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Jackie Giltrow and Jose Moss have been appointed as Chair and Vice-Chair of the Community Pharmacy Patient Safety group, respectively, bringing with them a wealth of experience and expertise in pharmacy practice. Supported by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and hosted by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA), the CPPSG serves as a collaborative platform for large community pharmacy organisations to openly share and learn from each other's experiences. A CPPSG Chair now, Jackie Giltrow, Clinical Governance Lead at Paydens Limited is a seasoned pharmacist and expert in risk management and patient safety. With nine years of experience as a member of the CPPSG, Giltrow's appointment represents a continuation of her longstanding dedication to advancing patient safety initiatives within community pharmacy settings.

England's chief pharmaceutical officer David Webb on Friday (July 22) officially opened a community health hub at a Hindu temple in west London. The interactive health hub, which was built as part of the 'Festival of Inspiration' - a 10-day cultural celebration of the UK's South Asian Hindu communities, will provide visitors with free health awareness and well-being advice. The cultural extravaganza, which ends on July 31, draws upon the inspiring life, work and wisdom of His Holiness Pramukh Swami Maharaj, one of the world's great spiritual leaders and creator of the iconic Neasden Temple. Sharing his reflection on the festival and the health hub, Webb said: "It's been an absolute pleasure to visit and be a part of the Festival of Inspiration on the hundredth centenary of His Holiness. I've been really impressed by the extensive programme of engagement with the community to improve health and wellbeing." Senior pharmacist Prof Mahendra Patel accompanied Webb during the opening ceremony.

American healthcare technology company Omnicell has appointed Edward Platt as the new Senior Commercial Director of its UK community pharmacy division. Along with this new role, Edward, who joined Omnicell in 2015, will continue his current leadership remit for Omnicell's UK & Ireland hospital division. He will be leading a revamped commercial team, which would be responsible for increasing Omnicell's footprint of automation and consumable solutions delivered into UK community pharmacies. As part of the revamp, the company has created dedicated specialist teams to ensure the needs and challenges of community pharmacists (small independents and small multiple operators) can be fully understood and supported.

STADA has appointment Nigel Stephenson as General Manager UK with effect from 1 August 2023. Based in Huddersfield, UK, Stephenson will report directly to STADA's Head of Western Europe and Germany, Stephan Eder. He will take over from Rudolf Bär, who has successfully led the UK business for almost one year in addition to his responsibilities for STADA's Mid-Sized European Markets.| A dynamic and modern commercial leader with extensive experience in sales and marketing across Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and the UK in leading pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and fast-moving consumer goods companies. He joins STADA from consumer healthcare leader Haleon, where he most recently served as General Manager Switzerland. "With his strong people and results orientation, along with deep purpose-driven engagement, Nigel will support our UK team in realizing its full potential through innovative and inclusive leadership," stated Eder.

Pharmacists, politicians, faith and community leaders paid tribute to Parvatiben Solanki, the co-founder of the Asian Media Group (AMG), publishers of Pharmacy Business magazine. Mrs Solanki passed away in London last Thursday (September 8). She was 86. Along with her husband, the late Ramniklal Solanki CBE, Mrs Solanki played a key role in establishing AMG as one of Britain's largest Asian publishing houses. They began the business in April 1968, producing the flagship title, Garavi Gujarat, from their terraced house in Wembley, north London. Today AMG publishes a range of trade and consumer titles, including Pharmacy Business, Asian Trader, Garavi Gujarat and Eastern Eye, in addition to hosting gala awards dinners. AMG has offices in the UK, US and India, and also publishes titles in the United States.

With the Pharmacy First services scheduled for launch end of this month, legislators explored the potential of community pharmacies to offer specific diagnostic and treatment services in the second public evidence session of pharmacy inquiry this week (January 16). The new service, which will enable pharmacists to offer advice and prescribe treatment for seven minor ailments, is expected to alleviate the pressure on the NHS, reduce GP workload, and cut waiting lists. But MPs and healthcare leaders also acknowledged that there's hesitancy and the mindset of 'GP first, not Pharmacy First' among members of the public. "We must accept that many patients are used to seeing their GP as their first port of call for many health conditions. Pharmacy First is welcome, but there are going to be some restrictions on how quickly some patients will want to take up some of those services, rather than seeing their GP," said William Pett, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Research, Healthwatch England.

Join us for the prestigious Pharmacy Business Awards 2023, celebrating excellence in community pharmacy. Attend the glittering ceremony in London and witness industry leaders, officials, and ministers. Submit your entry now and showcase the unique services of community pharmacy. Nomination deadline: July 7th, 2023.

The trade bodies and four largest pharmacy chains in England, have jointly written to the Secretary of State for Health, Steve Barclay, warning that the sector needs urgent investment for sustainability. The letter from AIMp, CCA, NPA, PSNC, Boots UK, Lloyds Pharmacy, Well, and Phoenix UK, warned that the 30 per cent real terms funding cuts that pharmacies have faced over the past seven years have left many businesses in a cashflow crisis. The letter said that the government is facing a choice over the future of the country's 11,000+ community pharmacies, with permanent closures likely and medicines supply at risk if no urgent action is taken. "If the funding situation is not addressed, the sector is likely to move rapidly towards many permanent closures of pharmacies." The organisations say that once these closures start, they will be hard to stop, as the sector is now so fragile other pharmacies would struggle to pick up the slack.