Band 8a Specialist Pharmacist Prescriber – Community Mental Health

We are looking for a motivated, dynamic, and innovative individual, with a strong background in mental health pharmacy, to deliver a clinical pharmacy service to community mental health teams in the Bristol locality of the Trust. The post holder will be a fully integrated member of the community mental health teams they are linked with, providing specialist pharmaceutical expertise to the multidisciplinary team, service users and carers. The role will include a dedicated prescribing clinic, and the postholder will hold their own caseload of service users. The scope of practice and location for this will be agreed, dependent on service requirements and candidate experience.

The successful candidate will ideally be a non-medical prescriber, with experience in mental health pharmacy, eager to advance their clinical and leadership skills further. 

The AWP Pharmacy Service has a strong focus on developing staff to their full potential, and applicants that do not meet the full criteria of this role will be supported to access the training required to do so.

To support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) representation in senior health and care roles, AWP is developing a positive action plan to ensure the widest and most diverse field of talent; so we are particularly keen to receive applications from people with a BAME background.

The post includes on-call and some weekend and bank holiday working.

Main duties of the job

• Provide specialist pharmaceutical expertise to multidisciplinary teams and answer medicines information enquiries appropriate to the level of the post which will involve literature searches and the production of oral and written responses.
• Be responsible for clinically assessing service users, establishing a diagnosis and the clinical management required – prescribing or de-prescribing where necessary, as specified in a ‘scope of practice plan’, agreed with the line manager and medical supervisor.
• Work as an independent non-medical prescriber within their scope of competence and in accordance with Trust policy, procedures and other evidence based guidance, taking full responsibility for the service user as well as the medicine prescribed.
• Provide mental health specific advice and support to ICB Prescribing Advisers; primary healthcare professionals including GPs, pharmacists, dentists and consultants.

Working for our organisation

We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust): a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.

We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.

Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.

At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We want people to bring their unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The role will be based at community team bases in Bristol. Travel to other AWP locations and primary care sites will be required for meetings and training. 

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Degree in Pharmacy from an accredited British School of Pharmacy, or recognised equivalent.
• Current GPhC registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• Post-graduate qualification in clinical or mental health pharmacy (diploma or MSc) or willing to undertake this qualification.
• Pharmacist Prescriber qualification.
• Credentialed member of CMHP.

Desirable criteria

• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
• Willingness to undertake the Advanced Clinical Practitioner qualification.

Experience/Knowledge

Essential criteria

• SSignificant experience of working within a hospital pharmacy department post qualification with associated development of excellent clinical pharmacy skills.
• Significant experience of working in specialist mental health inpatient and community settings.
• Highly specialist and up-to-date knowledge of the pharmacological treatment options for different mental health conditions including their adverse effects.
• Understanding of how the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act support safe and legal treatment.

Desirable criteria

• Experience in compiling report.
• Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of multi professional team working and an ability to promote the role of the non-medical prescribing pharmacist within it.
• Experience of HR and management skills.
• Experience and training in carrying out clinical audit.
• Experience of educating and training of others.

Skills and abilities

Essential criteria

• Excellent written and verbal skills for communicating with team members, service users and carers, and other healthcare professionals.
• Ability to access, review and process complex clinical information from appropriate sources.
• Ability to manage own time and workload and prioritise clinical work.

Desirable criteria

• Competent with standard information technology and associated tools.