Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist

Under the leadership of the Principal Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation you will work with a wide range of stakeholders that includes our in-house pharmacy teams at The Christie, our collaborative partners at The Christie Pharmacy (outsourced pharmacy supply chain logistics and dispensary services), Baxter Healthcare (for aseptically-dispensed intravenous SACT), peripheral and outreach service satellites across the local cancer network and NHS England, to optimise medicines across the whole patient pathway from commissioning to procurement to distribution to patients. Ensuring that all patients receive their medicines in the most efficient and cost-effective manner to ensure that resources are used wisely and effectively providing opportunity to improve health outcomes, reduce health inequalities, deliver medicine value and maintain a thriving, financially viable health economy., For a comprehensive overview of roles and responsibilities please read our Job Description. Main duties of the role include:
+ Manage, monitor and develop the Clinical Pharmacy Service for Homecare initiatives.
+ Implement the strategic direction of pharmaceutical services in respect of high-cost medicines with specific reference to homecare services.
+ Develop high-cost medicines optimisation with specific reference to homecare services including setting standards and monitoring performance to ensure that services are provided safely and efficiently in accordance with the needs of service users.
+ Support the Principal Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist to develop, manage, monitor, report and promote the Trust medicines optimisation programme, maximising value for money, cost effective prescribing and medicines supply chain logistics.
+ Develop and maintain expertise in relation to medicines optimisation - including initiating and facilitating pharmacy practice research in the field of homecare and medicines value., + Act as a deputy to the Principal Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist.
+ Manage all pharmacy related aspects of the homecare services with support from the Principal Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist.
+ Maintain, monitor, and update the trust's homecare strategy in line with national standards.
+ Develop and monitor homecare performance indicators to ensure that compliance with these indicators is maintained and action plans for improvement agreed as necessary.
+ Contribute nationally to the development of homecare medicines optimisation guidance and policy and attend the National Medicines Homecare Committee and Regional homecare procurement meetings as appropriate.
+ Ensure that all homecare procurement activity meets the Trust's Standing Financial Instructions and European procurement legislation.
+ Identify areas for audit which contribute to improving patient care, safety and experience in relation to homecare medicines use and provision.
+ Lead the development and review of homecare scheme SLAs, protocols, treatment guidelines, service specifications, prescription forms and patient information both within the clinical pharmacy service and Christie@Home team and other external providers.
+ Manage services for the homecare specialist area through liaison with external providers.
+ To liaise with clinical pharmacy team leaders, lead pharmacists, outpatient dispensary managers, and other pharmacy staff to identify, plan, and develop new opportunities for homecare services.
+ Work in partnership with the clinical service manager for SACT and Outreach, including preparation of business cases, KPI reports for presentation to SACT committee, finance or external providers including third party providers.
+ Manage and develop homecare medicines optimisation services by providing a specialist pharmacist service to the Christie at Home team and Outreach Services.
+ To lead and actively participate and co-ordinate the service review meetings for homecare medicines optimisation working closely with homecare providers, pharmacists, nurses, doctors, other healthcare staff, and patients.
+ To produce quarterly reports on quality and financial indicators on all homecare medicine services.
+ Gain an understanding of the principle and practice of the Trust's budgeting system and support the management of drug expenditure by clinicians and senior managers.
+ To support the Principal Medicines Optimisation Pharmacist, and the cancer disease groups, to forecast required budgets for the expansion of the homecare service and identify drug expenditure / potential savings. To identify any changes in prescribing practices that may potentially impact on the drugs budget.
+ Maintain support for the Lead Procurement and Homecare Technician in relation to homecare services.
+ To be responsible for and co-ordinate the development, implementation and management of training initiatives and competency frameworks within the homecare pharmacy service and assist in the delivery of training to all members of the pharmacy and homecare team as required.
+ Manage all outsourced homecare related incidents in conjunction with the homecare providers and the third party dispensary.
+ Manage medicine related incidents occurring within the Christie@Home service including those relating to the third party courier.
+ To attend and contribute to meetings relevant to the disease group regarding new homecare initiatives as appropriate and represent the pharmacy service at appropriate clinical unit and divisional meetings on request.
+ To develop and implement procedures for clinical screening of homecare prescriptions including document approval and control.
+ To provide training for specialist clinical pharmacists in the clinical screening of prescriptions for medicines supplied via Homecare.
+ To support with the Optimisation of the Trust electronic healthcare record system for areas relating to Homecare.
To support the principal pharmacist Medicines Optimisation to:
+ Develop initiatives to provide care closer to home, including Outreach and Homecare services, by working collaboratively with relevant stakeholders (managers for SACT and Outreach Services, clinical teams, homecare providers, finance commissioners, patient groups).
+ Develop and implement projects which will support redesign of the services provided where necessary.
+ Tender for homecare services in line with National and European standards.
Medicines Optimisation (Medicines Value)
+ To support the Principal Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation in the Trust Medicines Value Improvement Programme (VIP) through the identification, prediction, assessment and reporting of savings as a result of medicines procurement and supply chain activities.
+ Support the pharmacy procurement team and relevant clinical/medicines optimisation colleagues to ensure appropriate clinical and commissioning input into medicines procurement decisions including the management of medicines shortages for use in hospital, outpatient or homecare setting as appropriate.
+ To support with the implementation of national and regional procurement guidance to support the management of drug shortages and maximise savings for the NHS.
+ To conduct risk assessments related to procured medicines in conjunction with relevant clinical colleagues.
+ To provide clinical input into the medicine's shortage information compiled and circulated to the wider pharmacy team and clinical colleagues.
+ To support the senior pharmacy team in relation to the managed entry of new medicines into the Trust in line with National and Local commissioner guidance and associated Drug &Therapeutics Committee (DTC) implementation considerations.
+ To work with the procurement team to ensure that appropriate actions are taken following new drug approval decisions made by DTC.
+ To support the Principal Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation to develop and support the implementation of initiatives designed to maximise savings for commissioners.
+ To provide commissioning support to clinical teams, to assist in understanding and implementing commissioning policies and protocols.
+ To support the production, co-ordination and management of the horizon scanning information for new medicines, liaising with senior clinical pharmacists and clinicians.
+ Use of expert clinical and commissioning knowledge to identify appropriate routes of approval for individual patients.
+ To support the provision of reports to DTC regarding medicines value (e.g., biosimilar uptake and PAS schemes uptake) and compliance with NICE TA and Commissioning statements.
+ To develop, validate and monitor reporting for the effective management of medicines usage and financial budgets.
Clinical duties
+ To practise as an Independent Prescriber and prescribe to appropriate patients in agreement with relevant consultants.
+ To support prescribing at the individual patient level, contributing to the optimisation of patients' drug therapy with due consideration to risk/benefit issues.
+ To deliver a clinical pharmacy service to designated patient groups, promoting best practice for all areas of pharmaceutical care in accordance with all local, Trust and national guidelines.
+ To use specialist knowledge to identify and resolve complex pharmaceutical issues, taking into consideration other co-morbidity factors associated with the patient and liaise with medical and nursing staff.
+ In conjunction with the Principal Pharmacist in Clinical Services, to establish processes for the setting of standards of care, identifying the risks involved and implement changes that need to occur to achieve these.
+ To undertake clinical audit and practice research as part of the multi-disciplinary audit process within clinical pharmacy service.
+ To identify and report any systemic or preventable errors associated with medicines within the Trust and facilitate learning.
+ To demonstrate safe and effective screening / review of prescriptions for chemotherapy regimens, clinical trials and treatment strategies in use at the Christie including full awareness of the intrathecal chemotherapy policy.
+ To support the development and delivery of clinical pharmacy services to clinical areas in order to advance the safe, clinically effective and cost-effective use of medicines.
+ To ensure appropriate and timely supply of medicines to patients in conjunction with dispensary staff and commercial providers.
Leadership
+ To manage the homecare team on a day-to-day basis in conjunction with the Lead Procurement and Homecare Technician
+ To manage, plan and direct the work of the team.
+ To ensure the timely and effective recruitment of staff within the Pharmacy Homecare team in conjunction with the Principal Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation
+ To ensure the team is appraised regularly and mandatory training is up to date.
+ To be responsible for planning and implementing strategic goals for the Pharmacy Homecare team.
+ To undertake and implement informal and formal trust HR procedures as necessary.
The closing date for this post may be extended if there are insufficient applicants or brought forward if there is a high volume of applicants.
We want to ensure that everyone who works at the Christie or uses our services is welcomed, valued and treated with dignity and respect. The Christie values diversity and is committed to ensuring equal opportunities for all and fair representation across the organisation at all levels. In support of these commitments, we particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority people and people with disabilities for this post. Appointment will be only on merit.
We are committed to creating a balanced and diverse workforce. As such we welcome and encourage applications from people of all backgrounds. Together we will foster inclusion and tackle inequity and health inequalities in cancer care.
As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy
All positions within the Christie are subject to the receipt of satisfactory written references, medical clearance and evidence of your Right to Work in the UK. Some roles will require a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check. Please note if you are successfully appointed to a post with this Trust, you will be required to pay for your own DBS Disclosure.
By applying for this post you are agreeing to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system. Please note, all communication regarding your application will be made via email, please ensure you check your junk/spam folders as emails are sometimes filtered there.
If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, I regret that on this occasion your application will have been unsuccessful.
The Inter-Authority Transfer (IAT) process is a critical and beneficial component of ESR and will form part of the recruitment process. In the event that you are successful following interview your previous NHS employment data, if applicable will be transferred from your current / most recent employer.
Overseas candidates wishing to apply for this position and who would require immigration sponsorship, may wish to self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship for the post on the UKVI website.
You should be aware the Trust operates a No Smoking Policy and therefore employees are not permitted to smoke at work.

You will be self-confident with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills and contribute to service development through your initiative and enthusiasm.

You will be working alongside our Principal Pharmacist Medicines Optimisation in shaping the future of healthcare for our patients by playing a pivotal role in helping to deliver on the NHS 10-year health plan of shifting health and care from hospital to community as the Trust's Homecare Pharmacist., The Christie is one of Europe's leading cancer centres, treating over 60,000 patients a year. We are based in Manchester and serve a population of 3.2 million across Greater Manchester & Cheshire, but as a national specialist around 15% patients are referred to us from other parts of the country.
We provide radiotherapy through one of the largest radiotherapy departments in the world; chemotherapy on site and through 14 other hospitals; highly specialist surgery for complex and rare cancer; and a wide range of support and diagnostic services. We are also an international leader in research, with world first breakthroughs for over 100 years.
We run one of the largest early clinical trial units in Europe with over 300 trials every year. Cancer research in Manchester, most of which is undertaken on the Christie site, has been officially ranked the best in the UK.