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Clinical Prescribing Pharmacist (Primary Care)

Location: Remote (Work from Home) Contract Type: Self-Employed Contractor Rate: Competitive rates Hours: Flexible full-time and part-time opportunities available Start Date: 15 September Shift Pattern: Monday–Friday, 8am–8pm, Weekends 8am-8pm

About the Role

We are seeking experienced Clinical Prescribing Pharmacists with current or recent hands-on minor and acute illness experience to join our growing remote clinical workforce.

Working autonomously as an Independent Prescriber, you will assess, diagnose and manage patients presenting with a broad range of minor and acute illnesses through digital consultations. You must be confident making your own clinical assessment, diagnosis and management/prescribing decisions, including recognising red flags, determining when remote management is inappropriate, escalating appropriately and providing robust safety-netting.

Important – Clinical Experience Required

This role specifically requires recent, demonstrable experience independently assessing and managing minor/acute illness presentations.

We are looking for pharmacists who can evidence that they have personally:

• assessed patients presenting with minor or acute illness;
• taken an appropriate clinical history and undertaken relevant clinical assessment;
• considered differential diagnoses and identified red flags;
• reached their own clinical decision/diagnosis;
• made autonomous treatment and prescribing decisions;
• recognised when not to prescribe or when remote management is inappropriate;
• escalated or referred appropriately; and
• provided appropriate safety-netting.

Primary care experience predominantly involving chronic disease management, structured medication reviews, medicines optimisation or repeat prescribing alone will not meet the clinical experience requirements for this role.

Experience within Pharmacy First or a Pharmacy Access Clinic may be relevant where you were personally responsible for clinical assessment and the final management/prescribing decision. Experience limited to protocol/PGD-led supply, CPCS triage, advice or referral without autonomous clinical decision-making will not, on its own, meet the requirement.

Candidates should be able to provide specific recent examples of minor/acute illness presentations they have independently assessed and managed as part of the recruitment process.

Clinical Scope

Relevant experience may include assessment and management of presentations such as:

• sore throat and upper respiratory presentations;
• ear and sinus symptoms;
• urinary tract infections;
• rashes and common dermatological presentations;
• hay fever and nasal symptoms;
• bites and stings;
• cold and flu presentations;
• cold sores;
• warts and verrucas;
• acne, rosacea and dermatitis;
• oral and vaginal thrush;
• erectile dysfunction; and
• contraception and emergency contraception.

Candidates are not expected to have managed every condition listed above; however, we are looking for sufficient breadth of recent minor/acute illness practice to demonstrate competence in autonomous primary-care assessment and prescribing.

Essential Requirements

You must:

• be a UK-registered pharmacist in good standing with the GPhC;
• hold a recognised Independent Prescribing qualification ;
• have current or recent hands-on minor/acute illness assessment and prescribing experience;
• be experienced in making autonomous clinical decisions rather than relying on routine GP/senior clinician confirmation;
• demonstrate appropriate clinical reasoning, differential diagnosis and recognition of red flags;
• be confident working within your scope of competence and escalating appropriately;
• demonstrate effective safety-netting and safeguarding awareness;
• be able to work safely and effectively within a remote consultation model; and
• maintain clear, contemporaneous clinical documentation.

Advanced Practice Qualifications and Credentials

Where candidates describe themselves as an Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) / Advanced Practitioner or an Advanced Pharmacist, the relevant designation must be clearly and accurately stated on the application/CV.

Candidates should provide the exact qualification or credential, awarding/recognising organisation and year achieved.

Advanced Clinical Practitioner/Advanced Practitioner and Advanced Pharmacist are distinct advanced-practice designations and should not be presented interchangeably. Holding an Independent Prescribing qualification, completing a primary-care pharmacy pathway, or holding an Advanced Pharmacist credential does not, by itself, constitute evidence of an Advanced Clinical Practitioner qualification.

Formal advanced-practice qualifications are not a substitute for the recent autonomous minor/acute illness experience required for this role.

Clinical Pre-Screening

Shortlisted candidates will complete a brief clinical pre-screen before interview. This will include evidence of:

• recent autonomous minor/acute illness practice;
• typical prescribing scope and caseload;
• recent clinical case examples;
• clinical decision-making and management of undifferentiated presentations;
• red-flag recognition, escalation and safety-netting;
• remote clinical assessment; and
• verification of relevant clinical and advanced-practice qualifications/credentials.

What We Offer

• Competitive contractor rates
• Fully remote working with no commuting required
• Opportunity to work autonomously while being supported by experienced Clinical Leads and a multidisciplinary clinical team
• Robust clinical governance framework focused on patient safety and clinician support
• Ongoing learning, peer review and professional development opportunities
• Exposure to innovative digital healthcare technology and modern models of care