Lead Pharmacist - ICU and Theatres

Job summary

Band 8a Lead Pharmacist - ICU and Theatres

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced and motivated pharmacist to join the ICU Team as a Lead Pharmacist at the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

This role will provide advanced clinical pharmacy leadership and specialist pharmaceutical care across ICU and Theaters, supporting the delivery of safe, effective and patient-centered care within a fast-paced acute hospital environment.

The post holder will work closely with multidisciplinary teams across ICU and Theaters, but also medical wards to optimise medicines use, support timely patient flow and contribute to service transformation initiatives across the Trust.

The successful candidate will play a key role in advancing clinical pharmacy practice, supporting prescribing governance, developing workforce capability and driving quality improvement aligned with Trust and national priorities.

This is an excellent opportunity for a pharmacist with strong clinical and leadership skills who is passionate about intensive care, medicines optimisation and innovation within hospital pharmacy services.

Main duties of the job

• Leads and manages the delivery, development, and performance of a highly specialist clinical pharmacy service in ICU and Theatres within Royal Berkshire Hospital.
• Oversees the planning, prioritisation, and organisation of pharmacy activities to ensure a safe, effective, and high-quality medicines optimisation service for ICU and Theatres.
• Provides professional pharmaceutical governance, medicines safety support, education, and clinical leadership to ICU.
• To develop and implement medicines management policies and procedures in line with local priorities, national directives, medicines legislation, and professional ethics.
• To identify and resolve prescribing-related problems and other medicines-management-related issues and to ensure that the principles of clinical governance and the safe and effective use of medicines are followed.
• Participate in consultant ward rounds and clinics within specialties identified as key areas.

About us
Reading sits on the river Thames and is served by great road and rail links to London, Oxford and Southampton. With excellent leisure and shopping facilities, and a thriving cultural scene, Reading is a wonderful place to live, work and play and provides excellent facilities for families, including some of the best state and private schools in the UK.

The CQC rated the care provided by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust as Good.

Our "CARE" values: Compassionate, Aspirational, Resourceful, Excellent, reflect the type of Trust we aspire to be and you can join our dedicated and talented staff to make this happen.

Job responsibilities
Please refer to the attached Job Description and Person Specification for further details of the job role.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training
Essential

• Master Degree in Pharmacy
• Member of GPhC
• Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Pharmacy
• Independent Prescriber

Desirable

• Member of UKCPA
• Member of RCP
• Postgraduate qualification in leadership, eg, MBA or Level 5/6 Senior Leadership
• Formal Training in QI methodologies
• Educational Supervisor Certificate/Diploma
• MSc Critical care

Knowledge and Experience
Essential

• Extensive Hospital Pharmacy Experience
• Experience in working as IP
• Experience in clinical governance
• Experience of contributing to service development, quality improvement, or implementation of new ways of working
• Ability to supervise, support and develop junior staff
• Experience in writing clinical guidelines

Desirable

• Experience of managing or coordinating clinical pharmacy services or workload
• Experience of Parenteral Nutrition management
• Experience on ICCA system
• Experience of involvement in research, audit, or practice-based publication
• Experience in theatres and anesthetics

Skills and abilities
Essential

• Advanced clinical reasoning
• Ability to influence prescribing and negotiate
• Excellent attention to detail
• Ability to work independently

Desirable

• Contributes positively to team culture, supporting colleagues and promoting a learning environment

Additional information

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.