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NHS England has launched the first major update to the 'Act FAST' campaign since 2009, as new data reveals that many stroke patients wait almost an hour and a half on average before making an emergency call. The updated campaign urges the public to call 999 immediately if anyone experiences one of the three common stroke symptoms: difficulty smiling (Face), trouble raising an arm (Arms), or slurred speech (Speech). Around 100,000 people are estimated to suffer a stroke each year in the UK, which occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is cut off. Without prompt treatment, a stroke can lead to death or long-term disabilities such as paralysis, memory loss and communication problems. Strokes remain the fourth single leading cause of death in the UK, resulting in about 38,000 deaths each year. An analysis of NHS data for 2023-24 indicated that among 41,327 patients with a recorded time of symptom onset, the average time from the first symptom to making a 999 call was 88 minutes. Additionally, a poll of 2,001 adults in England revealed that 57 per cent of respondents believed you should have 2-3 symptoms of a stroke before calling 999, despite the fact that even one symptom is a sign of a medical emergency.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has confirmed it will respond to UK Commission's 'call for evidence' on pharmacy professional leadership. The commission wants to ensure the professions are well equipped, with a voice to help shape the future, and enabled to develop through sharing and learning from best practice. The UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership has been set up by the chief pharmaceutical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will produce recommendations for the future of pharmacy professional leadership in the UK. The commission is co-chaired by Nigel Clarke, former chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council, and Professor Dame Jane Dacre, professor of medical education at University College London's Medical School. The commission will be hosting a webinar and has urged the associations and individuals to take part in 'call for evidence' which has been launched to inform and develop its work. A webinar in England will take place on Wednesday 7 September 6:30 - 8 pm. In Scotland it will be organised on Tuesday 6 September 7-8:30 pm and in Wales it will be hosted on Thursday 8 September 7-8:30 pm.

Three leading healthcare bodies in Scotland have called for action to reduce the environmental impact caused by medicine prescribing. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland have all urged policymakers to enable a more sustainable approach to prescribing. This includes prioritising the introduction of electronic prescribing across the NHS, introducing the requirement for an environmental impact in NHS medicines procurement and improving the availability of data about the environmental impact of medicines. "We call on Scottish government, including the chief medical officer, to enable the delivery of a realistic medicine approach to prescribing by developing a supportive infrastructure for green social prescribing across Scotland," said the healthcare professionals in a joint statement. They have called on the pharmaceutical industry to make information about the environmental impact of medicines readily available in a standardised data format.

The Parliamentarians have called the government to urgently consider the short-term funding to stabilise the community pharmacy sector. 39 MPs and Peers from across the political spectrum have signed letters to the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP and raised their growing concern about the pressures facing England's community pharmacies and the risks this poses to patient care and safety. "Steve Barclay MP received correspondence from 23 Opposition MPs, with six Peers also signing a letter. Separately, 9 Conservative MPs also wrote to the Health Secretary and up to 10 others have signalled their intention to write to the relevant Minister," said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). The Parliamentarians acknowledged that pharmacies have the potential to do more to support the NHS and they called for the government to urgently consider a commitment to working with the sector to create a fair and fit for purpose future funding model that ensures sustainability and properly funds pharmacies for what they do. All signatories also called for the introduction of a fairly-funded Pharmacy First service.

Community pharmacies will be able to deliver approximately 15 million blood pressure screenings by 2026, revealed the Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s new research. This will also prevent 15,000 people from suffering heart attacks or strokes. CCA has called the Government to take up their offer and commission pharmacies as the first port of call for cardiovascular care. "Thousands of lives can be saved with ambitious commissioning and the investment to match," said CCA. There is an opportunity to use the expertise of community pharmacy to go further and provide the care these newly identified patients' need. To do this the sector needs funding and workforce. The association said: "Community pharmacy is under great financial pressure, suffering a real term funding cut of over 30% over 8 years. With funding, the sector can transform to deliver this critical need for patients. Whilst there are plans to train Independent Prescribers (IPs), there are no clear roles for them to use these skills. There is a need to accelerate training plans to allow pharmacists to deliver the service described here and play their part in CVD management."

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has called on the UK government to launch an urgent investigation into the exploitation of migrant care workers, following a sharp rise in reported cases. According to new RCN data, there has been a six-fold increase in the number of overseas care workers being exploited by rogue employers over the past three years. In 2020/21, the RCN's advice team handled 22 calls from members regarding repayment clauses in their contracts. This figure shot up to 134 in 2023/24, with May 2024 alone seeing 17 calls - the highest in a single month. The RCN highlighted that repayment clauses are being misused by employers to demand thousands of pounds from migrant care workers, leaving staff unable to leave their jobs and trapped in "appalling conditions" years after they were first hired.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has raised concerns over "a prominent pharmacist's call to create a sector 'blacklist' for locums regarding disputes over rates." A few contractors took it to the Twitter to share screenshots of the messages by locums demanding more pay, which led to the call for 'blacklisting' those locums. "The motivation regarding the current talk of creating a blacklist seems intrinsically tied to hourly rates. Although there are occasional and isolated anecdotal reports on social media of alleged incidents of locums seeking higher rates than already agreed, these are far outstripped by reports of pharmacy businesses unwilling to negotiate and who do not want to pay the necessary rate to engage a locum and instead have set capped or fixed rates," said the PDA. It added that all parties should honour agreements they enter into, including a pharmacy's commitment to the NHS that it will open at set times to provide pharmaceutical services to patients and the public.

Calls have been made for more pharmacies to help with the rollout of the county's coronavirus booster jabs. Around 25 pharmacies in Kent and Medway have been distributing vaccines to thousands of patients. This represents just seven per cent of the 320 pharmacies in the county. The call comes despite staff shortages and growing workload pressures, such as carrying out non-essential tasks, which include patient satisfaction surveys. Shilpa Shah, the chief executive officer at the Kent Local Pharmaceutical Committee, said: "We have workforce issues, but are pulling together to deliver essential patient services and Covid vaccinations at the same time." Pharmacies are one of several health organisations working hard to ensure that everyone aged 18 and over will be offered a booster vaccination by the target of January 31, which has been set by the government.

Capitalising on strong demand for its obesity therapies, Novo Nordisk's growing appetite for deals has fuelled a bet on a U.S. gene-editing company called Life Edit Therapeutics. The Danish drugmaker's collaboration with Durham, North Carolina-based Life Edit Therapeutics - owned by ElevateBio, a cell and gene therapy company in Waltham - is focused on up to seven programs for rare genetic disorders as well as cardiometabolic diseases. At the heart of the tie-up is Life Edit's technology, called base editing, which is designed to make precise changes to the human genome by tweaking one base - or letter - into a different one without affecting other letters. Single-letter mistakes, called point mutations, can give rise to genetic diseases.

Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee Steve Brine MP has called on community pharmacy contractors to join a newly launched a parliamentary 'call for evidence' which will look into 'prevention' as a key to the future of the NHS. A former pharmacy minister and keen supporter of the sector, Mr Brine has called on all community pharmacists to "make their contribution count" by taking part in a major inquiry which will remain open for submission until Wednesday 8 February 2023 and will also involve general practitioners, nurses and other health professionals. Community pharmacists can submit their proposals written under 750 words, outlining what they think are the issues around prevention the parliamentary body should explore, why these issues deserve the Commons Select Committee's attention, and how government policy could be developed or improved to address them. The submissions will then be used to help the committee decide where it should focus its attention in the later stages of the inquiry on prevention, which is a vital part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

Two dozen parliamentarians from across the political spectrum have called on the prime minister to act as a wave of pharmacy closures in recent years has threatened to spiral out of control. A letter to the prime minister signed by 24 MPs and peers has warned that worse could be yet to come after "spiralling business costs" and "year after year of real terms funding cuts" have led to hundreds of pharmacy closures. New data from the PSNC shows that over 639 local pharmacies have been lost in England since 2016. "This is the equivalent to just short of one pharmacy closure per constituency", the cross-party group warned. The letter comes as MPs came together at a parliamentary summit to call for pharmacies to be embraced as a "game-changer" for tackling healthcare backlogs and taking pressure off other areas of the NHS. A 'Future of Pharmacy' event was attended by 53 parliamentarians on July 5 in the Palace of Westminster. At the event parliamentarians heard directly from frontline pharmacists and representatives of pharmacy bodies where a map of constituency-specific pharmacy numbers was also unveiled, with details of the number of pharmacy closures in MPs' local area.

ECG has launched a new 'simple and straightforward' Patient Group Direction (PGD) service for pharmacists working in primary care, together with a service which offers direct access to an NHS Consultant for medical advice to offer robust safeguarding as and when needed. Taking on more clinical services with the PGDs can feel daunting and a big responsibility for healthcare professionals. ECG's new medical advice service (for anyone purchasing their PGDs) will offer pharmacists the opportunity to call and speak to a clinical member of the ECG team who will triage the calls and support them. If required, the call will be connected to an experienced NHS Consultant to offer immediate medical advice. The service will start with a Monday-Friday 08:30-16:30hrs provision with an option to increase to 24 /7 for those working out of hours. This is inclusive in the PGD pricing offer. ECG has been the market leader in providing vaccination training to pharmacists since 2004, providing robust knowledge and clinical skills to enable pharmacists to develop their private and NHS commissioned vaccination services (such as flu and covid). By developing their close working relationship with all of the multiples, many smaller chains, membership groups and independents over the years, ECG has continued to further consolidate their 'one stop shop' approach to supporting the sector. ECG wants to offer this sector choices in the level of guidance and support that the individual healthcare professionals feel they need to offer safe care to patients.

The NHS's latest report on ambulance services in England for March 2024 reveals significant progress in response times for emergency calls across all categories compared to recent months. The Ambulance Quality Indicators (AQI) Statistical Note, released in April, underscores both improvements and persistent challenges within the sector. Recent figures obtained from the Liberal Democratic party suggest ongoing struggles with response times, particularly for category two patients, which may include individuals experiencing strokes or heart attacks requiring a response within 18 minutes. Similarly, in November last year, ambulance waits for category 2 calls surged to their highest level since December 2022, reaching 93 minutes, after dropping to 32 minutes in January 2023 according to the British Heart Foundation. However, according to the latest statistical figures obtained from AQI, March 2024 witnessed the shortest average response times for all four categories of emergency calls since August 2023.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has reported growing concerns among its members regarding their safety at work as the far-right, anti-immigration riots escalate across the UK. "We have received calls from members who are concerned about their safety at work and feel vulnerable in communities where the violence and disorder are taking place," the organisation told Pharmacy Business. The PDA also reported that some hospital outpatient departments and GP surgeries were forced to close their doors to allow staff to get home safely, which may impact services to patients. In light of these challenges, the PDA is calling on employers to ensure that they are adequately communicating with pharmacists in locations at risk of conflict and to prioritise the health and safety of staff and patients. "We are aware that pharmacists and their teams working in areas where this criminal activity is taking place are feeling vulnerable but that they also want to ensure that their communities are safe and have access to the vital services pharmacies provide.

The Community Pharmacy Workforce Development Group (CPWDG) has called upon policymakers to take action in response to the 2022 Community Pharmacy Workforce survey for England, which revealed a significant workforce reduction. The survey found a steady decrease in the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy support staff from 2017 to 2022, with no signs of a slowdown. In response, it presented four recommendations to the Government and the NHS, aimed at ensuring that the sector can effectively adapt to the evolving needs of patients. CPWDG's findings indicate that vacancy rates are on the rise, reaching nearly 25 per cent, or 1 in 4 roles, in certain regions, accompanied by a noticeable shift in working patterns.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) has called upon all pharmacy organisations to unite and collectively represent the sector. While underlining the need for the sector to adopt a straightforward manifesto that can be presented to the public, politicians, and decision-makers, the association also advocated for a revitalisation of the 'Save Our Pharmacies' campaign, injecting it with renewed energy and a stronger sense of purpose. AIMp pointed out that a lack of cohesion is one of the factors contributing to the sector's struggle in gaining attention. "The current trajectory of community pharmacy is unsustainable," said Dr. Leyla Hannbeck, Chief Executive of AIMp. "To tackle the significant challenges ahead, we must work together cohesively. The most effective approach is to actively engage with Parliament, leveraging politicians from across the political spectrum to advocate for our cause." Meanwhile, the association urged various pharmacy bodies to unite in support of the Pharmacy All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to enhance its effectiveness and broaden its influence, rather than working independently.

The Welsh chapter of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, along with ten other royal colleges and professional bodies, have renewed calls for the urgent transformation of mental health services to address increasing demands on the NHS in Wales. Representatives of the Royal College Mental Health Expert Advisory Group joined members of the Senedd in Cardiff to outline the work of the group over the past year and to explain why a well-trained, fully supported and equipped multi-disciplinary workforce is critical for the development of care for people with mental health conditions. To make sustainable change happen, the group is calling for a greater focus by the Welsh government and NHS Wales on the following: The critical changes needed to improve the delivery and structure of mental health services across Wales in community, hospital and specialist secure settings. Parity of access to mental health services for the most vulnerable patients, ensuring they have equal access opportunities that vulnerable patients would receive for physical health conditions.

In a compelling case for expanding the role of community pharmacies in the UK's vaccination efforts, a new report by a major think-tank has called on NHS England to designate all adult vaccinations as 'advanced services' under the next Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF). Published in July this year, the report by Reform discusses the power of prevention and highlights the need to boost vaccine uptakes for better patient outcomes. Calling for the NHSE to allow the 'advanced services' to be routinely delivered by community pharmacies, the report highlights the proven capacity of community pharmacists to reach a wide demographic, particularly in underserved areas. It also emphasises on the strategic advantage of utilising community pharmacies which often have more flexible hours and remain open during the evenings and weekends, making them highly accessible to the public.