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A recent Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) survey revealed that 80 per cent of its member working in the NHS in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland rejected the NHS pay award. "For the first time in the history of our union, members have told us they are so angry that they would not rule out industrial action in conjunction with other NHS unions," said Paul Moloney, PDA Union national officer. "It is important that, whoever is to lead the government, they listen to this message and act now to ensure our members and others in the NHS do not face swinging cuts to their standard of living." PDA members were asked whether they would support industrial action if they had rejected the award and if other NHS unions would be taking industrial action. 58 per cent of those responding said they would support the PDA Union taking industrial action if members of other unions were also planning to take action on this issue. For now, however, the PDA Union will wait for other unions to publish the outcomes of their own consultations. As a union dedicated to representing the needs of only pharmacists, the PDA has been able to quickly survey members immediately after the pay award was announced.

The National Health Services England (NHSE) is poised to revolutionise diabetes management with the introduction of the 'artificial pancreas', also known as the Hybrid Closed Loop system, to treat type 1 diabetes. This pioneering initiative, endorsed by the National Institute of Health Care and Excellence (NICE), represents a global first in healthcare innovation. With 269,095 individuals grappling with type 1 diabetes in England, the Hybrid Closed Loop system is set to cater to tens of thousands of children and adults across the nation. This cutting-edge device operates by seamlessly monitoring blood glucose levels and autonomously adjusting insulin dosage through a pump, by eliminating the need for regular insulin injections. Furthermore, it holds the promise of averting life-threatening hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemia episodes, mitigating significant risks associated with the condition. To facilitate the identification of beneficiaries, NHSE has allocated a substantial sum of £2.5 million, ensuring that those who could benefit from this innovative solution receive the necessary support.

General practitioners (GPs) across England have made a resolute stand against proposed alterations in the 2024/25 national GP General Medical Services (GMS) contract put forth by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England. This firm opposition coincides with the declaration of an extended six-month strike by 33,869 junior doctors within the NHS, advocating for full pay reinstatement and reforms in the pay recommendation process. The latest survey conducted by the British Medical Association (BMA) has revealed that an overwhelming 99.2% of GPs in England are against any changes to the existing contract. The proposed amendments, slated for implementation from April 1st, 2024, encompass a meagre national practice contract baseline funding uplift of just 1.9%, notably falling short of recent inflation rates. This corroborates with GP Online poll that recently unveiled widespread GP dissatisfaction with proposed changes to the national GMS contract. 83% of GPs in favour of strikes cite pay and funding concerns, while burnout, high workloads, and patient safety also fuel discontent.

The Self-Care Strategy Group (SCSG) has written to Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, urging the new Labour government to fully realize self-care's benefits. With PAGB serving as the secretariat for the Group, signatories of the letter also include CPE, RPS, CCA, NPA, the Dispensing Doctors' Association, the National Association of Primary Care, the Patient Information Forum, and the Self Care Forum. The nine members highlight the importance of collaborative efforts to build an NHS fit for the future. In the letter, the group emphasises the potential of self-care to alleviate pressure on primary and emergency healthcare services. They call for expanded prescribing rights, optimised digital health tools, and streamlined referral processes between primary, diagnostic, and specialist care services.

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.

Researchers have projected the rates of liver disease and associated deaths due to increased alcohol consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research has been published in the 'Hepatology Journal'. A team led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital used data from a national survey of US adults on their drinking habits that found that excessive drinking (such as binge drinking) increased by 21 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic. The scientists simulated the drinking trajectories and liver disease trends in all US adults. They estimated that a one-year increase in alcohol consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic will result in 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease, 18,700 cases of liver failure, and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040. In the short term, alcohol consumption changes due to Covid-19 are expected to cause 100 additional deaths and 2,800 additional cases of liver failure by 2023. The researchers noted that a sustained increase in alcohol consumption for more than one year could result in 19-35 per cent additional mortality.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has welcomed the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's leadership in introducing a new approach to the evaluation of antibiotics. On Tuesday (12 April), NICE published a draft guidance to tackle antimicrobial resistance under which two new antimicrobial drugs - cefiderocol and ceftazidime-avibactam - became the first to be made available as part of the UK's innovative subscription-style payment model. Commenting on the announcement of the new draft guidance, Richard Torbett, chief executive of the ABPI, said: "This is an important milestone in the UK's global leadership on AMR. Antibiotics underpin modern medicine, but the increasing threat of antibiotic resistance remains one of the biggest global health challenges we face. "To tackle this, it is critical that the appropriate frameworks are in place for companies to invest the billions of pounds required to discover the new antibiotics needed for patients.

An alliance of companies has pledged to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatments for pandemics, as the friction around intellectual property rights for Covid-19 interventions between the pharmaceutical industry and developing nations endures. At the heart of the plan is a commitment to set aside part of the production of vaccines and treatments upfront for vulnerable populations in low-income countries when the next pandemic arises, given how fragmented access to Covid tools has left many populations unprotected. In order to do better next time - and without knowing which companies will develop the first drugs and vaccines for the next pandemic - having the industry collectively make this commitment is potentially transformative, said Thomas Cueni, head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA). The pledge, called the Berlin Declaration, was made on July 19 by members of the global pharmaceutical industry group that include many of the companies involved in developing Covid interventions, such as AstraZeneca, GSK, Moderna, Pfizer and Merck. The declaration is not legally binding. However, if a company that signed on reneges on its vow, it would face grave consequences in the court of public opinion, said Cueni.

Members of the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) who have benefits in the Boots Pension Scheme have sought support from their union following the recent communications from the trustees about the removal of the option to retire at 60 without a reduced pension. The company claimed that retirement between 60-65 years old without a reduced pension was a discretionary benefit, and it has ended with the buy-in deal with Legal and General. However, PDA members believe there is insufficient evidence to fully support this claim, and therefore they are questioning whether this option should have been secured as part of the buy in and not ended with immediate effect. PDA Union national officer, Paul Moloney said: "Instead, we believe benefit statements issued to members, at the very least are contradictory, and clearly state that a full pension will be payable from a member's 60th birthday, with no reference to this benefit being discretionary and therefore subject to a regular review by the trustees. Instead, the benefit statements give the impression that an unreduced pension from 60 is a right with no indication that retirement plans should not be based on the benefit statements."

The current structure of global incentives to develop new antibiotics is insufficient and requires urgent resolution revealed a new report 'Incentivising new antibiotics' by the Office of Health Economics (OHE). OHE analysis demonstrates that on a global level, it is estimated that an effective 10-year incentive would require £3.5bn ($4.2bn) to adequately cover the entire research and development process for a new antibiotic. The report considers how health systems in the UK and around the world can stimulate the research and development (R&D) of new antibiotics. In 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England initiated an Antimicrobial Resistance pilot with the aim of incentivising pharmaceutical companies to develop new antibiotics by addressing the issues associated with reimbursement, which historically has deterred companies from pursuing AMR research.

Extending its support for the Prescription Charges Coalition (PCC), the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) is asking pharmacists in England to share their experiences of patients denying prescriptions due to financial issues. PDA members who have practiced in the country within the last 12 months are asked to complete the Prescription Charges Coalition survey by Sunday 28 January. The PCC is an alliance of more than 50 organisations campaigning to abolish unfair prescription charges for people with long-term conditions in England. All members of the coalition, including PDA and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), understand that if patients do not receive their prescribed medicines due to the cost, their health may deteriorate, and this can increase costs for the National Health Service (NHS).

A groundbreaking study analysing data from nearly 600,000 cancer patients in England has shed light on the increased risk of second cancers among breast cancer survivors. The research conducted by University of Cambridge in association with the Lancet Regional Health-Europe studied data from over 580,000 female and over 3,500 male breast cancer survivors diagnosed between 1995 and 2019 using the National Cancer Registration Dataset. The findings suggest that survivors of breast cancer, the most prevalent cancer in the UK, face a substantially higher risk of developing second primary cancers. According to the research, female survivors exhibited a twofold increase in the risk of contralateral breast cancer compared to the general population. The data highlighted an 87 per cent greater risk of endometrial cancer, a 58 per cent greater risk of myeloid leukemia, and a 25 per cent greater risk of ovarian cancer in female survivors.

In significant development, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has advised its Boots members to challenge the "trustees' decision to end the ability to take an unreduced pension from age 60 by submitting complaints through the scheme's two-stage internal disputes procedure". The issue centers around the alterations made to pension scheme rules without the adequate disclosure to scheme members or their representatives. The PDA has drafted template letters to assist scheme members in response to undisclosed changes during a buyout process, sparking legal challenges and demands for transparency from Boots and scheme trustees. Paul Moloney, National Officer of the PDA Union leading the campaign, expressed concern over the sudden withdrawal of the right to an unreduced pension from age 60. "We have always maintained that members had a right under the rules to draw an unreduced pension from age 60," Moloney stated.