Directorate: Unscheduled Care and Medicine, Cancer and Clinical Specialties
Initial Location /Contact and Hours: Location to be determined with the succesful applicant/ Permanent, full-time role
Reports to: Director of Unscheduled Care and Medicine, Cancer and Clinical Specialties
It is anticipated that interviews will be held on either 2 December or 12 December 2024.
Job Summary
The Head of Pharmacy and Medicines Management will lead the strategic and operational development of pharmacy, pharmaceutical services, medicines management and medicines optimisation within the Trust.
The postholder will be the professional Head of Pharmaceutical Services in the Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) and is the named Superintendent Pharmacist with the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, ensuring that pharmacies within the Trust are registered in accordance with relevant medicines legislation and that all obligations in relation to the Medicines (Pharmacies)(Responsible Pharmacist) Regulations 2008, in effect from October 2009, are complied with fully.
The postholder is the Accountable Officer (AO) for controlled drugs for the WHSCT in accordance with the Controlled Drugs (Supervision of Management and Use) Regulations 2009; (SR 2009 No.225) and amendments.
The postholder is the Responsible Person under the Medicines Act for the Wholesale Dealer’s Authorisation for the Pharmacy Department in the South West Acute Hospital and is named as the license holder under the Medicines Act on the MHRA ‘Specials’ Manufacturing License in the Aseptics Suite, Altnagelvin Hospital.
The postholder will be the senior manager within pharmacy with responsibility for clinical governance of the pharmacy service and all aspects of the management of all pharmacy staff throughout the Trust.
The postholder will provide specialist expertise for pharmaceutical services, medicines management and medicines optimisation including Controls Assurance Standards, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Hospital Pharmacy Standards and other Department of Health (DOH) performance management arrangements.
The postholder will ensure that all pharmaceutical processes within the Trust are in line with the requirements laid down by the DoH in the Medicines Optimisation Quality Framework (MOQF) and by the Regulation & Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA). The postholder will be the point of liaison with agencies external to the Trust with regards to matters concerned with pharmacy and medicines optimisation.
The postholder will manage the procurement of medicines and associated pharmaceutical products in line with accepted best practice standards.
As a member of the Unscheduled Care and Medicine, Cancer and Clinical Specialties Senior Management Team, the postholder will contribute to the corporate management and strategic development of services in the Directorate of Unscheduled Care and Medicine, Cancer and Clinical Specialties, the achievement of regional and local priorities and service modernisation to secure improved services to patients.
Main Duties & Responsibilities
Service Delivery
- Responsible for actively managing and delivering a patient-focussed and evidence-based pharmaceutical service across the Trust and to other healthcare providers.
- Provide professional pharmaceutical leadership of the pharmacy service within the Trust and ensure that the service complies with the policies of the Trust, the Department of Health, and other relevant professional standards.
- Responsible for medicines management and medicines optimisation within the Trust, including associated controls assurance standards, pharmaceutical standards and clinical governance of pharmaceutical services, and provide appropriate advice and assurance to the Trust Board.
- Responsible for ensuring systems are in place to appropriately address all aspects of the safe, secure and cost-effective handling of medicines, and reports directly to the Chief Executive for this purpose across the whole organisation in both secondary and community care.
- As Accountable Officer for Controlled Drugs, is responsible for the management of controlled drugs and related governance issues across the WHSCT.
- Represent the WHSCT on the Northern Ireland Local Intelligence Network for controlled drugs.
- Provide professional support to the Trust’s Drug and Therapeutics Sub-group and chair a number of Trust medicines- related working groups.
- Develop a pharmacy and medicines optimisation strategic plan for WHSCT for ratification by Corporate Management Team and use this to develop yearly operational objectives which will take account of local, regional and national objectives. Review the plan regularly to take into account emerging priorities across the organisation and amend.
- Be the licence holder for the pharmacy-related Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Licences held by the Trust.
- nterpret and provide expert advice on broad clinical professional policies and general guidance from within the Department of Health and the HSC and translate these into arrangements to support the development and delivery of pharmacy, pharmaceutical services, medicines management and medicines optimisation within the Trust.
Please see the full job description for more details
