NHS Scotland
260967 (GH) Lead Pharmacist - Critical Care and Surgical Services
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Lead Clinical Pharmacist for Critical Care and Surgical Services
NHS Lothian Pharmacy & Medicines Service
Various NHS Lothian Sites (with expectation to travel to other sites)
Band 8B | 1.0 WTE | 36 Hours | Permanent
(including public holiday commitment)
About the Role
Shape the Future of Clinical Pharmacy in NHS Lothian
An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced, innovative, and forward-thinking pharmacist to lead clinical pharmacy services across Critical Care and Surgical Services within NHS Lothian.
As the Lead Clinical Pharmacist for Critical Care and Surgical Services, you will provide strategic, professional, and operational leadership across a diverse clinical portfolio. You will lead service development and transformation initiatives, workforce development, medicines optimisation, and governance initiatives, ensuring the delivery of safe, effective, and person-centred care.
This senior leadership role sits within NHS Lothian's transformed Pharmacy Leadership Structure and offers a unique opportunity to influence pharmacy practice at scale while maintaining clinical credibility through direct patient-facing practice.
About The Service
NHS Lothian's Surgical and Critical Care Services are delivered across the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, and St John's Hospital. These services provide a comprehensive range of elective, emergency, specialist, and critical care services and are underpinned by strong multidisciplinary working and patient-centred care.
Services include Critical Care, Theatres and Anaesthetics, Neurology, Ophthalmology, and a broad range of surgical specialties including vascular, upper gastrointestinal, colorectal, hepatobiliary, urology, orthopaedics, and major trauma, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic, ENT, and plastic surgery. These services support patients with highly specialised and complex healthcare needs across inpatient, day case, and outpatient pathways.
Key Responsibilities
- Providing strategic, professional, and operational leadership for Critical Care and Surgical Services in pharmacy services across NHS Lothian.
- Setting, reviewing, and assuring standards for safe, effective, and evidence-based pharmacy practice.
- Leading service redesign, quality improvement, innovation, and workforce transformation programmes.
- Supporting medicines optimisation and governance and the effective use of medicines, including oversight of all medicine's efficiency initiatives.
- Providing expert pharmaceutical and prescribing advice to senior clinical, operational, and pharmacy leaders.
- Contributing to pharmacy strategy, service planning, and wider organisational transformation initiatives.
- Maintaining a clinical role within one of the clinical specialties within this portfolio to support professional leadership, clinical credibility, and direct patient care, typically through one clinical session per week.
- Contribute through direct involvement or supervision of research and development activities within the portfolio.
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About You
You will be an experienced clinical pharmacy leader with a proven track record of leading change, developing services, and delivering improvement within complex healthcare environments.
- Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) degree or equivalent, with registration as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
- Postgraduate qualification in Clinical Pharmacy or equivalent Master's-level knowledge and experience.
- An Independent Prescribing Qualification.
- Completed Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma or Masters of Science (MSc) in Clinical Pharmacy or be able to demonstrate competence to the level of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society Core Advanced Curriculum.
- Candidates who have not completed a Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma or MSc in Clinical Pharmacy must demonstrate substantial progress across the four pillars of the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum through:
- Engagement with the RPS Core Advanced Curriculum
- Active participation in a community of practice/peer network
- Submit a screenshot of portfolio (programme of learning page)
- Complete the RPS learning needs analysis tool to assess progress with the Core Advanced Curriculum and any gaps that will need addressed as part of PDP plans
- Candidates who have completed a Postgraduate Clinical Pharmacy Diploma or MSc in Clinical Pharmacy should complete the learning needs analysis (LNA) using the LNA tool in the RPS e-portfolio, identifying any gaps that will need addressed as part of PDP plans.
- Significant experience in clinical pharmacy leadership, workforce development, and people management.
- Advanced knowledge of therapeutics, prescribing practice, medicines optimisation, and governance.
- Experience in quality improvement, audit, research, and service redesign.
- Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder engagement skills.
- Ability to lead change, develop people, and improve outcomes for patients and services.
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Why Join Us?
This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of Surgical and Critical Care pharmacy services across NHS Lothian. Working in partnership with senior clinical, operational, and pharmacy leaders, you will play a key role in developing innovative services, supporting the pharmacy workforce, and improving outcomes for patients across a wide range of specialist surgical, perioperative, and critical care settings.
If you are a motivated and compassionate pharmacy leader with the vision, expertise, and drive to deliver service excellence, we would welcome your application.
About NHS Lothian
NHS Lothian covers Edinburgh city, East Lothian, Midlothian, and West Lothian. We are the second largest health system in NHS Scotland and one of only four teaching Boards. We have strategic partnerships with local Universities, Local Authorities, and our four Integration Joint Boards. We serve a population of 900,000, providing a range of primary, community-based, and acute hospital services. We also provide regional and national services across a range of clinical specialties.
The vision for the Pharmacy & Medicines Service is to deliver clinically led, person-centred services to ensure patients across Lothian get the best from their medicines and pharmacy services. We are focused on creating an environment where each person in the team can flourish, develop, and make the best use of their skills.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
For comprehensive details regarding the responsibilities of this position and the qualifications we are seeking, please consult the job description and person specification provided below.
If you’re curious about the role, the team you’ll be joining, or the opportunities that come with it, we’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out to the hiring manager for an informal chat; it’s a great opportunity to ask questions and see how this role could fit with your career goals.
For further information on what is included in the role and what skills/experience are being looked for, click on the links at the bottom of the screen to the job description and person specification. If after reading this information you have any questions, please contact Jin Hah, Head of Pharmacy Clinical Services (Cancer, Critical Care, Anaesthetics, Advanced Therapies and Surgery) email jinwerne.hah@nhs.scot
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