PCN Clinical Pharmacist

Main duties of the job

The following list of duties encompasses a range of areas the networks may require the Clinical Pharmacist to deliver. The list may not be exhaustive.

Long Term Conditions

• Clinical Medication Review
• Home Medication Review
• Domiciliary Clinical Medication Review

Unplanned Hospital Admissions

Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments

Patient facing medicines support

Telephone medicines support

Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

Medicine Information to practice staff and patients

Signposting

Repeat prescribing

Information Management

GP practices across the Rochdale borough, who have historically worked independently, have come together to work in a federated model to improve healthcare across the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale (HMR) neighbourhoods.

Rochdale Health Alliance (RHA) was established in 2016, by GP practices from across the Rochdale Borough, to streamline the way in which services are delivered and to contribute to the development of the wider health and social care provision across the Borough.

Retaining their own identity and autonomy, general practitioner (GP) practices will work together and support community and hospital services, including the public and voluntary sector, to ensure healthcare is coordinated for the residents of the Rochdale borough.

Each of the four localities of HMR, which include Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and the Pennines elected GPs to represent their locality and become directors on the Board.

The Board is supported by a management team who ensure the day to day functioning of the organisation.

In a time of change for health and social care and in order to meet the needs of the public, health, social and voluntary sector providers are coming together to provide more efficient, cost effective healthcare system and to encourage and engage the public in managing their own care wherever possible. In HMR this is via the Local Care Organisation. RHA represents primary care on the board of the LCO.

The following list of duties encompasses a range of areas the networks may require the Clinical Pharmacist to deliver. The list may not be exhaustive.

Long-term conditions

See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. Respiratory, Cardiovascular and Diabetes). Review the ongoing need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation). Make appropriate recommendations to Senior Pharmacists or GPs for medicine improvement.

Patient facing Clinical Medication Review Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for senior clinical pharmacist, nurses and/or GP on prescribing and monitoring.

Patient facing Care Home Medication Reviews Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the senior clinical pharmacist, nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration.

Patient facing Domiciliary Clinical Medication Reviews Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the senior clinical pharmacists, nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Attend and refer patients to multidisciplinary case conferences.

Risk stratification Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both.

Unplanned hospital admissions Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews. Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to high‑risk patient groups.

Management of common/minor/self‑limiting ailments Managing caseload of patients with common/minor/self‑limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence. Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to…