Senior Pharmacy Technician - EIPS

at  Sussex Partnership NHS FoundationTrust

The Sussex Early Intervention in Psychosis service (EIP) team is seeking to recruit an experienced enthusiastic, passionate, and patient-focused registered pharmacy technician with excellent communication and team working skills.
The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service (EIP) is a specialist community mental health team. We work with people aged 14- 65 who have experienced First Episode of Psychosis (FEP) and people who have been identified as having an At-Risk Mental State (ARMS).
EIP adopts an assertive outreach approach and provides individualised, comprehensive, evidence-based interventions to optimise recovery, prevent relapse, and help individuals and their families to cope with their experiences. In doing so, we aim to improve social, physical, psychological, and vocational functioning and reduce the short and long-term impact of psychosis in line with the EIP Care Pathway.
The Sussex EIP service is made up of six teams (Bognor, Worthing, Horsham, Brighton & Hove, Hailsham and Hastings), all of which are managed through Specialist Services Division. Whilst you will be supporting all of these teams, you will be able to choose a base that is closest to your home, in line with our policy.
If you are looking for a dedicated role within an experienced multi-disciplinary team and love working with people with FEP in a recovery-focused way we want to meet you.

The Specialist Pharmacy Technician in EIP Service will primarily assist the EIP Service Lead Pharmacist in ensuring a safe, evidence-based delivery of all pharmacological interventions. Working alongside the wider MDT, you will be primarily responsible for the development, delivery, and performance of the specialist intervention of cardiometabolic monitoring within EIP. In addition, you will have the opportunity to support the delivery of a range of medicines optimisation and management activities within EIP with emphasis on:

• ensuring appropriate management of side effects,
• improving compliance with prescribed treatment,
• improving access to clozapine in early-onset schizophrenia,
• improving physical health outcomes, and
• value-based practice as much as evidence-based practice.

Sussex Partnership is one of the largest mental health trust in the UK. The physical health of our mental health patients is important to us and with the life expectancy of patients with serious mental health dying 15 to 20 years earlier, the trust is committed to reducing this risk and pharmacy play a key role in this.
About us
As a mental health trust Sussex Partnership places a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work they do.

IT WOULD ALSO BE ADVANTAGEOUS IF YOU HAVE COMPLETED:

• The Foundation certificate with the College of Mental Health Pharmacists (CMHP).
  Flexibility with working patterns is essential – as is own transport as the role involves travel across the whole Sussex County area. SPFT staff can work from home remotely where applicable and in agreement with your line manager.

Job Description

• Work autonomously to provide medicines information, consultation and support directly to people experiencing their first episode of psychosis, their carer and/or family and friends;
• Work alongside EIP Service Lead Pharmacist and EIP Service Consultant Psychiatrists in the management of caseload, including monitoring of the use of high-risk medications such as clozapine and lithium and referring accordingly when outside of own scope of practice
• Provide expert advice regarding physical health improvement needs of individuals referred to the service, and refer to EIP Service Lead Pharmacist accordingly if/ when outside of own scope of practice
• To retrieve, record into the patients electronic notes and interpret cardiometabolic monitoring as per Lester tool, ensure appropriate interventions are being offered in a timely manner and indicate interventions as needed as per relevant NICE guidelines
• To be responsible for escalating any concerns regarding cardiometabolic monitoring
• To retrieve, record, interpret, communicate and escalate therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for prescribers within EIP e.g. clozapine and lithium
• To retrieve, record, interpret, communicate and escalate blood test results for prescribers within EIP as requested
• Understand the requirements and legalities of clozapine prescribing in order to support with clozapine initiation in EIP using the clozapine policy and to support when required supply of maintenance treatment and co-ordination of FBCs and clozapine levels.
• To undertake medicines reconciliation for new patients coming onto the EIP caseload

Please see attached documents for further information and detailed job description. Alternatively, if you have any queries regarding the role please contact us

• ensuring appropriate management of side effects,
• improving compliance with prescribed treatment,
• improving access to clozapine in early-onset schizophrenia,
• improving physical health outcomes, and
• value-based practice as much as evidence-based practice