University Hospitals of Liverpool Group Chief Pharmacist

Job overview

Liverpool University Hospitals Group and The Walton Centre Foundation Trust are seeking an exceptional and forward-thinking pharmacist to join our leadership teams as Chief Pharmacist. As the Group’s most senior lead for medicines use and pharmacy services, you will work with Site Directors of Pharmacy and Hospital Leadership Teams to deliver safe, effective and financially sustainable use of medicines.

Significant investments in Pharmacy Services over the last 3 years are delivering real improvements for the population we serve.

As the Group’s senior professional lead for pharmacy and medicines management, you will be responsible for ensuring the safe, effective and financially sustainable use of medicines across inpatient, outpatient and community services. You will provide strategic leadership for medicines safety, clinical governance, workforce development, service transformation and medicines optimisation, while acting as the principal adviser on pharmaceutical matters.

This influential leadership role offers the opportunity to shape services across the Group and wider health system, delivering improvements in patient outcomes, operational performance and financial sustainability while ensuring the highest standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance.

Experienced Chief Pharmacists with a desire to collaborate to influence patient outcomes, operational and regulatory performance and financial sustainability will be essential pre-requisites for this exciting opportunity.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will:

• be the responsible officer for medicines use in the Group Trusts and WCFT
• Have management accountability for the delivery of Pharmacy Services in accordance with the Trust Strategic Plan and the Medicines and Pharmacy Scheme of delegation.
• Provide a comprehensive and high-quality pharmaceutical service, involved in all aspects of medicines management.
• Maintain and strengthen governance and develop the workforce with the right skills, knowledge and experience to ensure safe and effective delivery of medicines management and pharmacy services.
• Provide specialist expertise and, delegated from the Group Chief Executive, and reporting through the Group Medical Director, have corporate responsibility across the Group and WCFT for all aspects of Medicine Optimisation.
• Provide professional leadership for the pharmaceutical services provided to the Trusts and other external customers. This includes performing the duties and responsibilities of the the Superintendent Pharmacist.
• Provide professional leadership and work in collaboration with senior pharmacists in the Integrated Care System and the appropriate Primary Care Networks
• Ensure that services provided are progressive, responsive to internal and external demand, are patient focused, safe, efficient and effective.
• Ensure that the pharmacy workforce is empowered, supported in development and succession planning, trained in quality improvement methodology and the culture values people.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For full details, please refer to the attached job description

Provide clinical leadership to transform the way the Trusts handle medicines, in every respect, to optimise their role.

Provide clinical leadership for all aspects of Medicines Optimisation within the Group Trusts and WCFT, within the Primary Care Networks in Cheshire and Merseyside across the Integrated Care System and beyond to other local health communities.

Continue to develop the Medicines Optimisation strategic plan to align MU&PS services to meet Group Trust-wide needs to drive both quality improvement and productivity gains.

Lead and implement the consequent transformational change.

Work with commercial partners to deliver operational efficiencies.

Enable excellent partnerships with national and local commissioners while also building relationships with primary care providers such as GPs and Community Pharmacists as new clinical leadership structures emerge.

Work with the ICB and specialist commissioners to deliver on commissioning intention requirements in respect of high-cost medicines and associated quality and performance targets.

Undertake the statutory roles and responsibilities of the Superintendent Pharmacist as required by all applicable legislation

Act as Controlled Drug Accountable Officer for the Trusts and be the licence holder for the Home Office Controlled Drug Licences.

Be the licence holder for MHRA Wholesale Dealer's Authority, Aseptic Specials Licences for Aintree, Royal ASU and Radiopharmacy.

Provide professional leadership to MU&PS Teams at Group and Sites to meet current statutory obligations.

Deliver, through the Pharmacy Senior Leadership Team, the active management of all aspects of pharmacy service, making optimal use of resources available.

Work with the Group and WCFT executive teams and site HLTs to address issues relating to pharmacy service provision of the wider Medicines Optimisation agenda.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.