Job summary
The Pharmacy Department is seeking to recruit a Senior Specialist Mental Health Pharmacist to join our friendly, patient-centred team within the Mental Health Urgent Treatment Care Services. This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and motivated mental health pharmacist to join a dynamic and innovative team committed to delivering and advancing high-quality clinical pharmacy services across the Trust. The post holder will work closely with the Site Lead Pharmacist for Maudsley Hospital to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of Trust-wide quality improvement initiatives and specialist pharmacy services. We are looking for an individual with a passion for mental health care, strong clinical expertise, and proven leadership skills. The role will focus on improving patient outcomes through effective medicines optimisation, enhancing communication across multidisciplinary teams, and supporting initiatives that help prevent avoidable hospital admissions related to both mental and physical health conditions. The successful candidate will have excellent communication and influencing skills, with the ability to support and shape prescribing and medicines-related practice. They will be confident in collecting, analysing, and presenting data to inform service development, engage stakeholders, and contribute effectively to Trust meetings and service improvement discussions.
Details
Date posted 05 October 2026
Pay scheme Agenda for changeBandBand 8aSalary 66,274 to 73,496 a year per annum inclusive of HCAs (Inner)
Contract Permanent
Working pattern Full‑time
Reference number 334-CLI-8287810
Job location
Maudsley Hospital Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London SE5 8AZ United Kingdom
Job description
Main duties of the job
- To provide an expert pharmacy service to Mental Health Urgent Treatment Centre (MHUTC) and Place of Safety (POS).
- To provide a clinic for patients and carers to discuss medication.
- To work with the MDTs to ensure effective and appropriate medicines use.
- To improve physical health outcomes for mental health patients, for example by participating in physical health monitoringo
- To provide medicines‑related training to staff on the wards and community teams, as necessary.
- To liaise with primary care, acute trusts, CMHTs, HTTs and wards, as necessary.
- To implement medicines optimisation programme on the wards and teams.
- To undertake research and quality improvement projects.
- To prescribe medicines to service users within competence and agreed management plans.
- To record and analyse data for agreed outcome measures.
Job responsibilities
- 1. To provide an expert pharmacy service to Mental Health Urgent Treatment Centre (MHUTC) and Place of Safety (POS).
- To demonstrate a high standard of clinical knowledge and a patient‑focused approach.
- 2. To attend and co‑ordinate a quality pharmacy service to multidisiplinary ward rounds at the Maudsley.
- 3. To work in allocated wards and teams to ensure safe and effective use of medicines. This includes adhering to Trust policies, pharmacy procedures, local and national guidelines, and legal requirements.
- 4. To work with the MDTs to ensure effective and appropriate medicines use.
- 5. To liaise with primary care, acute trusts, CMHTs, HTTs and wards, as necessary.
- 6. To be responsible for providing a clinical pharmacy service to groups of patients
- a. Ensure effective outcomes of treatment with medicines
- b. Support the teams to monitor patients for potential and actual adverse effects of their medicines
- c. Support patients after discharge from hospital, which may include telephone consultation or face‑to‑face follow‑up appointments where appropriated. Undertake medicines‑related consultations with patients and carerse. Take steps to ensure patients understand the purpose of their medicines and deal with any practical issues that may prevent the optimal use of their medicines.
- 7. To assess medicine regimes both during enquiry answering and/or through referral, providing highly specific advice to other clinical team members on the management of often complex medicine related issues, such as complex drug interactions, high dose antipsychotic prescribing, unlicensed use of medicines etc.
- 8. To prescribe medicines within their scope of practice and in line with Trust policy if qualified and registered with the GPhC as an independent pharmacist prescriber.
- 9. To be able to present information in a suitable format (e.g. written and/or verbal) and style for the target audience. Barriers to effective communication may include learning disability, mental impairment, non‑consenting/noncompliant patients, and patients detained under the mental health act who may be violent/aggressive.
- 10. To prepare and deliver training for clinical staff (e.g. nurses, support workers, junior doctors) on a wide range of medicines‑related issues. To provide clinical supervision to a team of pharmacists as part of a group.
- 11. To support local implementation of Trust Medicines Management Policies within own clinical area, and ensure medicines are handled safely and securely within designated clinical areas.
- 12. To record and collect data on patient and service outcomes and report these to relevant committees on a regular basis.
- 13. To demonstrate innovation and extend the boundaries of the profession.
- 14. To participate in and develop quality improvement initiatives, undertake local and national audits, and engage in research and medicines evaluation as required by the Chief Pharmacist.
- 15. To participate in any other duties as requested by the site lead pharmacist in keeping within expectations of the grade.
- 16. To participate in the on‑call, saturday and bank holiday services.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- MPharm or equivalent
- Registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), with mandatory CPD
- Postgraduate certificate/diploma in mental health or pharmacy practice or equivalent
Desirable
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society or Member / associate member of the CMHP
- Independent prescriber
- Post‑graduate leadership / management qualification
Experience
Essential
- Relevant experience in patient‑facing pharmacist and clinical mental health roles
- Previous experience in providing urgent treatment care services
- Relevant experience in NHS hospital pharmacy
Desirable
- Previous experience in working in primary care networks or GP practices
- Some management or supervisory experience
Knowledge / Skills
Essential
- Good written and verbal communication
- Good time management with ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines
- Leadership skills
- Empathy and understanding of medication issues facing people with mental health problems and their carers
- Able to communicate effectively with individuals from all agencies and levels, including patients carers and the public
Desirable
- Good computer skills, in particular for completing spreadsheets, graphs and reports
- Ability to collect and analyse outcome data for service evaluation purposes
- Mentorship skills
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
Maudsley Hospital Denmark Hill, Camberwell, London SE5 8AZ United Kingdom
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