Clinical Pharmacist

The Clinical Pharmacist plays a key role within our primary care multidisciplinary team, delivering high-quality, patient-focusedcare through effective medicines management. Working closely with GPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals, the role focuses on ensuring patients receive safe, appropriate, and optimised treatment.

This role involves proactive involvement in medicines optimisation, supporting patients with long-term conditions, and contributing to service development and quality improvement initiatives. The Clinical Pharmacist will help enhance prescribing standards, improve patient outcomes, and reduce medication-related risks.

The successful candidate will either hold an independent prescribing qualification or be actively working towards it, practising within their professional competence at all times. Duties will be undertaken collaboratively within the pharmacy team, with opportunities to take on defined areas of leadership aligned to service priorities, individual expertise, and ongoing professional development.

Main duties of the job

• Provide patient-facing clinical pharmacy services, including structured medication reviews for patients with long-term conditions, complex polypharmacy, frailty, and high-risk medicines.
• Prescribe within scope of practice (or provide prescribing recommendations) to ensure safe, evidence-based, and person-centred care.
• Deliver medicines optimisation initiatives to improve prescribing quality, safety, and adherence, including antimicrobial stewardship and high-risk drug monitoring.
• Support achievement of QOF and other quality frameworks through proactive patient identification, monitoring, and review.
• Undertake medicines reconciliation and support safe transitions of care following hospital discharge and transfers between settings.
• Contribute to safe repeat prescribing processes, shared care protocols, and implementation of local and national prescribing guidance.
• Work collaboratively within the multidisciplinary team and with external partners, including community pharmacy, hospital teams, and care homes.
• Participate in audit, service development, education, and quality improvement activities.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and practise in accordance with professional standards, governance requirements, and data protection legislation.

About us The Swan Practice is a large, well-established healthcare provider serving Buckingham and the surrounding villages. With three clinical sites and an administration hub, we are dedicated to delivering high-quality care to over 30,000 patients, and our patient base continues to grow. As a forward-thinking practice, we are committed to creating opportunities for staff to progress and develop their careers, fostering a supportive and dynamic working environment.

Job responsibilities Job Summary

The Clinical Pharmacist will work as part of the multidisciplinary primary care team in a patient-facing role, providing expert clinical pharmacy input to support safe, effective, and person-centred use of medicines. The post holder will contribute to medicines optimisation, long-term condition management, and quality improvement across the practice/Primary Care Network (PCN).

The post holder will be an independent prescriber or be working towards prescribing qualification and will practise within their scope of competence. Responsibilities will be delivered collaboratively across the pharmacy team, with specific lead roles allocated according to service priorities, experience, and development needs.

Job Responsibilities

Patient-Facing Clinical Care

• Provide clinical pharmacy services to patients with single or multiple long-term conditions where medicines optimisation is required (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, heart failure).
• Manage patients with complex polypharmacy, frailty, and high-risk medicine regimens.
• Undertake structured clinical medication reviews (SMRs) to improve safety, effectiveness, and adherence.
• Optimise ongoing medication plans in line with clinical guidelines, best practice, and patient preferences.
• Make prescribing decisions within scope of practice or provide recommendations to GPs and other clinicians where appropriate.
• Provide patient education and support to promote shared decision-making and self-management.
• Provide clinical pharmacy support to patients in care homes, including structured medication reviews for frail older people and those with complex needs.
• Work collaboratively with care home staff, GPs, and community teams to optimise medicines, reduce polypharmacy, and minimise medicines-related harm.
• Contribute to medicines optimisation initiatives across the practice.
• Support safe prescribing by identifying and addressing medicines-related risks.
• Contribute to the implementation of national and local safety alerts, guidance, and best practice.
• Participate in antimicrobial stewardship and other prescribing quality initiatives in line with agreed team roles.
• Support review of medicines associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions.
• Support achievement of Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators through medicines optimisation, structured reviews, and appropriate monitoring.
• Identify patients requiring intervention to meet QOF and other quality framework requirements, including long-term condition management and medicines safety indicators.

Medicines Optimisation & Safety

• Contribute to medicines optimisation initiatives across the practice.
• Support safe prescribing by identifying and addressing medicines-related risks.
• Contribute to the implementation of national and local safety alerts, guidance, and best practice.
• Participate in antimicrobial stewardship and other prescribing quality initiatives in line with agreed team roles.
• Support review of medicines associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions.
• Support achievement of Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators through medicines optimisation, structured reviews, and appropriate monitoring.
• Identify patients requiring intervention to meet QOF and other quality framework requirements, including long-term condition management and medicines safety indicators.

Care Transitions & High-Risk Patients

• Support medicines reconciliation following hospital discharge, intermediate care, care home admission, and transfers between care settings.
• Help ensure continuity of medicines supply for vulnerable, frail, and high-risk patients.
• Contribute to identification and proactive management of patient cohorts at increased risk of harm from medicines.
• Support medicines optimisation initiatives within care homes, including falls prevention, anticholinergic burden reduction, and end-of-life care planning.
• Repeat Prescribing & Prescribing Systems
• Support safe and effective repeat prescribing processes.
• Review medicines reaching review dates and ensure appropriate monitoring is in place.
• Contribute to development and maintenance of prescribing policies and formularies.
• Work within shared care protocols and local prescribing guidance.

Multidisciplinary Working & Service Development

• Work collaboratively with GPs, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
• Develop effective working relationships with community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, and wider health and social care teams.
• Contribute pharmaceutical expertise to service development, pathway redesign, and quality improvement initiatives.
• Support delivery of PCN priorities, enhanced services, and quality frameworks including QOF and local incentive schemes.
• Work with the multidisciplinary team to improve prescribing quality, monitoring, and outcomes aligned with national and local priorities.
• Contribute to audits and quality improvement activity linked to QOF performance and prescribing indicators.
• Education, Training & Information
• Provide medicines-related advice and support to practice staff and patients.
• Contribute to education and training on medicines optimisation and therapeutics.
• Support dissemination of key prescribing messages and updates.

Quality, Governance & Professional Responsibilities

• Contribute to prescribing audits and quality improvement activity.
• Support compliance with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
• Maintain accurate, timely and high-quality clinical records and documentation.
• Adhere to professional standards, practice policies, and relevant legislation.
• Maintain patient confidentiality in line with data protection and Caldicott principles.
• Participate in appraisal, CPD, and service development.

Qualifications

• Registered pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• Completion of, or working towards, the CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway

Skills and Knowledge

• Ability to work autonomously and as part of a multidisciplinary team
• Strong clinical, communication, and decision-making skills
• Understanding of medicines optimisation and prescribing safety
• Commitment to continuing professional development (CPD)
• Understanding of QOF, PCN DES, and prescribing quality initiatives

Experience

• Experience working in primary care (general practice or PCN)
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