients discharged from hospital and in a timely and safe  manner, with the appropriate professional advice to ensure effective use.
• To provide daily operational direction within the department to ensure that there is equitable distribution of human resources to meet the demands of patients and services.
• To be responsible for ensuring that departmental key performance indicators are effectively monitored and services managed to ensure that any deviations from agreed standards are resolved.
• To demonstrate effective leadership and management to support service improvement and transformation.
• To be a motivated and driven leader, with a clear vision for developing pharmacy services and motivating teams to work together for the benefit of service users.
• To identify the training and development needs of pharmacy staff, both managerial and professional, and implement programmes that enable the acquisition of knowledge and skills relevant to the needs of the individual and to the organisation.
• To help develop an environment where all staff are valued; that is open and participative; that looks critically at existing practices and processes and improves them; and that ensures all teams work effectively.
• To lead the clinical and operational delivery of pharmacy services across the organisation and be responsible for decision making at service and Trust level.
• To work on the pharmacy team late duty, weekend and on call rotas
• To develop and implement a clinical pharmacy model that focuses on the delivery of a high quality service throughout the patient journey with positive outcomes and improved patient experience.