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The specification for the Pharmacy Contraceptive Service has been launched for pharmacy contractors to download from the NHSBSA website. However, the service will not start on 11th January 2023, as originally planned, but it is expected to commence in early 2023, revealed the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). It added: "The exact start date is yet to be agreed, as now the service specification has been published, community pharmacy IT system suppliers need time to develop support for the service, so this is available to contractors from the service commencement date." Commenting on the publication of the service specification, Alastair Buxton, Director of NHS Services, at PSNC said: "When time in their busy professional lives allows, the publication of the service specification ahead of the start of the new service provides contractors and their teams with an opportunity to learn more about it and to consider whether it is something they will have the capacity to provide in due course.

we have some useful apps that you should definitely take a look at during your early days of motherhood

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Japanese pharmaceutical firm Eisai Co plans to seek full approval of its experimental Alzheimer's drug lecanemab in the United States, Europe and Japan armed with data showing it can slow the brain-wasting disease for people with early symptoms, potentially getting the treatment to patients next year. It remains unclear how widely the drug developed with U.S. biotech Biogen Inc will be used due to uncertainty over insurance coverage, including the U.S. government's Medicare plan for people age 65 and over, potential side effects and cost. One Wall Street analyst told Reuters news agency that he is not counting on measurable sales until 2024. Several estimated lecanemab may be priced at around $20,000 per year. "Most people who this (drug) would apply to are on Medicare, and most private payers look to Medicare as they make their own (coverage) decisions. So there's a massive roadblock in the way of all who could benefit from this treatment," said Robert Egge, Alzheimer's Association chief public policy officer. Eisai confirmed on Tuesday (November 30) that lecanemab - an antibody designed to remove sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brain - reduced the rate of cognitive decline on a clinical dementia scale by 27% compared to a placebo. It also gave new details on side effects including a dangerous type of brain swelling and brain bleeding.

If you have recently been diagnosed with hearing loss, you may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. You are not alone - millions of people around the world are living with hearing loss. The good news is that there are many resources available to help you learn how to manage your condition and live a full life. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most common issues that people with hearing loss face and provide tips on how to handle them. HANDLING ISSUES FROM HEARING LOSS - HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY Hearing loss is certainly a difficult obstacle to face in life, but it doesn't have to stop you from living a full and rich life. Of course, hearing loss comes with its own set of unique challenges, but there are ways to manage them. From learning what hearing aids are the best for you to communicate with loved ones, to the different types of therapies available, we're here to help you find the answers you need. Generally speaking, there are four main issues that people with hearing loss face; Isolation, communication difficulties, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, and depression. Unfortunately, each of these "consequences" will likely get worse if hearing loss is not managed early on. Here are some tips on how to handle each one:

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United Kingdom. However, Macmillan revealed that prostate cancer diagnoses were down 29 per cent between 2019 and 2020, meaning men weren't seeing their GPs to begin to get diagnosed. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to spot any symptoms and get checked, as an early diagnosis can help not only increase survival rates, but also offer a more varied choice of treatment options. As community pharmacy teams play a fundamental role in educating men who may be concerned about their health it vital to maximise trusted relationship with patients, and it is crucial that pharmacists have access to the correct resources to direct men to seek prostate cancer guidance. Prostate cancer often affects men who are over the age of 50. Those who are at a higher risk of prostate cancer also include those of African-Caribbean family descent, if there has been a family history of the cancer, and poor weight and diet. However, studies have found that community pharmacists play an important role in delivering programmes to improve levels of physical activity and diet of men with prostate cancer.

The government has joined hands with Prostate Cancer UK to launch a massive screening trial in the country next year. Called TRANSFORM, the trial will use innovative screening methods like an MRI scan to detect prostate cancer, which is the most common cancer in men in the UK. The trail is scheduled for launch in Spring 2024, and recruitment is likely to begin in Autumn 2024. For the £42 million trial, the government will invest £16 million through the National Institute of Health Research, and £26m will be provided by Prostate Cancer UK. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) believes that thousands of men's lives could be saved each year if prostate cancer is detected early with effective screening methods.

Community pharmacies in England could soon be allowed to make cancer referrals to hospitals under new plans to improve early detection of the disease. An NHS pilot scheme, which starts later this year as a pilot in an undisclosed number of places of England, will see community pharmacy staff spotting signs of cancer in people who might not have noticed symptoms. Pharmacy teams will be trained to spot red flags, such as patients with symptoms such as a cough that lasts for three weeks or more, difficulty swallowing or blood in their urine, and send them for scans and checks without needing to see a GP if they think it could be cancer. Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, will unveil the plans at the NHS Confed Expo conference in Liverpool on Wednesday (June 15), and say: "These plans have the power to truly transform the way we find and treat cancer, and ultimately spare thousands of patients and their families from avoidable pain and loss." The plans include new "roaming liver trucks" - which will be parked near GP surgeries, in town centres and food banks - to encourage people most at risk of getting liver cancer to get "on the spot scans" for diagnosis.

Parents often feel that teaching a toddler to brush his teeth is quite early and can wait. But this is completely incorrect. Oral hygiene is essential in all stages of life as it can lead to serious infections and diseases.

We offer the full range of blood test at home with results available as early as 48 hours. Mobile Phlebotomy offered for blood sample collection.

We offers the full range of blood tests with results available as early as 48 hours. Home-visits (mobile phlebotomy) offered for blood sample collection for both NHS and Private blood tests. Pregnancy HCG, Hepatitis B Immunity, Tuberculosis, Occupational Health, Vitamin tests, Glucose, Cholesterol, etc.

You missed your period this month. You should have had your period by now and to your worst fear, when you carried out the early pregnancy test it came out to be positive. Now you are in a dilemma so as what to do next. We have an excellent solution called abortion pills for you. Abortion pills are the safest and most reliable choice for many women who want to put an end to their undesired gestation...

The news of pregnancy is thrilling and blissful for those women who tried to get pregnant, but on the other hand, the news of pregnancy can be dreadful, disappointing, and even devastating for those who are not expecting or not desiring to be pregnant. Women who get unexpectedly pregnant may suffer from broad ranging and powerful negative emotions than can be devastating and terrifying for them...

MTP Kit is most commonly used medical abortion method for the annihilation of an early pregnancy of 9 weeks of gestation. MTP Kit enfolds two generic drugs called Mifepristone and Misoprostol. This medicine helps a woman to conclude her pregnancy in a safe and secret way with producing any annoying effects...

Supply of all Champix products, used for smoking cessation, will remain out of stock until further notice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The announcement follows a medicine recall order initiated by the MHRA for "all strengths of Champix® tablets" on October 14, 2021 at pharmacy and wholesaler level. Pfizer, the sole supplier of Champix tablets, stopped the distribution of 0.5mg and 1mg tablets in early June 2021. The company is currently unable to confirm when supplies will resume amid global regulatory investigations relating to the presence of nitrosamine impurities above the Pfizer's acceptable level of daily intake in several lots.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has advised pharmacy contractors to use emergency provisions to avoid and reduce temporary closures amid shortage of pharmacists and other staff. The provision was introduced at the start of the pandemic to enables flexible provision of pharmaceutical services by pharmacies. It has been extended several times, currently until January 31, 2022. The negotiator noted that self-isolation requirements and a lack of available pharmacists led to a spike in short-notice closures/late opening/early closing incidents in the community pharmacy sector. However, it reminded contractors that they have a clear duty to provide services in line with their contractual arrangements.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has supported the Department of Health and Social Care's recommendation to 'aggressively expedite and roll out new medicines' that have gone through trials. The ABPI welcomes government report on cancer services in England and the opportunity it provides to refocus how the pharmaceutical industry, NHS and government can improve the lives of cancer patients. David Watson, executive director, Patient Access at the ABPI, said: "Despite progress, UK patients still have much worse five-year survival rates for many cancers than those in similar nations. Early diagnosis and fast and equal access to the latest treatments for all patients is key to reversing poor trends in NHS cancer care. "We are pleased that the report reflects concerns about variable access to cancer medicines. We support the Committee's recommendations to 'aggressively expedite and roll out new medicines' that have gone through trials and to ensure regulatory innovation results in swift uptake in the UK.

Majority of the pharmacies are facing aggression from patients due to the medicine supply chain issue, a PSNC survey has revealed. The Pharmacy Pressures Survey by the trade body has seen nearly 83 per cent of pharmacies reporting a significant increase in medicine supply issues in the past year, leading to extra work and additional stress for staff. The survey of over 5,000 pharmacy premises and 1,000 pharmacy team members in England took place in early 2022. Two-thirds of respondents said that medicines supply chain issues are a daily occurrence, with 97 per cent reporting that this led to frustration from patients. "The results of PSNC's Pressures Survey make distressing reading for anybody in the sector - they tell a story of teams under immense pressures, and of businesses at crisis point," said Janet Morrison, PSNC chief executive.

Ketamine therapy has a swift short-term effect on reducing symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts, a recent study has revealed. The research has been published in the 'British Journal of Psychiatry Open'. A systematic review led by the University of Exeter and funded by the Medical Research Council analysed evidence from 83 published research papers. The strongest evidence emerged around the use of ketamine to treat both major depression and bipolar depression. Symptoms were reduced as swiftly as one to four hours after a single treatment and lasted up to two weeks. Some evidence suggested that repeated treatment may prolong the effects, however more high-quality research is needed to determine by how long. Similarly, single or multiple doses of ketamine resulted in moderate to large reductions in suicidal thoughts. This improvement was seen as early as four hours following ketamine treatment and lasted on average three days, and up to a week.

England won't have any new Covid-19 restrictions before the end of 2021, health secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday (December 27) whilst the government awaits more evidence on whether the NHS can cope with high infection rates in the new year. "There will be no further measures before the new year," Javid told reporters, adding: "When we get into the new year, of course we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures." He said that the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus now accounted for around 90 per cent of cases across England and urged people to celebrate New Year cautiously. The government's attention is focused on the number of patients being hospitalised with Omicron after early data last week suggested the variant carried a lower risk of admission. The latest data showed the number of patients in hospital in England with Covid-19 was its highest since March, at 8,474, but a long way off peaks above 34,000 in January. A combination of factors, including Britain's vaccination programme, the lag between infections and hospitalisations and the potentially less harmful effects of the Omicron variant have all been put forward by health experts as possible explanations for lower numbers.