Pharmacist
NHS Lothian Pharmacy & Medicines Service
Royal Edinburgh Hospital (Mental Health Services)
Band 6 | 1.0wte | Fixed Term/Secondment (12 months) | 37 Hours
£41,608 - £50,702
(including on call and public holiday commitments)
Are you enthusiastic, motivated and keen to develop your pharmacy career? Come and join our friendly, diverse, supportive and dynamic NHS Lothian team as a Band 6 pharmacist.
Our pharmacy service is rapidly developing and it’s an exciting time to join our team. We are recruiting for a Band 6 pharmacist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. This is an excellent opportunity to gain experience in a specialist mental health environment, with rotations across acute adult mental health, older people’s mental health, forensic mental health and substance misuse services.
About the role
- Our Band 6 training programmes are aligned with the new NHS Education for Scotland (NES) post-registration foundation programme and provide a structured and supportive environment for you to develop your clinical and non-clinical skills.
- You’ll deliver increasingly complex person-centred care across a range of settings, develop your prescribing capabilities, integrate with our pharmacy and wider multiprofessional teams, and for posts that include hospital rotations, work within our core department (technical) areas. You’ll be supported by an educational supervisor throughout your training along with our experienced pharmacy teams. You’ll find more details about our training bases in the ‘Band 6 training base information’ document.
- Our Band 6 training programmes support your professional growth, build your networks, and ensure we have well-rounded pharmacists with the mindset and skills to continually improve patient care and service delivery. Please see site specific information below for more information.
- The NES post-registration foundation programme includes entry onto an independent prescribing course delivered by one of the universities in Scotland. For more information click here
About You:
We’re looking for someone with:
- A Masters Degree in Pharmacy (or equivalent) and be on the practising register of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
- You should have a relevant postgraduate qualification in clinical pharmacy or equivalent experience
- You will have excellent communication, organisational and IT skills alongside a commitment to learning and development.
- The successful candidate will be encouraged to complete the NES Post-Registration Foundation Training programme Further information on the Post-Registration Foundation Training can be found here.
About NHS Lothian:
At NHS Lothian, we are committed to fostering equality, diversity, and inclusion in our workforce. Serving a population of 900,000, we are the second-largest health system in Scotland and home to one of its four teaching boards. Join a dynamic organisation that values innovation, research, and excellence in healthcare delivery.
This is more than just a job—it’s an opportunity to elevate your career learning new transferable skills while making a profound difference in the lives of Lothian patients.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
For further information on what is included in the role and the skills/experience we’re looking for, please refer to the job description and person specification linked below. However, we understand that there's only so much a job pack can convey. If you’d like to learn more about this exciting role, the team you’ll be joining, or the opportunities available, we warmly encourage you to get in touch with the hiring manager. This is a great chance to have an informal discussion, ask questions, and explore how this role aligns with your career goals.
NHS Lothian offers an opportunity to explore flexible working which encompasses a range of options, which allow staff more flexibility in shaping their own working pattern while delivering the needs of the service across our teams. If you wish to be considered for flexible working opportunities please state your preferred option in your application.
Reach out today to start the conversation – we’d love to hear from you!
For further information please contact Paul Maguiness or Morven Forsyth via e-mail on paul.maguiness@nhs.scot or morven.forsyth@nhs.scot
For internal candidates: Please ensure that you have discussed your application with your line manager and that a completed and signed 'Pharmacy Secondment Approval Form' has been authorised prior to attending your interview.
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- Show us the real you: Your application should reflect your skills, experience, and motivations authentically.
- Use AI wisely: It’s fine to use AI for ideas or to check spelling and grammar, but don’t let it write your answers.
- Why this matters: Applications that rely on AI-generated content may be withdrawn. By applying, you confirm your responses are based on your own knowledge and achievements
Tip: Think of AI as a helper, not a substitute. We want to understand you—not an AI tool.
As from 1/4/26, the Agenda for Change full-time working week will be reducing from 37 to 36 hours per week. Part time hours will be reduced pro-rata. Please note that the pay scale in this advert will not be changing as a result.
Please note: we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage.
We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.
This post requires the post holder to have a PVG Scheme membership/record. If the post holder is not a current PVG member for the required regulatory group (i.e. child and/or adult) then an application will need to be made to Disclosure Scotland and deemed satisfactory before they can begin in post.
Due to legislative changes from 1 April 2025, this post may require a different level of criminal records check done than is currently the case. If the post is assessed as a "regulated role", your appointment will be subject to joining the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme. If there is any change to what is currently required, this will be confirmed by either the Hiring Manager or the Recruitment Team. For more details on these changes please visit: Disclosure Scotland Changes.
NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.
