Specialist Pharmacist, Children and Young People's Cancer Services

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, highly motivated pharmacist to enhance their paediatric or oncology experience and join the Children and Young People’s (CYP) pharmacy team on the Sutton site at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. The successful candidate will be working collaboratively as part of a friendly and supportive multidisciplinary team to enhance the patient experience and support the Lead Pharmacist in leading the team to deliver outstanding pharmacy services to the CYP Unit. We are looking for an individual who is motivated, dynamic, and flexible. The Royal Marsden's Oak Centre for CYP is one of the largest comprehensive children and young people’s cancer centres in Europe. We treat a range of paediatric and young adult cancers (leukaemia, lymphomas, solid and brain tumours) in patients from 1 to 24 years of age. The Royal Marsden is one of the largest UK bone marrow transplant units for patients with malignant disease and are accredited by the Joint Accreditation Committee of the International Society for Cellular Therapy and the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (JACIE). You will work to be accredited to manage patients undergoing bone marrow transplantations. The in-patient wards (McElwain ward and Teenage Cancer Trust Unit) deliver treatment 7 days a week to up to 27 patients. The Children’s Day Unit is open Monday to Friday for outpatient care.

Main duties of the job

• To lead, deliver, develop and evaluate clinical pharmacy services to the Paediatric Unit in accordance with the Clinical Services guidelines
• To provide a framework for the safe, efficient and cost effective use of medicine resources within the Paediatric Unit, by the provision of effective ward based services, education and training, procedures, policies and guidelines, and medicines usage information.
• To develop and maintain highly specialist knowledge in medicines used within Paediatric oncology. To act as a role model for pharmacy in the field and ensure a consistently high pharmaceutical service for the paediatric unit in line with national standards, Trust strategy and the NHS Plan.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information please refer to the Job Description & Person Specification

• Identify any systematic or preventable errors associated with medicines used within the Paediatric Unit and facilitate learning
• To proactively develop clinical pharmacy services in the paediatric setting in line with local and national objectives including National Service Specification and NICE Improving Outcomes Guidance
• Facilitate effective communication about relevant pharmacy issues to clinicians and senior managers and the identification of opportunities for the development of pharmacy services to match identified service and care needs
• To monitor and interpret published evidence in order to implement agreed policies aimed at improving treatment outcome.
• To develop and maintain drug protocols and treatment guidelines for disease management within the clinical unit, following drug evaluations and drug utilisation review
• To provide evaluated pharmaceutical information to the Drug and Therapeutics Committee as requested
• To monitor prescribing trends and interpret computer reports of drug usage in order to provide detailed monthly drug expenditure reports for the lead clinicians, the Service Manager for Paediatrics and the Divisional Director, Cancer Services. Provide advice, where appropriate, on containing drug expenditure. This includes monitoring of high cost drugs expenditure.
• Liaising with Service Planning, Service Manager and clinical unit staff to forecast and identify changes in prescribing practices and new prescribing practices that may impact on the drugs budget

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.