| Hub and spoke changes 'delayed beyond 1 January' ... shed in May. At the time, CPE then said it was working with the DHSC 'to develop a model that works for community pharmacy' in England. When the consultation response was published, negotiators in Northern Ireland expressed disappointment that the government had proceeded with the spoke-hub-patient model. Meanwhile in Scotland, the negotiator said in May that it could not begin conversations about how the n ... Date: 30-09-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| World Pharmacists Day celebrates 'vital' role of profession ... l pharmacy teams across the country for your hard work caring for our communities. ? pic.twitter.com/VRuFDvBfrP — NHS England (@NHSEngland) September 25, 2024 Meanwhile, Cathy Harrison, CPhO in Northern Ireland, described pharmacists as 'integral members' of healthcare teams 'in all sectors'. And Northern Ireland health minister Mike Nesbitt thanked pharmacists for their 'vital work'. Marking World Ph ... Date: 25-09-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Protest action hoped to spotlight pharmacy plight ... do so pic.twitter.com/eievGPj0tZ — Reena Barai (@REENABARAI) September 19, 2024 Sector leaders from Community Pharmacy England (CPE), the Company Chemists' Association (CCA), Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI) and the NPA also highlighted patient concern by presenting their 'Save our pharmacies' petition, which now has more than 350,000 signatures, to parliament today. Good to be joined by other ... Date: 19-09-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Negotiator 'interested' to hear outcome of NPA ballot ... is ballot to inform those considerations.' Ms Morrison joined NPA chief executive Paul Rees, NPA chair Nick Kaye, Company Chemists' Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison, Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland chief executive Gerard Greene, Labour MP for Exeter Steve Race and Labour MP for North Somerset Sadik Al-Hassan to deliver the 'Save Our Pharmacies' petition to Downing Street earlier today. Delig ... Date: 19-09-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| NPA to ballot pharmacists on working to rule ... sociation (NPA) is balloting its members on working to rule amid growing concerns over funding and budget cuts, it has announced today. If passed, thousands of pharmacies across England, Wales and Northern Ireland could take action before Christmas, in an unprecedented move for the sector. The ballot, which will be sent to NPA members 'within days', asks pharmacies if they will reduce services, withdraw fre ... Date: 19-09-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Puberty blockers ban extended until late November ... rmones, known as ‘puberty blockers', to under-18s, was in place from 3 June to 3 September 2024. And yesterday (22 August) it was renewed until 26 November 2024, as well as being extended to cover Northern Ireland from the 27 August. It prohibits the sale or supply of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues for gender incongruence or dysphoria to under 18s not already taking them, when prescribed by UK-re ... Date: 23-08-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • In Practice • Men's health • Mental health and addiction • News • Sexual health • Women's health |
| Employers to negotiate on NI practice pharmacist pay, says PDA GP employers in Northern Ireland have committed to engage in further negotiations on pay for practice pharmacists, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has confirmed. And no decision will be made on industrial action until ... Date: 21-08-2024 Categories: • In Practice • News |
| Paul Rees: 'We have to keep pharmacy on the government's agenda' ... xecutive Paul Rees told The Pharmacist in an exclusive interview last week. With 10 pharmacies in England closing each week, and many pharmacies feeling ‘close to the brink’ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the NPA’s second day of action is ‘really important’ to keep government attention on the sector, Mr Rees said. The action is planned on 19 September – just before this year's Labour Party confere ... Date: 15-08-2024 Categories: • Community • Interviews • News |
| Practice pharmacists prepared to take industrial action over pay in NI Practice pharmacists in Northern Ireland have signalled strong appetite for industrial action over pay, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has revealed. A consultation of its members saw 90% of practice-based pharmacists in North ... Date: 14-08-2024 Categories: • In Practice • News |
| UKBPA welcomes single route to register internationally qualified pharmacists ... l take place with the help of a reconvened working group including representatives from statutory education bodies, OSPAP providers and other university representatives, the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, employers, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the UK Black Pharmacists Association, and other representative bodies. The regulator also clarified that international applicants would still need to ... Date: 12-08-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Pharmacy bodies condemn racial violence as riots spread ... n social media, the Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA) said it was 'honoured' to be 'a diverse specialist pharmacy group, proud to represent the very best of multi-ethnic, multi-racial Britain, Northern Ireland and beyond'. 'We are appreciative of our excellent teams whose beliefs, backgrounds and belonging bring expertise, safety and empathy when assisting patients and their loved ones with medici ... Date: 06-08-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Lowest summer registration pass rate since 2019 ... vealed. Just 75% of trainee pharmacists passed the common registration assessment for pharmacists this year, held jointly by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI). This year's pass rate is lower than the 77% that passed last summer, which was down from 80% in summer 2022, and 82% in 2021. No summer assessments took place in 2020 due to the pandemi ... Date: 30-07-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Pharmacists would 'rather focus on care than check millions of certificates' ... ealth outcomes for patients but could also have an impact on increased demands on NHS services if conditions are not managed effectively,’ she said. ‘There are no prescription charges in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales and pharmacists in England would also rather be focussed on providing care than having to check millions of certificates and undertake the other admin involved with the collection of what ma ... Date: 25-06-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Paul Rees: 'We need to keep the pressure up' ... been going today? For the first time ever, community pharmacies joined together across the independent sector. We reckon about 6,000 pharmacies have taken action across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They've been doing things like turning off the lights between 9am and 11am, people have been wearing black - there’s a banner outside this pharmacy as well. People have been really enthusiasti ... Date: 20-06-2024 Categories: • Community • Interviews • News |
| Two-thirds of pharmacies slash opening hours amid funding pressures ... re is only usually enough NHS funding to cover the first three weeks of the month. Based on member feedback, the NPA believes that between 5,000 to 6,000 pharmacies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will take part in the day. Paul Rees, chief executive of the NPA, said: ‘Cutting opening hours is a last resort for pharmacies desperately trying to make ends meet in the face of a decade of cuts, ... Date: 20-06-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| 'Strong rationale' for GP pharmacist medicines reviews ... Graham Stretch, president of the UK-wide Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA) said the 'very well-constructed' study was conducted in the Republic of Ireland in practices close to the border with Northern Ireland. 'If anything, pharmacists in the UK would likely have a greater impact due to their longer-standing activity and training infrastructure, prescribing scopes and support networks than in Ireland. ... Date: 17-06-2024 Categories: • In Practice • News |
| Pharmacy technicians able to supply meds under PGDs from end of month ... other parts of the service’. Amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations were then made on 29 May, to come into force after 28 days, on the 26 June. They apply to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, although as pharmacy technicians are not registered in Northern Ireland the changes will not affect the pharmacy workforce there. An explanatory note added to the amendments clarified that the ch ... Date: 05-06-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Scottish Government 'unable' to announce community pharmacy contract before election ... Social Care, adding that ‘accelerating this negotiation, whether in the coming weeks or with the new government, remains our focus.’ Meanwhile, Gerard Greene, chief executive of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland, told The Pharmacist that as health was a devolved matter, ‘many decisions relating to community pharmacy affairs including legislation in Northern Ireland can continue to be made at a local level by ... Date: 31-05-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| OTC medicines should be free for people on low incomes through Pharmacy First, say MPs ... ddition to the service if we're genuine about wanting to take the pressure off GP appointments,’ Ms Morrison told the committee. This already forms part of the minor ailments services in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, she added. The committee's report also raised concerns about community pharmacy funding and called for greater focus on pharmacy workforce planning, as well as a legislation change tha ... Date: 30-05-2024 Categories: • Community • News • Pharmacy First |
| Hub and spoke discussions in Scotland won’t start until funding agreed, says CPS ... and spoke legislation will affect NHS dispensing until the sector has its funding in place for 2024/25, Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) has confirmed to The Pharmacist. Meanwhile, negotiators in Northern Ireland have expressed disappointment that the government has proceeded with the spoke-hub-patient model. The comments come after the government unveiled plans to allow models of hub and spoke dispensing ... Date: 17-05-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Pharmacists will be able to supply naloxone without a prescription ... tinue to bring forward the legislative changes outlined in the consultation. We aim to enact these changes over the course of this year, subject to parliamentary scrutiny in the UK Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. We have engaged and consulted across the UK throughout this process and will continue to do this during the implementation and delivery of proposals.’ In Scotland, a national naloxone se ... Date: 15-05-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Government plans to 'ensure accountability and patient safety' in hub and spoke ... he hub and the spoke must be registered as retail pharmacies and therefore will be subject to regulation by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) in Great Britain or the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI), as hub and spokes operating within the same legal entity already are, the government said. Roz Gittins, chief pharmacy officer and deputy registrar at the GPhC, said that the regulator wou ... Date: 14-05-2024 Categories: • Analysis • Community • News |
| Hub and spoke changes could ‘further complicate’ medicines supply amid shortages ... f shortages ‘could be adversely affected by any flow of medicines between the hub and spoke, especially where the hub is in another area or another country’. Particular concerns were raised around Northern Ireland, but the government said that many of these had been addressed by the Windsor Framework, which was agreed after the consultation period. And it said that posting medicines to Northern Ireland from ... Date: 13-05-2024 Categories: • Analysis • Community • News |
| RPS expands patient safety standards to all settings ... patient safety subject matter experts that contributed to the updated standards. The standards were developed by the RPS, the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK) and the Pharmacy Forum Northern Ireland (PFNI). APTUK president Nicola Stockmann said that APTUK was ‘pleased to have prompted the review and subsequently supported with input to the significant update' of the standards. She added: ‘ ... Date: 24-04-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Independent experts recruited to UK pharmacy leadership board ... embers, including the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK, British Oncology Pharmacy Association, British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association, College of Mental Health Pharmacy, Pharmacy Forum of Northern Ireland, Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA), Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), UK Clinical Pharmacy Association and a representative from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Last month, newly i ... Date: 10-04-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| ‘Arbitrary barrier’: Sector slams latest prescription charge rise ... rvice, pharmacies are required to have an up-to-date notice about the NHS prescription charge displayed in the prescription reception area. Prescriptions charges do not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England Tase Oputu said: ‘Amid an ongoing cost of living crisis, the rise in prescription charges in England will hit working people on low inco ... Date: 05-04-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Strategy pledges pharmacists as ‘medicine leaders’ in GP practices Practice pharmacists in Northern Ireland will be ‘more firmly established’ as the ‘clinical leads for medicines’ within general practice teams by 2030, a new government strategy has pledged. The Department of Health in Northern Ireland h ... Date: 04-04-2024 Categories: • In Practice • News |
| Mahendra Patel: 'Let’s have the difficult conversations' ... think: can we do this? Is there something here I as a community pharmacist can start looking at, run away with it and do an exemplar model on this? ‘Wales are leading in many ways on this, as are Northern Ireland, as are Scotland,’ he said. Developing new initiatives for the sector would need to be both a ‘bottom up’ and ‘top down’ approach, Dr Patel said. And he encouraged community pharmacists to simp ... Date: 12-03-2024 Categories: • Community • Interviews • News |
| Pharmacists need endometriosis education amid slow diagnoses, charity suggests ... articipants who had received an endometriosis diagnosis from a healthcare practitioner in the UK, an average diagnosis time of eight years and 10 months was recorded in England and Scotland, while in Northern Ireland diagnosis could take an average of nine years and five months, or nine years and 11 months in Wales. This was compared to a 2020 average of eight years in England, eight years six months in Scotla ... Date: 08-03-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Pain |
| Call for local ‘collaborative’ primary care contract ... rom medicines, could save money in secondary care that could then be re-invested in primary care. Also at the Sigma conference this week, the four chief pharmaceutical officers (CPhO) for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales shared ambitious plans for Pharmacy First across the four nations. But David Webb, CPhO for England, revealed that the IT updates allowing GP patient records to be updated with ... Date: 28-02-2024 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| CPhOs share ambitious plans for Pharmacy First across the four nations Pharmacy First could open up routes for community pharmacy to play a greater role in healthcare, the chief pharmaceutical officers (CPhOs) for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have suggested. And they agreed that now having a service across all four nations would help the public to view community pharmacies as a place to receive clinical care. Speaking on a panel via ... Date: 27-02-2024 Categories: • Community • News • Pharmacy First |
| Report considering pharmacy access to PrEP to come ‘next week’ ... disoproxil and emtricitabine and can be taken daily or on-demand to reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV, is currently available in England, Scotland and Wales from sexual health clinics. In Northern Ireland, patients can receive an initial consultation and assessment appointments for centrally dispensed PrEP from any genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. But the HIV and AIDS All-Party Parliamentary Gr ... Date: 09-02-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Sexual health |
| Covid undervaccination led to thousands of deaths in UK ... having received fewer than the recommended number of vaccine doses. Rates of ‘undervaccination’ against Covid-19 across the UK as of 1 June 2022: England – 45.8% (26,985,570 of 58,967,360) Northern Ireland – 49.8% (938,420 of 1,885,670) Scotland – 34.2% (1,709,786 of 4,992,498) Wales – 32.8% (773,850 of 2,358,740) ‘The effect of being undervaccinated on severe Covid-19 outcomes was notably lar ... Date: 23-01-2024 Categories: • Clinical • Community • Covid-19 • News • Vaccinations and infections |
| Former CPS chief executive joins Numark as chair ... y first” concept in Scotland from the outset – arguably the most advanced community pharmacy provision anywhere in Europe – and that experience will help us persuade governments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to unlock the potential of community pharmacy,’ Mr Anderson added. Mr McQuillan said the appointment would give him the opportunity to continue his work as ‘a passionate advocate for community pha ... Date: 18-01-2024 Categories: • Community • News |
| Can you write for The Pharmacist? This is what we are looking for ... c, and ideally with a few bullet points telling us about the points you plan to cover. Our invitation to write extends to any pharmacists working in general practice in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We want to hear your views and share your expertise and experiences to share. Please get in touch. Sign up for newsletters from The Pharmacist. Download The Pharmacist app from the App Store o ... Date: 02-01-2024 Categories: • Views |
| Are you writing for The Pharmacist? ... hosen topic, ideally with a few bullet points telling us about the points you plan to cover. Our invitation to write extends to anyone working in community pharmacy, in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. We want to hear your views and share your expertise and experiences to share across community pharmacy. Please get in touch. Sign up for newsletters from The Pharmacist. Download The Pharmacis ... Date: 01-01-2024 Categories: • Community |
| Climate change likely to bring mosquito-borne diseases to UK, UKHSA warns ... pictus – a mosquito species that can transmit dengue fever, chikungunya virus and zika virus – ‘has the potential to become established’ in most of England by the 2040s and 2050s while most of Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of the Scottish Lowlands ‘could also become suitable habitats’ later on in the century. Under this scenario, London could experience endemic dengue transmission by 2060, the authors warn ... Date: 11-12-2023 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Travel health • Vaccinations and infections |
| Pass rate for pharmacist registration exam up 10% in a year The overall pass rate from November 2023’s registration assessment for pharmacists was 66%, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have revealed. The figure represents a significant 10% rise on the previous year’s overall pass rate. A total of 1,067 candidates across the four UK countries sat the assessment on 2 Nov ... Date: 05-12-2023 Categories: • News |
| CPhO: Pharmacists bring ‘judicious approach’ to medicines prescribing ... t doing what’s required? That will be an excellent part of our professional practice,’ he said. Workforce ‘number one priority’ During a panel discussion, the three CPhOs present – representing Northern Ireland, Scotland and England – also responded to workforce issues facing the sector. Mr Webb also highlighted the key role of community pharmacy employers in reducing local health inequalities. Mr Web ... Date: 13-11-2023 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Increased trade barriers and costs for pharmacists post-Brexit ... it can put in place plans to mitigate the risk of the shortage impacting patients.' ‘Significant ramifications’ for NI medicines supply The report also highlighted issues of medicines supply to Northern Ireland. It warned of ‘significant ramifications’ of the shift towards UK regulation which is now underway. ‘Before the Windsor Framework, Northern Ireland was much closer to the EU system of medicine reg ... Date: 08-11-2023 Categories: • Community • News |
| UK-wide pharmacy leadership advisory board launches ... tion of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA), British Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (BPSA), College of Mental Health Pharmacy (CMHP), Pharmacy Forum of Northern Ireland (PFNI), Primary Care Pharmacy Association (PCPA), Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) and a representative from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. The ... Date: 23-10-2023 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| PDA ‘cannot support’ PGDs for pharmacy technicians proposal ... in the past been central to DHSC policy,’ the PDA said. It also raised concerns that the proposals related to all four UK nations, despite pharmacy technician not being registered professionals in Northern Ireland. ‘Pharmacy technicians are valuable members of the pharmacy team and whilst the PDA does not support the proposals around PGDs for the reasons outlined in its response to the consultation, it is k ... Date: 13-10-2023 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Views sought on plans to clamp down on youth vaping ... e-free by 2030’. The eight-week consultation will ‘help shape future policy’ on vaping and smoking, DHSC said, and has ‘widespread support,’ with the Welsh Government, Scottish Government, and the Northern Ireland Department of Health ‘all giving it their backing and agreeing to a joint consultation’. Earlier this week, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting also pledged to take 'tough action' against the va ... Date: 12-10-2023 Categories: • Clinical • News • Smoking cessation |
| MHRA issues guidance on valproate full pack dispensing ... – effective as of 11 October 2023 – currently apply in England, Scotland and Wales, although the government states that the MHRA guidance should also be regarded as 'good practice' by pharmacists in Northern Ireland. Date: 11-10-2023 Categories: • News |
| Pharmacy market shifting in favour of independents, report suggests ... than 300 stores have reduced to around 35% of the overall market. Geographically, there was a 0.3% reduction in the number of pharmacies in England, a 0.8% drop in Wales and a decrease of 0.2% in Northern Ireland, although Scotland bucked the trend with a 0.2% increase. According to data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), in the 12 months to March 2023, dispensing activity in England increa ... Date: 10-10-2023 Categories: • News |
| World Pharmacists Day: pharmacists ‘integral’ to healthcare provision ... er.com/YPCCxPULjl— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) September 25, 2023 ‘Vital contribution to delivering and improving health care’ Chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) for Northern Ireland, Professor Cathy Harrison also shared a video on X saying that pharmacists ‘make a vital contribution to delivering and improving healthcare’. It’s #WorldPharmacistsDay Chief Pharmaceutical Office ... Date: 25-09-2023 Categories: • Community • In Practice • News |
| Roadmap exploring PrEP access through pharmacies to be published by year end ... disoproxil and emtricitabine and can be taken daily or on-demand to reduce the risk of becoming infected with HIV, is currently available in England, Scotland and Wales from sexual health clinics. In Northern Ireland, patients can receive an initial consultation and assessment appointments for centrally dispensed PrEP from any genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic. But Mr Brine said that community pharmacies wer ... Date: 21-09-2023 Categories: • Clinical • Community • News • Sexual health |
| Consultation launched on pharmacy technician PGDs ... , as part of its wider look at post-registration assurance of practice. The proposals would only apply to registered pharmacy technicians, and could be extended to apply to pharmacy technicians in Northern Ireland once they become a registered profession. In 2020, the government confirmed that it was ‘looking into’ including pharmacy technicians on the list of healthcare professionals able to administer Cov ... Date: 18-08-2023 Categories: • Clinical • News • Vaccinations and infections |
| Supervision: The debate around ‘physical presence’ in legislation ... harmacies (AIMp), Association of Pharmacy Technicians (APTUK), Company Chemists’ Association (CCA), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), the Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA), Pharmacy Forum Northern Ireland (PFNI) and The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPS). Its recommendations will be used to inform proposals developed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), which will th ... Date: 01-08-2023 Categories: • News |
| What changes are being proposed to supervision legislation and guidance? ... ciation of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, Association of Pharmacy Technicians, Company Chemists’ Association, the National Pharmacy Association, the Pharmacists’ Defence Association, Pharmacy Forum Northern Ireland and The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. It is still important for a pharmacist to be physically present in the pharmacy The group was in agreement that the physical presence of ... Date: 01-08-2023 Categories: • Analysis • Community • News |
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