Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has asked community pharmacy owners to share their views on preparations for the new national Pharmacy First service, ahead
of the next full Committee meeting at the end of January.
The advanced service, which is set for launch from 31 January, will allow patients to seek advice and treatment for seven common conditions directly from their
local pharmacy, without the need to contact their GP practice. It is expected to help NHS free up 10m GP appointments a year.
However, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison has previously expressed that the Pharmacy First investment is not the panacea for pharmacy's funding woes.
Pharmacy owners' feedback will be used in the Committee's campaigning and influencing work to press for an uplift to core funding, CPE said.
Since its launch on January 31st, the Pharmacy First service by the Company Chemists Association (CCA) has achieved a significant milestone, completing over
200,000 consultations to date.
This milestone underscores the service's vital role in providing same-day NHS care through community pharmacies across England.
Recent analysis by the CCA has revealed a pressing need to bolster GP referrals, with disparities observed between different Integrated Care System (ICS) areas,
resulting in what's described as a 'postcode lottery' for patients.
CCA Chief Executive, Malcolm Harrison, emphasised the importance of sustained funding for Pharmacy First beyond 2025, ensuring its availability for patients,
community pharmacies, and the wider NHS.
This Pharmacy First Common Ailments service will help patients seek treatment for seven common conditions directly from a pharmacy without the need
for a GP appointment or prescription.
Launching on 31 January next year although it is subject to IT being ready, the service will cover ailments including "sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected
insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs)" in women.
People with symptoms of the above seven conditions will be supplied with a prescription-only treatment under a Patient Group Direction (PGD).
Patients seeking assistance at the pharmacy, whether walk-in or referred by NHS 111, GPs, or other sources, can receive consultations.
The new service includes self-referring patients plus referrals, and the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) will also be a part of it.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has awarded Professor Abdul Basit with the RPS Harrison Memorial Medal for an outstanding contribution to advancing
pharmaceutical science.
Professor Basit graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Pharmacy from the University of Bath, and received his PhD from The School of Pharmacy, University
of London.
Currently in position as Professor of Pharmaceutics at the UCL School of Pharmacy, he is internationally recognised for leading in the field of drug delivery,
microbiome medicines, three-dimensional printing of pharmaceuticals and digital health. He has also founded three start-up companies.
Professor Basit has an impressive track record of publications, and a lifetime grant and investment income of over £100million pounds. His research has led to
a series of transformative drug delivery systems, translated into the design of new technologies and improved therapies, many of which have been commercialised
and launched worldwide including a new treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. To date, more than a million patients have benefited from inventions created and
developed in the Basit Research Group.
A polio vaccine booster campaign is being launched for almost a million children in London aged between 1 and 9 after confirmation that poliovirus is
spreading in the capital for the first time since the 1980s.
The UK Health Security Agency has identified 116 polioviruses from 19 sewage samples this year in London, after first sending an alert about finding the virus in
June. The levels of poliovirus found and genetic diversity indicated that transmission was taking place in a number of London boroughs, the agency said on Wednesday
(Aug 10).
Health secretary Steve Barclay said: "I recognise parents and guardians will be concerned about the detection of polio in London, however I want to reassure people
that nobody has been diagnosed with the virus and the risk to the wider population is low…
"Vaccines offer the best defence to children, and those around them, so I would encourage families to ensure they are up to date with their routine jabs, and to come
forward for the polio booster as soon as they are contacted by the NHS."