Specialist Clinical Pharmacist

Job overview

Are you looking for a challenge in a new clinical area based in County Durham?

Our pharmacists make a real difference to the mental health of the people who most need support across our communities. The roles are patient facing with time to develop advanced clinical skills whilst caring for those in need as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

This  post will be based at Lanchester Road Hospital in Durham, delivering services to wards across the locality. The successful candidate will be delivering the in-patient service with the support of pharmacy technicians. They will be supported by a very experienced team of senior pharmacists.

Our pharmacists can work flexibly within the needs of the service. Use of flexi-time is standard for all staff,  we can offer flexible working arrangements to support your well-being and a healthy work-life balance. Weekend working is limited to half days on only 1 or 2 weekends per year. There are no late nights, and the on-call rota is currently covered with pharmacists opting in.

There are many benefits to working for TEWV including free access to well-being support, free car parking, lease car schemes and excellent annual leave entitlements.

Main duties of the job

We are looking for an experienced pharmacist wishing to specialise in mental health having already developed through their newly qualified pharmacist pathway.   You should have enthusiasm, confidence and drive to make a real difference to the lives of patients with mental illness. Previous mental health experience is desirable, but training will be provided; however, you should be able to demonstrate a sound understanding of other areas of pharmacy and of mental health conditions and the medication used for them.

You should have experience of patient counselling, prescription screening/checking and have underpinning clinical pharmacy skills and knowledge. Excellent communication skills are essential.

In addition to this, the postholder should have experience of providing clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation services in a hospital setting. You should have experience of patient counselling, prescription screening/checking and have underpinning clinical pharmacy skills and knowledge, ideally demonstrated through current study of, or attainment of a clinical diploma.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Our teams are friendly, supportive, and committed to providing the best possible services.  We developed a 5-year Medicines Optimisation and Pharmacy Framework, which was co-created with the team enabling a shared set of themes and priorities.  The trust has also co-created a direction of travel known as Our Journey to Change.

The Pharmacy team in TEWV has over 100 people including drivers, pharmacy assistants, admin, nurses, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.  Individual team members are spread across multiple sites, with a dispensary in each of our 3 localities.  The locality teams work independently, but come together to agree standards and best practice, learning from each other to improve.

We are committed to developing our staff and can provide the opportunity to undertake post graduate qualifications including independent non-medical prescribing and the Aston University Post Graduate Certificate in Psychiatric Therapeutics. The Trust is committed to Quality Improvement Systems and there will be opportunities to development your skills using these tools.

If you are interested in this role then we would encourage you to contact us for more information either before or after applying.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification for further detailed information to ensure that you meet the role criteria .

The successful postholder will work as a Specialist Clinical Pharmacist within the Clinical Pharmacy Team, and liaise with professional staff and patients and carers; to deliver high quality pharmaceutical care for patients with complex, specialist mental health needs.

You will deliver the clinical pharmacy service and promote medicines optimisation within own specialist area and support the responsible 8a Senior Clinical Pharmacist for the speciality/locality.

In addition to this, the postholder will support and be involved in clinical pharmacy service developments as needs or opportunities arise.

You will participate in audit and clinical trials within own clinical specialism.

You will promote at all times a positive image of people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities.

You will promote at all times a positive image of the Pharmacy department and profession and the wider Trust.

The successful postholder should be capable of independent travel, to be able to support clinical services at all sites within the locality.

This role may be eligible for sponsorship under the UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker route. However, sponsorship can only be provided where applicants meet the specific requirements, therefore, we recommend that you assess your eligibility before applying for this position. Visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

This job advert may close early if a high volume of applications have been received. If interested, please apply for this post as soon as possible.