Are you a pharmacist looking for a new challenge, and passionate about supporting those with a learning disability and autism to receive treatment they need, safely and compassionately? If so, and you are prepared to deliver evidence based change to support clinical service delivery, this role will provide you with a rare and exciting career opportunity.
Avon and Wiltshire Partnership (AWP) are looking for an exceptional pharmacist to provide leadership in medicines optimisation, to deliver our vision to deliver excellence for people with a learning disability and autistic people, in our new specialist acute inpatient mental health service and outreach team. The ambition is to deliver a specialist setting to meet the unique environmental and clinical needs of people with a learning disability and or autism that cannot access mainstream inpatient services.
The AWP inpatient unit aims to be a centre of excellence, and has been carefully designed and developed with clinicians and people with lived experience. We are expecting the new centre to be open in 2025. You will be employed in the Pharmacy Service, however will work closely with the Specialised Services division as a core member of the project team until opening. You will be instrumental in the development, implementation and delivery of the clinical and operational model for the inpatient service.
The post includes on-call and some weekend and bank holiday working as part of the pharmacy service.

Experience of working in a variety of mental health settings, with service users with complex mental health issues, and ideally those with a learning disability and/or autism, is essential for this role.

• Be a key member of the multidisciplinary team caring for service users under the care of the Learning Disability and Autism (LDA) inpatient unit and outreach service, providing expert medicines optimisation guidance and advice.
• Lead the development, delivery and evaluation of LDA clinical pharmacy services, in line with the Trust and national medicines optimisation agendas.
• Lead and provide subject expert input into associated groups regarding clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation, at a local, regional and national level.
• Lead on the STOMP (Stopping Overmedication of People with Learning Disabilities and Autism) programme across the Trust, and to link in with primary care colleagues in supporting this programme.
• Provide clinical leadership, management, support and guidance to clinicians across the different pathways in supporting STOMP.
• To deliver education, training and clinical supervision in the learning disabilities and autism specialty across the Trust, including to trainee and registered pharmacy staff rotating from partners in the Integrated Care System (ICS).
• To work as an independent prescriber and team member within defined clinical services

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.
Please refer to the full Job Description and Person specification attached to this advert
R eq u i r e m e n t s
Essenti a l
D esirable
E d u c a tion a n d Qu a l i f ic a t ion
Masters degree in Pharmacy (or equivalent)
Registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical or Psychiatric Pharmacy, or equivalent
Registered Independent Non-medical Prescriber
Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)
Masters (MSc) in Clinical Pharmacy
Other postgraduate qualifications relevant to pharmacy practice, such as leadership, management and education and training qualifications
E x p erie n ce a n d K n o w le d ge
Evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Significant 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, including providing medicines information to mental health patients and the multidisciplinary team
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
Experience of delivering and developing teaching/training/ education up to and including post-graduate level
Demonstrable experience of conducting and co-ordinating clinical audit and/or quality improvement projects
Demonstrable experience of working with senior healthcare professionals outside of Pharmacy to achieve across Trust developments.
Experience in setting up, delivering and developing services, particularly with commissioners
Experience of prescribing independently
Experience providing clinical pharmacy services in a specialist learning disability and/or autism inpatient unit or community setting
Active involvement in R&D and audit and experience of supervising others for research and audit purpose

• Be a key member of the multidisciplinary team caring for service users under the care of the Learning Disability and Autism (LDA) inpatient unit and outreach service, providing expert medicines optimisation guidance and advice.
• Lead the development, delivery and evaluation of LDA clinical pharmacy services, in line with the Trust and national medicines optimisation agendas.
• Lead and provide subject expert input into associated groups regarding clinical pharmacy and medicines optimisation, at a local, regional and national level.
• Lead on the STOMP (Stopping Overmedication of People with Learning Disabilities and Autism) programme across the Trust, and to link in with primary care colleagues in supporting this programme.
• Provide clinical leadership, management, support and guidance to clinicians across the different pathways in supporting STOMP.
• To deliver education, training and clinical supervision in the learning disabilities and autism specialty across the Trust, including to trainee and registered pharmacy staff rotating from partners in the Integrated Care System (ICS).
• To work as an independent prescriber and team member within defined clinical service