Group items tagged

The Health Education England (HEE) has allocated £440,000 to help upskill pharmacists working in adult critical care across England. UK Clinical Pharmacy Association (UKCPA) has confirmed with HEE that UKCPA critical care courses meet the criteria for this funding, for courses that complete before 31 March 2023. "The funding is expected to exceed demand and so it is likely that bids for these UKCPA courses will be approved by HEE, as they meet the learning outcomes in the new RPS/UKCPA/FICM specialist critical care curricula (in development)," said UKCPA.

The country as a whole is facing uncertain and challenging times, and for our profession emerging from the second year of the pandemic, the pressures and stresses don't look to be easing up. It is undeniable that the wellbeing of those in our pharmacy family has suffered and many face emotional and psychological challenges in addition to immense workplace pressure. What do we know about the state of wellbeing within the profession? As the profession's independent charity, it is crucial that Pharmacist Support keeps abreast of the changing needs of the profession to enable us to meet the needs of those we are here to help. To do this, each year we collaborate with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to carry out an annual Workforce Wellbeing Survey. The last survey carried out was in the latter part of 2021 but nothing has changed since. And the results provided stark reading. Of the 1,014 responses received, many reported living with 'poor' or 'very poor' mental health and wellbeing. The survey results highlight a continued clear need for mental health and wellbeing support. Within the survey, it was identified that there is a very clear need for independent assistance, with many saying they feel unable to talk to their employers about their mental health issues. The need for our charity has never been clearer.

Leading pharmacy bodies and associations are looking forward to working with 'reappointed' Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Barclay, on 'future roles' and 'funding' for the community pharmacy. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) England Country Board Chair, Thorrun Govind, hopes that the ministers will now be able to focus on addressing the key challenges facing the health service and the country. "This means not just getting through the winter, but planning for and investing in the future." She added: "It will be crucial to use the skills of all our health professions to support the NHS recovery, reduce health inequalities, manage the growing cost of long-term conditions, and deliver best value from medicines.

National pharmacy bodies have called on the government and NHS leaders to take appropriate action to keep pharmacy teams safe from violence and abuse. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) - in collaboration with the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), the Company Chemists' Association (CCA), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - is supporting an important petition started by Mike Hewitson, a community pharmacy contractor, who has been threatened with stabbing and robbed in his own pharmacy. The PSNC and the other national pharmacy bodies strongly believe that no healthcare professional should have to deal with this, that and pharmacists and their teams should be better protected. It said: "Community pharmacies play an integral role in the delivery of primary care and most patients are highly appreciative of the hard work of local pharmacists and pharmacy teams from dispensing medicines and administering vaccines to providing medical advice and health monitoring services.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has raised concerns over the rising risks related to online pharmacy services. It revealed over 30 per cent of its open Fitness to Practise (FtP) cases were related to online pharmacy, which is disproportionate to the sector of the market that online services occupy. The regulator has advised pharmacists and pharmacy owners providing online services that they should "not work with online providers who try to circumvent the regulatory oversight put in place within the UK to ensure patient safety". In the past five months, the Council has imposed seven interim orders on the registration of pharmacists who have worked for or with online prescribing services - after identifying serious concerns with their practice. It said: "These pharmacists were working as pharmacist independent prescribers for online services or were dispensing medicines prescribed online. Some of these pharmacists were the Responsible Pharmacist (RP) or the Superintendent Pharmacist (SP)."

NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I), in association with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), has published its first inclusive pharmacy practice (IPP) bulletin, with an overarching ambition "to make community pharmacy a more inclusive environment for all pharmacy professionals". The IPP programme will take practical steps to improve the awareness and understanding at all levels of different cultural beliefs and attitudes, according to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). As a member of the IPP Improving Practice and Engagement Group, PSNC has contributed to this issue of the Bulletin, which focuses on how pharmacy professionals can help to reduce health inequalities via the detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The IPP programme, of which the Bulletin forms a part, aims to engage with local communities to help improve their health and reduce inequalities in care - particularly among those from ethnically diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

A group of pharmacists on Saturday (July 2) took part in this year's Pride in London parade, as the annual LGBTQ+ celebration returned to the capital after three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Those who participated in the march called on the government to ban conversion therapy for all LGBT+ people, reform the Gender Recognition Act, and provide equal protection for LGBT+ communities against hate crime. The event which drew a crowd of a million people marked the 50th anniversary since the first ever parade in London in 1972. Amandeep Doll, head of professional belonging at RPS, said: "It was a privilege to join in the recognition of the diversity of the LGBTQI+ community and our profession, especially on such a historic occasion. Our group of pharmacists and allies from all parts of the country loved the excitement and buzz of the day."

Pharmaceutical Press, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society publishing arm, has announced its partnership with Datapharm Ltd. Under the new partnership, Electronic Medicines Compendium (emc) the latest product to be added to MedicinesComplete, the online medicines information platform from Pharmaceutical Press. MedicinesComplete users can easily search emc information, with direct links to the trusted, clinical guidance from the British National Formulary (BNF). "emc through MedicinesComplete will include printable, ready-to-use patient information leaflets written by manufacturers to use at the point of care, and users will have access to an unlimited number of searches. In addition, emc will also include the full Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) document, which accompanies all regulator approved medicines in the UK," said the RPS. Available to all countries outside the UK, emc will be launched early next year on subscription through MedicinesComplete. UK access is available on request.

Pharmacists from BAME backgrounds still face higher levels of discrimination, harassment, bullying, and career obstacles compared to their white counterparts, the Pharmacy Workforce Race Equality Standard (PWRES) report has revealed. Published by NHSE England, this report underscores the persistent presence of inequality, emphasising the crucial need for all stakeholders in the pharmacy sector to prioritise addressing these issues. The PWRES report indicates that pharmacy team members of Black ethnic backgrounds are less likely to perceive equal opportunities for career advancement or promotion within their trust. Additionally, female pharmacy team members from BAME backgrounds report higher incidents of personal discrimination in the workplace. The report also highlights an overrepresentation of pharmacy technicians from BAME backgrounds in lower-paid roles. "It is shocking and unacceptable to see that across all indicators the BME staff experience is worse than their white counterparts," said Tase Oputu, Chair of RPS in England.

Pharmacy leaders have called for reassurance that the workforce plan, expected by April 2023, will cover the entirety of the pharmacy workforce across the health service, including in community pharmacies. A joint letter has been signed by representatives from 14 pharmacy organisations which highlights that with continued pressures on services, it is more important than ever to support the pharmacy workforce so that the staff needed to deliver patient care now and into the future can be recruited, trained and retained. Mark Koziol, Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) Chairman said: "Our pharmacist members practise across the entire health system and have the potential to do far more to help patients and improve public health, but they can only do so safely if they are in appropriately staffed workplaces. This is a workforce issue, so it is important that the Government works with representatives of the pharmacist workforce, and of their employers, to get a suitably agreed plan in place." Thorrun Govind, English Pharmacy Board Chair, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said: "It will be crucial to use the skills of all our health professions to support the NHS recovery, reduce health inequalities, manage the growing cost of long-term conditions, and deliver best value from medicines.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced 30 pence increase in prescription charges from £9.35 to £9.65 for each medicine or appliance dispensed. Board Chair for England at RPS, Thorrun Govind commented: "This is a kick in the teeth for people in England who are already struggling with rising bills and food prices. "Patients groups have warned that people are not collecting prescription medicines due to cost and pharmacists are seeing this worrying trend first-hand. "A Government impact assessment noted the risk of adverse effects of people not taking their medicines, resulting in future health problems for the individual, potential hospital admissions, and a subsequent cost to the NHS. "This decision seems to prioritise revenue generation over ill-health prevention and undermines the principle of an NHS free at the point of use.

The Medicine and Healthcare Product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recalled all pholcodine-containing medicines from the UK pharmacy due to concerns of its potential to cause a severe allergic reaction in some people having general anaesthesia for surgery. The decision was made following the conclusion of a review of post-marketing safety data by the MHRA. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has considered the evidence of an increased risk of the very rare event of anaphylaxis when exposed to neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBA) and advised that pholcodine-containing medicines should be withdrawn. MHRA has advised pharmacists to consider recommending appropriate treatment alternatives for patients who present with a new dry cough or who are currently taking pholcodine. Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) President Professor Claire Anderson said: "If you are taking a cough medicine (including tablets and syrups), check the packaging, label or Patient Information Leaflet to see if pholcodine is a listed ingredient - if it is, and you have any questions, you can talk to your pharmacist who can suggest a different medicine suitable for you.

The Pharmacy Supervision Practice Group consisting of members from AIMp, APTUK, CCA, NPA, PDA, PFNI and RPS held its fourth workshop to continue discussions on the future modelling of pharmacy practice. The ideas around 'supervision' shared by the organisation earlier formed the basis of the discussion during the workshop and helped to expand understanding of where there was consensus and disagreement. Examples of ideas explored during the workshop include: the extent to which a pharmacist should supervise the medicines assembly process, the purpose and extent to which a pharmacist might be absent from the pharmacy and how this might affect patient safety as well as the nature of whether fixed rules versus a broad framework were preferable for future practice. Chair of the group, Dr Michael Twigg, Associate Professor of Primary Care Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, said "Once again the sector bodies have come together in a collaborative and positive manner to explore the concept of 'supervision' in the context of current and future community pharmacy practice. This session provided an opportunity to constructively challenge assumptions and viewpoints within the group with the aim of moving the discussion forward." As part of the session, the DHSC, GPhC and PSNI gave an overview of the difference between legislation, regulation and guidance which was helpful to inform the group's thinking. Each of the organisations have been asked to use the conversation to refine the ideas presented in advance of the next workshop.

Pharmacist Support, a charity centred on bolstering pharmacist well-being, has launched a new course to help pharmacy professionals to foster a positive and supportive workplace culture. The 'Embracing a Workplace Wellbeing Culture' course is specially designed for pharmacy managers and leaders, and aims to address the unique challenges faced by them in cultivating a healthy environment for their teams. During the course, they will be empowered with practical strategies that can be implemented immediately, which can contribute to improved team wellbeing and performance. Workforce Wellbeing surveys conducted by the firm with the RPS have shown that the pressures on the pharmacy workforce continue to negatively impact on mental health and wellbeing, Pharmacist Support Chief Executive, Danielle Hunt said.

Community pharmacy could play an important role in proactive detection of heart valve disease (HVD), which remains under-recognised and under-detected in England, suggested a new report published by Wilmington Healthcare. Pharmacy bodies, including Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Community Pharmacy England (CPE), have also endorsed the report, which encourages Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to consider the innovative approach of detecting HVD with the help of community pharmacists. Despite HVD detection being a priority listed in the NHS Long Term Plan, a large number of people with HVD remained undiagnosed and untreated in the country due to lack of awareness of the disease prevalence. In June 2022, a pilot study was launched in Farnborough Primary Care Network (PCN), Hampshire, to evaluate the feasibility of using e-stethoscopes (digital auscultation) to detect this heart condition by a community pharmacist.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) second roundtable on workforce wellbeing resulted in a series of collaborative actions to address pharmacy professionals' mental health and wellbeing challenges. The roundtable brought together key stakeholders from the pharmacy sector, including organisations like the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Community Pharmacy England (CPE), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and the profession's independent charity Pharmacist Support (PS). A report detailing the outcomes of the meeting was published on Friday, highlighting the key areas of discussion and the agreed-upon actions by the participants. During the roundtable, participants discussed the importance of understanding the workforce demographics, both nationally and locally, and using data to address wellbeing issues effectively. They also emphasised the need for using supportive standards set by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) quality statement to support and empower pharmacists' wellbeing positively.

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).

More than a third of pharmacists who participated in a survey said they have seen an increase in patients declining prescriptions due to the cost in the last 12 months. The survey was jointly conducted by the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), extending their support for the Prescription Charges Coalition (PCC). Responding to the survey, 90 per cent of pharmacists admitted seeing cases where patients decline all the medicines on a prescription due to cost. Nearly all respondents said they have seen cases where patients declined some of their prescribed medicines and more than a quarter of them have experienced such situation often. They have warned of the impact of prescription charges as patients are denying vital medicines, including those for blood pressure and mental health, inhalers, antibiotics, pain relief, and statins, which can have potential consequences for the individual's health.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has introduced a new comprehensive learning programme to support pharmacists in Wales to deliver the Pharmacy Independent Prescribing Service (PIPS). Developed in collaboration with Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW), the programme is designed to "equip pharmacists with the essential knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to provide excellent patient care." While the primary emphasis is on pharmacists operating within primary care settings, those from various practice settings are also encouraged to register and participate in the programme. Commenting on the collaboration with HEIW, Elen Jones, director for Wales at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said that it will empower pharmacists across the country to deliver high-quality prescribing services to local communities.

Campaigners have submitted an open letter to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), urging the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health to freeze prescription charges to keep people with long-term conditions alive and well. The campaign is led by the Prescription Charges Coalition, which represents over 50 organisations, including Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA). Currently, the prescription charge is £9.65 per item, and campaigners have asked the government to freeze it for 2024 and 2025 as people living with long-term health conditions in England are "being forced to choose between heating, eating, and taking their vital medication on a daily basis." In 2023, a study conducted by the Prescription Charges Coalition revealed that almost 10 per cent of survey participants had skipped medication in the previous year due to the cost of prescriptions. This led to increased physical and mental health problems, as well as impacted the time they took off work. Laura Cockram, Chair of the Prescription Charges Coalition and Head of Campaigns at Parkinson's UK, expressed deep concern that a further rise in the charge this year will lead to people skipping or not taking the full dose of their medication, which will affect their health and put more pressure on the already under pressure NHS.