Job overview
Band 8A Specialist Pharmacist - Acute Medicine
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated pharmacist to join the Acute Medicine Pharmacy Team at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.
This role will provide advanced clinical pharmacy leadership and specialist pharmaceutical care across Acute Medicine services, supporting the delivery of safe, effective and patient-centred care within a fast-paced acute hospital environment.
The post holder will work closely with multidisciplinary teams across Acute Medical Unit (AMU), Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC), Emergency pathways and medical wards to optimise medicines use, support timely patient flow and contribute to service transformation initiatives across the Trust.
The successful candidate will play a key role in advancing clinical pharmacy practice, supporting prescribing governance, developing workforce capability and driving quality improvement aligned with Trust and national priorities.
This is an excellent opportunity for a pharmacist with strong clinical and leadership skills who is passionate about acute care, medicines optimisation and innovation within hospital pharmacy services.
Main duties of the job
To provide a highly specialist clinical pharmacy service within Emergency Department and Acute Medicine, ensuring safe, effective and timely medicines optimisation across the patient pathway.
Lead and manage the delivery of a prescribing pharmacist service within Acute Medicine to support timely discharge, ensuring efficient patient flow and continuity of care.
Work as an independent prescriber, actively contributing to the prescribing service, undertaking clinical decision-making, and optimising medicines use for patients from admission through to discharge.
Facilitate the efficient and cost-effective use of medicines within their specialty and ensure that the Pharmacy team are part of and lead any innovative ways of working, to enhance patient care.
Support the lead in the development, delivery and continuous improvement of pharmacy services across Acute & Emergency Medicine.
Also act as a member of the senior pharmacy team and contribute to the strategic development of pharmacy services within the Trust.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Deliver highly specialist clinical pharmacy services to Acute Medicine patients.
- Provide expert medicines optimisation advice to medical, nursing and pharmacy teams.
- Support early clinical screening, discharge facilitation and patient flow initiatives.
- Participate in multidisciplinary ward rounds and clinical decision-making.
- Support safe and effective prescribing practices, including independent prescribing where applicable.
- Lead and contribute to service development, audit, governance and quality improvement projects.
- Support education, supervision and development of pharmacists, trainee pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
- Contribute to medicines safety initiatives and implementation of Trust policies and national guidance.
- Work collaboratively with operational pharmacy teams to support safe and efficient service delivery.
- Participate in late duties, weekend, bank holiday and on-call rotas as required.
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the job role.
WhatsApp job alerts
Get instant WhatsApp alerts for Band 8 Pharmacy roles in Reading
Create your Job Clerk account first. We'll collect your alert preferences during onboarding and help you turn on WhatsApp notifications for matching NHS roles.
Applying for this NHS job
This advert is for Specialist Pharmacist - Acute Medicine with Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust in Reading, South East, England. It is listed as a Band 8 Pharmacist role. The advertised salary is £57,528 - £64,750 per annum. The contract type is Permanent. The application deadline is 21 Jun 2026.
Before you apply, compare the job description with the person specification and mirror the employer's essential criteria in your supporting information. Use the vacancy title, employer, location, salary, contract type, closing date and posted date (03 Jun 2026) to decide whether this role fits your current NHS job search. If the employer can close applications early, prepare the application before the stated deadline rather than waiting for the final day.
For more context, review related Job Clerk pages for the same profession, band or location where they exist, then use the application-support guides to tailor your statement and prepare for interview.