Chief Pharmacist

Job Description:

Chief Pharmacist

Location: New Victoria Hospital, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey
Contract: Permanent
Hours: Full time - Onsite
Salary: £ Competitive

We make health happen

New Victoria Hospital is one of our newly acquired hospitals, located in Southwest London. The hospital specialises in orthopaedics, gynaecology, general surgery and gastroenterology, delivering high‑quality care to both insured and self‑pay patients.

The hospital operates a thriving outpatient and diagnostic service, providing patients with rapid access to advanced imaging, a comprehensive endoscopy service, and inpatient facilities comprising 33 beds, 14 of which are dedicated day‑case beds. New Victoria Hospital also features three modern operating theatres alongside a range of state‑of‑the‑art clinical facilities. Renowned for its clinical excellence and patient‑centred approach, New Victoria Hospital is the healthcare provider of choice for patients across Southwest London and beyond.

Joining Bupa, you will benefit from access to our state-of-the art Clinical Training Facility, a centre for connected learning, care, and careers. This forms part of Bupa Campus, a vibrant new learning initiative which brings us together in virtual and physical spaces across the Bupa globe.

Pharmacy services run Monday to Friday: 8am to 8pm and Saturday: 8am to 4pm. The department also provides an on-call service outside of the departments opening hours.

How you'll help us make health happen

We are seeking an experienced and inspirational Chief Pharmacist to lead pharmacy services at New Victoria Hospital.

This is a senior clinical leadership role, reporting to the Director of Clinical Services, with overall responsibility for the safe, effective and legal use of medicines across the hospital. You will provide professional leadership to the pharmacy team, assurance to the Executive Team, and strategic direction for medicines optimisation and medication safety.

You will play a pivotal role in governance, compliance, digital medicines systems, workforce development and service improvement, ensuring the highest standards of patient care and regulatory compliance.

Key responsibilities

• Act as the named individual responsible for the safe and secure handling of medicines at New Victoria Hospital.
• Provide strategic and professional leadership for all pharmacy services across the hospital.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant legislation, regulatory requirements (including CQC), and professional standards.
• Lead on medication safety, acting as Medication Safety Officer and promoting learning from incidents and near misses.
• Provide assurance to the Executive Team through governance, risk management and quality reporting.
• Lead the continuous development, maintenance and safe use of pharmacy systems within the hospital's electronic patient record.
• Drive medicines optimisation across the patient pathway, from admission through to discharge.
• Lead and deliver the Anti-microbial Stewardship programme within the organisation
• Provide expert clinical advice to consultants, clinicians and the wider multidisciplinary team.
• Lead workforce planning, recruitment, supervision, appraisal and development of pharmacy staff.
• Oversee medicines policies, SOPs, audits and quality improvement initiatives.
• Manage pharmacy budgets, stock control and cost‑effective use of medicines.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders including regulators, insurers, suppliers and professional bodies.

What we're looking for

Essential:

• Registered Pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
• Significant senior leadership experience within a hospital pharmacy setting (NHS or independent sector).
• Proven experience of managing pharmacy services, governance, and medication safety.
• Strong understanding of medicines legislation, CQC requirements and professional standards.
• Experience of electronic prescribing / digital medicines systems.
• Excellent leadership, communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and financial awareness, including budgeting and cost control.

Desirable:

• Experience working in the acute independent healthcare sector.
• Medication Safety Officer experience.
• Membership of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and/or UK Clinical Pharmacy Association.
• Formal management or leadership training.

Why Bupa?

We are a health insurer and provider. With no shareholders, our customers are our focus. Our people are all driven by the same purpose - helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. We make health happen by being brave, caring, and responsible in everything we do.

We encourage all of our people to ”Be you at Bupa,” we champion diversity, and we understand the importance of our people representing the communities and customers we serve. That is why we especially encourage applications from people with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

Bupa is a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. This means we aim to offer an interview/assessment to every disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the role. We will make sure you are treated fairly and offer reasonable adjustments as part of our recruitment process to anyone that needs them.

If you require information regarding this role in an alternative format, please email: careers@bupa.com

If you would like more information on the role, please contact serina.kapoor@bupa.com

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