Detailed job description and main responsibilities

KEY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

1.    Provide leadership support for the governance and day to day operation of the SACT e-prescribing system (ChemoCare), under the auspices of the advanced pharmacy practitioner for haematology.

·         To undertake and support project work to develop the use of the SACT e-prescribing system. This includes writing risk assessments and developing, implementing and auditing guidelines, where necessary.

·         To audit incidents either involving the SACT e-prescribing system or where “ChemoCare” is in the incident report, to identify trends or risks that require discussion at the ChemoCare Governance Group meeting.

·         To provide clinical leadership and support to the technical ChemoCare team as required.

·         To lead on the submission of business cases to secure funding for service developments/new pharmacy posts within the ChemoCare team.

2.    To partake in specialised clinical pharmacy duties ensuring core clinical pharmacy activities are undertaken.

Specialised clinical pharmacy activities

·         To provide clinical input (at specialist level) to the Oncology and Haematology Departments.

·         Once qualified, validated & approved by NUH: ‘To work as an independent prescriber within a defined specialist area, contributing to medicines optimisation, writing discharge, inpatient, homecare and/or outpatient prescriptions as clinically appropriate and dictated by the needs of the service’

·         Provide highly complex advice and guidance requiring analysis, interpretation and comparison of options on all issues relating to prescribing and therapeutics within Cancer, where possible in line with national and local guidelines.

·         Maintain a working knowledge relating to prescribing and therapeutics for all services in the Cancer cluster

Core clinical pharmacy activities

·         To work in accordance with relevant pharmacy and Trust policies and procedures relating to medicines management.

·         To ensure safe rational and effective prescribing by undertaking medication reconciliation, assessing suitability of prescribed medication, counselling (to optimise medicines use), and ensuring continuity of patient care into the community.

·         Providing medicines including SACT for individual patients during their stay in hospital, at discharge and also for out-patient visits.

·         Interpreting and requesting clinical tests to monitor and make recommendations to improve effectiveness of drug therapy.

·         Pro-actively liaising with other members of the multidisciplinary team (medical staff, nurses, microbiologists, physiotherapists, dieticians) in order to ensure safe use of medicines.

·         Making recommendations about medicines to improve patient outcomes and to encourage adherence to hospital formulary and national guidelines.

·         Providing advice and guidance in relation to unlicensed medicines use and clinical trial medicines under the direction of the senior pharmacist for clinical trials.

Other

·         To contribute to, facilitate or conduct clinical audits which are part of the Pharmacy audit plan.

·         To participate in research, communicate results and if suitable, register for a further degree.

·         To undertake and document continuing professional development.

·         To contribute to the teaching and training of undergraduate, postgraduate students and other healthcare professionals.

·         To undertake research relevant to pharmacy practice within Cancer.

·         To undertake any other duties that may reasonably be required as agreed by senior staff.

3.    Leadership, management and directorate/service support roles

·         Provide leadership support for the governance and day to day operation of the SACT e-prescribing system (ChemoCare), under the auspices of the advanced pharmacy practitioner acting as clinical lead for the SACT e-prescribing system.

·         Liaise and work alongside relevant pharmacy colleagues and directorate staff and managers in ensuring continuity and development of clinical pharmacy services within the specialty. Maintain contact with and actively participate in regional and national specialty groups, advising these groups as appropriate, and in also identifying best practice and incorporating it into NUH practice.

·         Support the Assistant clinical services lead

o   to deliver the ‘best possible clinical pharmacy service’

o   by developing KPIs that clearly demonstrate the contribution rotational pharmacists, other support staff and the post holder make to the care of patients within the specialty.

o   by reporting KPIs (delivered by the clinical pharmacy service) at regular intervals, as directed by the Assistant Head of Pharmacy – clinical services lead e.g. activity data,  contributions, service development contributions etc.

o   by deputising for them in relation to issues linked to the cluster

·         Attending relevant specialty meetings including governance meetings as appropriate – this will require effective communication of messages to and from such forums and ensuring necessary actions are enacted.

·         Act as a role model

4.    To line manage and support more junior pharmacists in the Cancer and Associated Specialties Services Divisional team

·         Act as a direct contact point to provide support to the more junior pharmacists and other members of the team in the cluster.

·         Ensure objectives for junior and senior rotational pharmacists who are assigned to this specialty are always up-to-date / current.

·         Ensure that these pharmacists are making progress with objectives that have been set – ‘clearing the path’ where there are barriers to achieving these.

·         Ensure effective performance management of pharmacy staff working in own specialty and other junior pharmacy staff, including 1:1s, diploma assessments and conducting appraisals using the Trust appraisal process

·         Ensure completion of all relevant documentation relating to performance management and objectives / PDPs of these pharmacists within the agreed time frames.

·         Education and training of staff (rotational and diploma pharmacists, technicians, trainee pharmacists, pharmacy students) that are linked to the specialty.

5.    To take full part in the 7 day shifted rota and bank holidays duties