Lead Pharmacist - Cancer Services (Oncology)

Job description

Job Purpose

Act as the specialist pharmacist lead for oncology services, serving as the primary point of contact for oncology-related service developments and providing professional leadership for the service, with support from the Principal Pharmacist for Cancer Services

Provide a clinical pharmacy service to the Oncology and Haematology working alongside the cancer services team delivering and extensive medicines management service to patients in ward and day unit areas.

Clinically screening SACT for adult, paediatric patient for day unit, outpatient

Undertake teaching and supervision of less experienced pharmacists, technicians, and students providing Cancer for haematology and oncology patients.

Line managing pharmacists as allocated including managing sickness, appraisals, general support and development

To ensure that all staff are appropriately trained, ensuring compliance to all legal and best practice standards and local SOP's.

Provide the clinical professional check on prescriptions dispensed within the dispensary, ensuring that the Trust high cost drug procedure and Trust Formulary is adhered t

Lead, develop, evaluate and deliver pharmaceutical care to patients managed by the Haematology and Oncology within the Trust.

Use specialist knowledge to advise consultants, medical, nursing and pharmacy staff on all pharmaceutical aspects of care in these areas

Recommend, substantiate and communicate best therapeutic options for patients routinely and via attendance at MDT to implement changes in prescribing practice to ensure evidence-based medicine is followed as appropriate and following commissioning avenue

I Introduce measures to keep the directorate drug expenditure within agreed budgets including pro-active involvement at directorate board level to achieve this.

Key Duties

The post holder will

Provide a specialist clinical pharmacy and medicines management service to patients and undertake pharmaceutical risk management for haematology and oncology patient in a ward-based setting.

Ensure compliance with medicines legislation, the Trust Medicines Policy, and medicines related national and local guidelines.

Contribute to the development and implementation of appropriate cancer services SOPs and associated policies to ensure that the haematology/oncology medicines management systems are safe, robust, guided by national directives, standards, guidelines, and the post-holders own specialist knowledge, and are quality assured.

Evaluate prescribing practices and amend according to evidence-based practice, national/regional directives and clinical governance targets on a daily basis, during consultant ward-rounds, and at multidisciplinary team meetings including:

Analysing patients individual pharmaceutical care needs

Identifying actual and potential iatrogenic admissions for medical staff

Recommending best treatment

Substantiate pharmaceutical recommendations and advice to medical and nursing staff and communicate effectively any necessary actions to medical and nursing staff.

Construct pharmaceutical care plans for patients, assess and monitor clinical progress and outcome with regard to their medication and actively intervene to ensure that patients receive optimal care with minimal side effects.

Provide specialist advice to healthcare professionals on all pharmaceutical issues arising within the post holders specialist clinical area.

Be responsible for the therapeutic blood monitoring of identified drugs within the post-holders clinical area including:

Initial patient assessment and initiation of appropriate loading or starting doses

Interpretation of blood level results and subsequent adjustment of the patients dose of medicine and amendment of the patients prescription in order to optimise the beneficial results of therapy whilst minimising any potential toxicity.

Ensuring individual patients entered into clinical trials are treated according to the trial protocol, that their medicines are prepared as specified in the protocol, that any randomisation codes are allocate appropriately, and that all records are maintained correctly and stored suitably.

Substantiating clinical pharmacy recommendations at the highest level and against challenge from Consultants, where necessary, and effectively communicate any required actions to other medical and nursing staff.

Providing specialist clinical advice to other health care professionals on all pharmaceutical issues arising within the specialist area of cancer services. This will include the extrapolation of clinical and complex medicines information where data may be lacking and analysing, interpreting and comparing differing opinion or facts to determine the best prescribing strategy for an individual patient or patient group.

Assisting with the delivery of the WAHT pharmacy cancer services to achieve Trust and departmental medicines management targets including

Managing the accurate and timely dispensing and supply of medicines to cancer patients.

Adherence to NHS England standard operating procedures in relation to drugs supply through the Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) and other commissioning arrangements.

Adherence to the Trust Formulary, unlicensed medicines policy and high-cost drug procedures.

Assisting with the creation of clinical guidelines relating to all areas of medicines use within the cancer services.

Assisting in the delivery of key pharmacy modernisation initiatives within cancer services and assisting in the assessment of the impact of such service development initiatives on medical and nursing staff within the post-holders area and the WAHT pharmacy department as a whole.

Medication History Taking, Provision of Patient Information and Counselling

Ensure that information and patient counselling systems are implemented within their specialist area according to patient need to ensure that patients obtain the most benefit from their medicines.

Set standards and manage the counselling of patients on their medicines within the Haematology directorate to improve concordance and knowledge of their therapy

Ensure all newly admitted patients are interviewed to construct an accurate medication history and assess compliance/concordance issues.

Review the medication history against the admission details and prescription chart

Pro-actively identify to medical staff any potential or actual medicines-related hospital admissions or associated issues and outline any required action to resolve identified discrepancies

Assess patients discharge medicines information requirements as early as possible in the admission stay to be able to prepare information on medicines for patients based on individual need.

Complete Patient Need Assessments to assess patients information requirements and suitability for delegation of counselling to a junior pharmacist or lead medicines management technician.

Counsel patients with highly complex needs such as a physical disability which may affect information requirements (sight or hearing), language difficulties, those with life-threatening or terminal diagnoses and highly distressed patients.

Managerial Responsibilities

Manage pharmacists as allocated including delivery of PDR and management of sickness based around trust policies.

Undertake the day to day supervision of pharmacists, technicians, assistants and students

Develop and maintain good internal communications within the department.

Ensure that the capability, conduct and performance of every member of staff within their responsibility are continually assessed and appropriate action is taken to address shortfalls and resolve issues

Ensure that all Trust policies are complied with, brought to the attention if all staff and are readily and easily accessible

Planning of day to day work, annual objectives and negotiation of personal development plans and in-year performance management.

Use the Pharmacy Computer System and MS Word, Excel, Access, and Powerpoint to produce reports, SOPs, analyses and training materials for others to support the delivery of the post holders key roles and responsibilities.

Financial Responsibilities

Produce monthly reports, analyse prescribing trends and provide guidance and advice on drug expenditure, prescribing patterns and high cost drug use for the Haematology and oncology specialities at WRH.

Advise and guide Consultants on proposed new medicines for use within the post-holders clinical area and assist with compiling new product assessments and evidence-based reviews for submission to the Area Prescribing Committee for formulary and funding approval

Identify cost containment programmes and introduce appropriate measures to keep the Haematology and Oncology Directorates drug expenditure within agreed budgets. Discuss and influence drug expenditure and its management with key medical staff, directorate managers and Modern Matrons within the post-holders specialist area.

Service Development and Business Planning

Develop formal links with the Clinical Director, Business Manager, Modern Matron and Ward managers in relation to the pharmaceutical needs.

Lead on key pharmacy modernisation initiatives within the Haematology team, ward and patients, and assess the impact of such service development initiatives on medical and nursing staff within the post-holders area and the pharmacy department as a whole.

Contribute to the senior clinical pharmacy team strategy group in planning and organising the delivery, standard and modernisation of clinical pharmacy services.

Research and Clinical Audit

Ensure all pharmaceutical aspects of research in the post-holders clinical area complies with relevant legislation

Ensure that all clinical trials of medicines in the post holders area comply with National Guidelines, the Trust medicines policy, and the Trial Protocols.

Plan, organise and conduct own areas for practice-based research, including audit and benefits of clinical pharmacist / independent prescriber role to support departmental development

Person specification

Additional information

Essential

• Skilled at preparing and implementing pharmaceutical care plans to best meet patient needs within the ward multidisciplinary team.
• Skilled at using reference sources, journals, the internet and on-line information sources to prepare evaluated medicines information for consultants and other health-care professionals.
• Skills for providing relevant specialist pharmacy services (e.g. clinical pharmacy, medicines information, sterile dispensing).
• Able to interpret national guidelines within specialist area(s), and Trust policies, procedures and guidelines related to specialist area(s) including clinical governance and risk management.
• Skills for teaching and supervising junior pharmacists and technical staff
• Skills for utilising resources cost-effectively and highlighting where improvements could be made.
• Knowledge about chemotherapy drugs and regimens in current use.
• Knowledge about the technical aspects underpinning the working of an aseptic unit.
• Knowledge on clinical issues relating to the treatment of Haematology and oncology in-patients
• Able to supervise a team of pharmacists and technical staff
• Capable of analysing highly complex facts or situations, which require the analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options
• Able to work with initiative and innovation.
• Able to set priorities, meet deadlines and manage time effectively.
• A good team worker and a role model for pharmacists and technicians.

Experience

Essential

• Current post diploma experience in delivering specialist clinical services to a medical speciality or directorate
• Experience of delivering a clinical pharmacy service to patients requiring SACT
• Experience of working in a licensed or un-licensed aseptic unit.
• Experience of working with an electronic prescribing system
• Experience of delivering chemotherapy services (inpatient and outpatient) Experience of successfully supervising and contributing to the training of pharmacists, technicians, nurses and doctors

Desirable

• Experience as a practicing Independent prescriber in Haematology or oncology

Qualifications

Essential

• Professional knowledge acquired through a vocational degree in pharmacy
• Currently Registered as a pharmacist in UK: Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
• Significant Postgraduate clinical specialist knowledge acquired through diploma level training i.e. Hold a Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent.
• Currently meeting the GPhC standard for continuing professional development.
• Have qualified and be registered with the GPhC as an Independent Prescriber or working towards.

Desirable

• Undertaken a Masters or equivalent in Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP)
• Undertaken the RPS core advanced portfolio

About the employer

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute and specialised hospital trust that provides a range of local acute services to the residents of Worcestershire and more specialised services to a larger population in Herefordshire and beyond.

The Trust operates hospital-based services from three sites in Kidderminster, Redditch and Worcester

Our workforce is more than 7,000 strong, and our caring staff are recognised as providing good and outstanding patient-centred care. You could be one of them.

We are committed to recruiting the best people to work with us. Our values, which we ask all staff to demonstrate, underpin our everyday work and remain firmly at the heart of all we do.

Being open and honest

Ensuring people feel cared for

Showing respect to everyone

We are committed to developing a culture of continuous improvement by embedding the principles of our Improvement System.

We are proud to have achieved Timewise accreditation - this means we are committed to embedding flexible working within our organisation as a flex positive employer.

DBS Checks and Costs

Any applicants who are offered posts requiring a DBS check as part of their employment check will have the cost of this check (at the current rate) deducted from their salary. Please see link in Supporting Information section for more details on DBS checks and costs.