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Dr Thérèse Coffey, the MP for Suffolk Coastal, has been appointed as health secretary - the fourth person to get the job after Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock, Sajid Javid and Steve Barclay in the past five years. She replaces Steve Barclay who held the job for just two months between July and September. Having first been elected in 2010 and subsequently re-elected in 2015, 2017 and 2019, Dr Coffey has served as secretary of state for the Department of Work and Pensions. Previous to that she served as environment minister, deputy leader of the House, government whip and parliamentary private secretary. As an MP she has campaigned on improving NHS experience for patients. Dr Coffey grew up in the North West and has a PhD in Chemistry and a chartered management accountant qualification.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have both urged the new health secretary Steve Barclay to back the 'pharmacy first' approach in England as mentioned by his predecessor on numerous occasions. "Sajid Javid recognised the vital role of community pharmacy and the potential of a 'Pharmacy First' to support patient access to care. I would urge the new Health Secretary to see this through to completion," said chair of RPS in England Thorrun Govind. Thorrun hopes the new health secretary will engage with pharmacy leaders about how we can make the most of our health and care workforce to support the NHS recovery, including reducing health inequalities, managing the growing cost of long-term conditions, and utilising the enhanced skills of Pharmacist Independent Prescribers. Commenting on the new appointment, she said: "This is a crucial time for the future of health and care - with continued pressures on teams, changes to NHS structures and organisations, and the need for long-term investment in the workforce. "With a 'refresh' of the NHS Long-Term Plan and the Government's workforce plan expected later this year, these must support a more ambitious approach to advancing the clinical role of pharmacists across the NHS to better meet changing patient demand, backed by investment in pharmacy education and training.

In a recent meeting with the head of the government's HRT Taskforce, Madelaine McTernan, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) board members gave a gist on the ongoing medicines supply issues in community pharmacy. The meeting, which explored possible solutions to end the nationwide shortage of some Hormone Replacement Therapies, took place on Friday (May 20). Independent contractors Reena Barai and Olivier Picard gave the so-called 'HRT tsar' an overview of the medicines supply issues in community pharmacy and discussed the new Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) which the government introduced in response to the on-going HRT disruption. Earlier this month, the NPA attended an HRT summit organised by the Department of Health and Social Care, alongside other pharmacy bodies, wholesalers and manufacturers. Health secretary Sajid Javid and pharmacy minister Maria Caulfield said they would be working collaboratively with manufacturers to meet demand and boost supply.

Health and social care workers in England, including those working in community pharmacy, will no longer have to have a Covid jab as a condition of employment from later this month, the government said on Tuesday (March 1). The government had announced on January 31 that it intended to revoke the regulations that made vaccination compulsory, subject to the results of a public consultation. The decision was taken because the Omicron strain of the virus was less severe than the Delta variant, and due to high rates of vaccination of people in the UK. Health secretary Sajid Javid told parliament in a written statement that more than 90,000 health and social care workers and members of the public responded to the consultation.

The government has announced a freeze to the NHS prescription charges, first time in 12 years, to help people ease with the cost of living and ensure prescription medication remains accessible. Charges for prescriptions will remain at £9.35 for a single charge or £30.25 for a 3-month prescription prepayment certificate (PPC), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said, adding that the measure will help save £17 million. The 12-month PPCs will remain at £108.10 and can be paid for in instalments, meaning people can get all the medicines they need for just over £2 a week, it added. The NHS low income scheme will also help with prescription payments, with free prescriptions for eligible people in certain groups such as pensioners, students, and those who receive state benefits or live in care homes. "The rise in the cost of living has been unavoidable as we face global challenges and the repercussions of Putin's illegal war in Ukraine. While we cannot completely prevent these rises, where we can help, we absolutely will," Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said. "This is why I am freezing prescription charges to help ease some of these pressures and put money back in people's pockets."

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) launched a new Innovative Medicines Fund on Tuesday (June 7) under which £340 million has been made available to purchase potentially life-saving drugs early. This will allow NHS patients in England to have early access to potentially life-saving and cutting-edge treatments Health secretary Sajid Javid said: "I want NHS patients to be the first in the world to access the most promising and revolutionary treatments that could extend or save their lives. "The launch of the Innovative Medicines Fund delivers another manifesto pledge and will fast-track cutting-edge medicines to adults and children to give people renewed hope for a better future." A total of £680 million has been ringfenced for the Innovative Medicines Fund and Cancer Drugs Fund - £340 million each - to fast-track medicines to NHS patients. DHSC said: "The Innovative Medicines Fund will provide quick access to novel treatments, including potentially lifesaving gene therapies for serious conditions with few treatment options. It often takes longer for pharmaceutical companies to collect data on a medicine's clinical and cost effectiveness for rare diseases due to the smaller patient cohort.

Deaths caused by hepatitis C has declined by 35 per cent in England between 2015 and 2020, latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed. It showed that estimated prevalence of chronic hepatitis C in England has continued to fall to around 81,000 in 2020 from 129,000 in 2015, showing a considerable progress has been made towards eliminating the virus as a public health problem by 2030 in England. Commenting on the data release, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid, said: "It is fantastic to see the significant progress that has been made in eliminating hepatitis C in England. Deaths and prevalence of the virus have fallen consistently thanks to improvements in diagnosis, access to treatments and the hard work of the NHS. "This is another example of the UK being at the forefront of tackling serious diseases. We are on track to eliminate this virus by 2030 and I urge anyone who may be at risk to get tested as soon as possible."