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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has opened a survey which asks its members how they would want to take part in and learn about decisions made by the RPS. The RPS said the survey was a core part of the independent review of member participation and communications led by communications consultancy Luther Pendragon. It said: "We will be asking our members to join focus groups to give their opinions on how participation can be developed and strengthened, and how RPS communications about decisions it has taken on behalf of the profession through its governance boards can be improved. We will also be asking our elected members and key external stakeholders for their views over the coming weeks." The Luther team will then build a series of recommendations for RPS and develop a corporate communications strategy which will include action plans to enable greater participation. RPS president Claire Anderson said: "We want to hear from as many of you as possible through our survey to inform how the organisation works with and engages with you, our members.

The pharmacy regulator can hold hearings and meetings either remotely or in-person in future as the Council of the GPhC has agreed to a change in its rules. The rules are expected to come into force on 1 October 2022. Until the rules and new policy and guidance come into force, the GPhC will continue to only hold remote hearings with the consent of the person concerned and/or their legal representative. Following positive feedback from those taking part in remote hearings, the GPhC consulted on a proposed permanent change to its rules so it could continue to hold hearings remotely in the future, when it is fair and appropriate to do so. The proposal to continue remote hearings, including fitness to practise hearings, received wide support with 78 per cent of respondents agreeing. "During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions we had to hold many meetings and hearings remotely by videolink. As such we were granted - along with other regulators - a temporary provision to enable us to do this and carry out our statutory role," Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPHC, said.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has commenced a consultation on allowing pharmacists to dispense prescription medicines in original packaging. The consultation, closing on December 13, 2021, proposes changes to the Human Medicines Regulations (HMRs). It would allow pharmacists to dispense more or less than the 10 per cent of the prescribed quantity in original packs, except where this would affect the patient's clinical treatment. The change would not apply to controlled drugs. The second proposed change is to supply sodium valproate in original packaging regardless of the conditions set around Original Pack Dispensing (OPD). Currently, contractors have to supply the exact quantity prescribed, unless certain exceptions apply.

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 Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Director for Scotland, Clare Morrison will be joining NHS Scotland in January. Morrison has been appointed Director of Community Engagement at Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Paul Bennett, RPS CEO said: "Many people, particularly in Scotland, will know of Clare's passion for quality improvement and patient involvement in the co-design of services. This was demonstrated through her previous work on the development of Near Me, NHS Scotland's video consulting service, and its co-design with the public, patients, clinicians and NHS staff which gained international recognition from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. "Therefore, this is an exciting opportunity for Clare to join Healthcare Improvement Scotland to take on a strategic leadership role in supporting effective community engagement across health and social care in Scotland. It also enables Clare to make even greater use of her training as an NHS Scotland Scottish Quality & Safety Fellow and we wish her every success in her new role.

Women in the UK will be able to purchase Gina 10 mg vaginal tablets without prescription from September from their local pharmacies, announced the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) product, Gina 10 microgram vaginal tablets (containing estradiol) are used for the treatment of vaginal symptoms such as dryness, soreness, itching, burning and uncomfortable sex caused by oestrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women aged 50 years and above who have not had a period for at least one year. The decision to reclassify these vaginal tablets follows a safety review by the MHRA, independent advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), and a public consultation. The UK regulator sought views from patients, pharmacists, prescribers and a wide range of stakeholders including the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and the British Menopause Society.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has maintained the prescription-only status of Aquiette 2.5mg Tablets for symptoms of overactive bladder, following a public consultation and the review of a reclassification application from the manufacturer Maxwellia Ltd. Aquiette, which contains the active ingredient oxybutynin, is used for the treatment of long-term symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB) in women aged between 18 and 65, such as the urgent need to urinate and frequent urination without pain. The regulator decided against the reclassification of Aquiette 2.5mg Tablets from a prescription-only medicine (POM) to a pharmacy (P) medicine, concluding that a medical prescription continues to be required to ensure the safe use of Aquiette. Since an OAB diagnosis requires medical supervision to ensure that the correct treatment is received, and other health conditions are not overlooked or left untreated, the MHRA said the decision would ensure that the medication is used safely and appropriately under medical supervision. "After taking on board the views of the many patients and healthcare professionals who responded, we have decided to refuse the reclassification of Aquiette 2.5mg Tablets for women with symptoms of overactive bladder (OAB)," Dr Laura Squire, MHRA chief healthcare quality and access officer, said.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has appointed communications agency to lead a review into how it can develop and strengthen member participation. "We've appointed communications consultancy Luther Pendragon to carry out an independent review of the participation of members and of our communications concerning decisions we take on behalf of the profession through our Governance boards," the Society said in a statement on Tuesday (May 10). It added that review would examine how RPS members, elected members and stakeholders can feel engaged, informed and empowered to influence decisions about RPS policy and understand why decisions around organisational policy have been taken on their behalf by elected representatives. It will also ensure RPS decision-making processes are open and transparent with an emphasis on evidence-based decision making, and recommend ways elected members are enabled to be publicly accountable for decisions taken by the organisation at Board and Assembly level.

The government has previously committed to introducing several new family-friendly rights following numerous consultations over the last few years. These include: neonatal leave and pay; carer's leave; and extending redundancy protection for pregnant women and new parents. The government confirmed it would implement these reforms in the long-awaited Employment Bill, first announced in the Queen's speech back in 2019. However, the Employment Bill was not referred to in the Queen's speeches in both May 2021 and May 2022 therefore it remains unclear when these reforms will be prioritised. Nevertheless, at this stage, it is helpful for pharmacy business owners and managers to have an understanding of the direction of travel when it comes to family friendly rights in the workplace.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) said it has supported the application of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to rejoin the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), the global body representing the interests of pharmacy. Under FIP rules, if a new application from an additional organisation from the same country applies to join, the existing members in that country are consulted about that decision and are asked for their approval before FIP council members determine if the application is accepted. The PDA joined FIP earlier this year, and RPS, which has decided not to renew FIP membership at the end of last year, has now submitted a fresh application to join. RPS decision to leave, taken after a vote, has invited much criticism. The organisation, a founding member, had attributed high membership fees and associated costs for leaving FIP While the PDA has confirmed that it would not oppose the membership application of the RPS, it has asked FIP to find a suitable method to ascertain a transparent declaration of membership numbers from the RPS in the event of FIP Council deciding to admit RPS.

Superdrug has unveiled its new fertility test service to help women to easily access information about their own fertility and enables them to take greater control of their reproductive health. The service comprises a Superdrug online doctor consultation and personalised fertility test recommendations to help women make more informed decisions about the options available to them. Superdrug's fertility test initial consultation requires customers to fill out a quick online questionnaire. This is then reviewed by Superdrug's team of online doctors, who will work with the patients to identify which fertility tests are best suited to the individual. The new service also sees Superdrug introduce three new fertility blood tests to its portfolio, ensuring greater choice and accessibility. Dr Sara Kayat, Superdrug's medical ambassador comments, "For women that have been trying to get pregnant and not succeeding, or for those who are just curious about their fertility, easy access to blood tests may help provide answers and signpost them in the right direction."

A new, independent search engine has launched called Vitaminology which enables the search, discovery and comparison of vitamins and supplements to empower consumers to make more informed choices and find the right products for their personal health goals and requirements. The company has set out to reduce confusion in this market through choice and high-quality information as well as access to one-to-one consultations with accredited nutritional therapists. By offering the complete package of advice, resources and products Vitaminology helps people to lead healthier lives. Mike Murphy, who is chief nutritionist for Vitaminology, comments, "This innovative platform has a powerful comparison and filtering feature that helps to simplify the choices available for consumers so they can make better self-care decisions. This is supported by access to video consultations with nutritional therapists as well as a comprehensive library of ingredient profiles, articles clustered around health conditions and unique recipes to support wellness."

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has urged the healthcare professionals to share their views on the consultation on 'how MHRA communicate with healthcare professionals to improve medicines and medical devices' safety'. Through this consultation the agency wants to review its approach to engagement with healthcare professionals to improve the safety of medicines and medical devices. "We want to ensure that healthcare professionals are receiving actionable information and guidance on safe use of medicines and medical devices that they can take into their working practice, providing timely advice to patients," said MHRA. "We need to improve the way we communicate with healthcare professionals. We want to hear from you to enable us to transform how we communicate with you and how we work together on our common goal of greater patient safety."

A new report based on research from pharmacists across England by Sanofi, has called for the introduction of a 'national self-care strategy' to relieve the burden currently faced by health services. The new report, titled 'Driving a self-care revolution in the UK', explores the views of pharmacists, patients and doctors on self-care and the support needed to deliver it more effectively. While self-care policy measures are estimated to increase monetary savings for healthcare systems and national economies by 16%, this report highlights the right tools and resources are not yet in place to enable pharmacists to play a greater role in delivering self-care advice and medicines to patients. "As many as 77% of pharmacists said they would support the creation of a National Self-Care Strategy to provide national leadership on improving understanding of self-care and encourage its use among both patients and clinicians," the report said. According to the report, currently, 33% of pharmacists working for independent or small pharmacy chains do not have the resources to support patients with self-care, alongside their other roles. "To tackle this, close to half (45%) of pharmacists believe greater emphasis by primary care practitioners on the benefits of self-care would leave pharmacists in a better place to support patients. Similarly, 42% believe that training and recruiting more pharmacists would improve their capacity to deliver self-care advice."

In its first, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended the use of Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to treat people at the highest risk of catching HIV. The announcement comes along with a consultation on draft guideline by NICE on reducing sexually transmitted infections. NICE's recommendation is backed up by the government's HIV Action Plan to hit zero new transmissions of HIV by 2030. The pill prevents HIV by stopping the virus from crossing into the healthy cells and replicating. According to the UK PROUD study, PrEP reduced the risk of HIV infection by 86 per cent for men who have sex with men. However, people taking the pill must also get regular HIV testing and STI screening done every three months.

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.

"Our main concerns are that the use of what they call an asynchronous supply, where the prescriber neither sees nor talks to the patient at the time they issue the prescription, does lay itself open to perhaps people getting hold of medication that they shouldn't," the Head of Policy, PDA said. The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) engages in a critical conversation on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, shedding light on the online prescribing of weight loss drugs and advocating for safer practices. The PDA's spokesperson, Head of Policy Alima Batchelor, emphasised the importance of adhering to professional guidelines to ensure patient safety and mitigate regulatory concerns. During the feature, the PDA highlighted the complexities and risks associated with online supply chains, stressing the necessity for direct clinical consultations and pharmacist involvement in medication management. ""There are guidelines and advice about verification within the DiCE guidance, but it doesn't go quite far enough for us. We are concerned when patients decline to allow the online prescriber to advise their GP of what they're taking," Batchelor highlighted.

The Department of Health (DoH) is inviting the public to share their views on a new Regional Obesity Management Service and a new Obesity Strategic Framework. A public consultation has been launched on the Healthy Futures strategic framework, which aims to prevent the harm caused by obesity, and improve diets and levels of physical activity of people. The Department is also seeking views on its plans to introduce a new service that would focus on the introduction of specialist support, weight loss medication, and bariatric surgery to help people living with obesity. Northern Ireland is seeing an increase in obesity rates, with the latest Health Survey NI data showing that 65 per cent of adults and 26 per cent of children in the country are either obese or overweight.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has expressed "extreme disappointment" that the UK government offered new pay to NHS consultants, while nursing pay deal remain disputed. RCN General Secretary and Chief Executive Pat Cullen has written to new Health Secretary Victoria Atkins demanding fresh negotiations regarding this year's pay deal, and requested an urgent meeting to discuss their dispute. Pat warned that more than 100,000 RCN members in England voted for continued strike action in June, as they feel undervalued. "The government has now shown it has the political will to negotiate on pay reform for some of the highest earners in the NHS in contrast to our members who received the lowest pay rise in the public sector," she wrote in the letter. NHS nursing staff in England was awarded a five per cent pay rise 2023/24, but the union argued that it is not enough to keep up with inflation.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has warned that England's 42 integrated care boards (ICBs) may need to allocate an extra £37 million from their budgets annually for the next five years due to the spiralling tax rates. The government's Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS) rebate rate increased more than five-fold in the past two years, the BGMA said in its white paper released on Monday (October 30). The report, conducted by consultancy firm Conclusio in consultation with local NHS leaders, examined the potential effects of the VPAS on ICB budgets. BGMA said that due to the elevated VPAS rate, each ICB in England will experience significant increases in expenses for branded generics and biosimilars annually - a consequence of reduced competition.