The post holder would provide a single accessible point of contact for the Home Treatment Team. They will be involved in conducting home visits and phone calls to manage patients with crisis in the community and be responsible for medicines optimisation. They should advise on medications for physical and mental health conditions and influence prescribing of psychotropic drugs. There is a role to provide training and supervision to staff as well as assist in the development of clinics within the Home Treatment Team. The post holder should reduce the risk of harm to the patient including iatrogenic harm, improve the outcome and experience of care, be involved in the implementation of EPMA within Home Treatment Team and improve communication between the team and primary care.
- To be involved in the detection and prevention of psychiatric adverse reactions caused by medicines for physical health conditions (e.g. anti-parkinsonian drug-induced psychosis) and the detection and management of physical adverse reactions caused by psychotropic medicines (e.g. SSRI antidepressant-induced gastric bleeding/haemorrhagic stroke)
- To enhance patient and carer experience
- To be involved in medicines optimisation for any new referrals and have an understanding of how the patient’s current treatment could have contributed to crisis.
Ensure safe and appropriate use of medicines to maximise benefit and minimise risk to patients. This includes regular review of prescriptions, identification of significant drug interactions, advice for clinical monitoring, compliance with legal aspects (Medicines Act, Mental Health Act) of medicine supply and compliance with the Trust formulary
- To have broad and comprehensive expertise in pharmacology, therapeutics and medicines optimisation
- To co-ordinate pharmaceutical care with acute Trust pharmacy teams, community pharmacists, care homes and GPs
TH HTT supports Service users in crisis, with complex and often high risk mental health needs in the community providing a least restrictive Service with the aim of preventing hospital admission. The team also provide support to Service users following a hospital admission as they transition back into the community setting. The post holder will work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team in reviewing service users treatment plans and managing the flow of referrals to the team.
- To improve transfer of medicines information and reduce risk of unintended changes in prescribed medication
- To attend MDT handovers to advise on treatment options for patients.
- To complete medicines reviews/drug histories.
- To clinically check drug charts to ensure legality, minimise ambiguity and clarify administration instructions and to assist the team in appropriate administration recording.
- To undertake medicines reconciliation on admission and discharge (screening of discharge alerts).
- To provide discharge counselling and motivational interviewing to help with medicines adherence.
- To liaise with other pharmacy staff to support an effective dispensing and supply service.
- To review all facilitated discharges medicines to ensure discharge plans are followed up, e.g. completion of cross-titrations, review of benzodiazepine doses, optimisation of new medicines.
- To participate in the pharmacy weekend and on call services.
- To update, create and implement Trust policies to support existing service