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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scotland has launched an online pharmacy best practice hub to showcase the best practices adopted by pharmacy teams in Scotland. The brand new pharmacy best practice hub, hosted on the RPS Scotland website, went live on Thursday (August 11). RPS Scotland said: "Pharmacy teams across Scotland are undertaking fantastic work right now, in a variety of settings including community, hospital and general practice pharmacy as well as specialist settings. Many of these examples demonstrate the very best in pharmacy practice, which is supporting the profession to move further towards RPS Scotland's professional vision for the future of pharmacy, Pharmacy 2030." RPS wants to celebrate and share these examples with healthcare professionals, government, politicians, the public and potential pharmacy students to inspire people into the profession. It also provides a fantastic opportunity for pharmacy teams to share their practice with each other across the country.

Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has submitted its evidence to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee's recent inquiry into 'The future of General Practice'. The committee, chaired by former health secretary Jeremey Hunt MP, had launched an inquiry to explore the future of NHS GP over the next five years. PSNC's evidence focused on what community pharmacy is currently doing to support GPs, and what more can be done in the future. The negotiator said: "We focused on how pharmacies supported patients throughout the pandemic as the only primary care access point offering healthcare advice on a walk-in basis.

The pharmacy inquiry will explore issues impacting different types of pharmacy, with a particular focus on community, primary care and hospital pharmacy services. It will also consider current challenges around funding, workforce and the digital infrastructure. Planned developments within the profession will enable future pharmacists to be independent prescribers from day one of registration, giving them a greater role within primary care teams. Health and Social Care Committee Chair Steve Brine MP said: "It is clear that pharmacy has a central role to play in the future of the NHS. With a greater focus on personalised and patient-centred healthcare, we will be asking what more must be done to make sure that the profession is in the best shape to meet demand. "Better use of the pharmacy workforce would reduce pressures on general practice and hospitals. However, this will not happen without a planned workforce with the funding, supervision and training to support it. "At the end of the inquiry, the committee will be making recommendations to the government on what action needs to be taken to ensure the potential of pharmacy is realised.

In its response to NHS England's consultation on 'the future of vaccination services', the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has suggested that a wider range of NHS vaccinations being available from community pharmacies could support the achievement of increased vaccination levels. PSNC said: "Any additional services that contractors could provide can only be considered with additional remuneration above the current global sum in the community pharmacy contractual framework to ensure that the services are adequately resourced." Alastair Buxton, director of NHS Services at PSNC, said: "We've always known, and the evidence supports this, that community pharmacies are one of the most popular and accessible places for people to receive a range of vaccinations. "The NHS was slow to take advantage of this at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we welcome this consultation from them to bring together a wide range of views on the topic. "In the longer-term, if the right funding and support is in place, many pharmacies could help deliver a much wider range of NHS vaccination programmes - giving the public the convenience and service that they want, and taking pressure off our general practice colleagues. It makes perfect sense, and we look forward to the NHS response to this consultation."

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has confirmed it will respond to UK Commission's 'call for evidence' on pharmacy professional leadership. The commission wants to ensure the professions are well equipped, with a voice to help shape the future, and enabled to develop through sharing and learning from best practice. The UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership has been set up by the chief pharmaceutical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will produce recommendations for the future of pharmacy professional leadership in the UK. The commission is co-chaired by Nigel Clarke, former chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council, and Professor Dame Jane Dacre, professor of medical education at University College London's Medical School. The commission will be hosting a webinar and has urged the associations and individuals to take part in 'call for evidence' which has been launched to inform and develop its work. A webinar in England will take place on Wednesday 7 September 6:30 - 8 pm. In Scotland it will be organised on Tuesday 6 September 7-8:30 pm and in Wales it will be hosted on Thursday 8 September 7-8:30 pm.

Pharmacies and other spaces should be able to facilitate the provision of health care to bring services closer to patients and reduce demands on general practice, suggested a report by Tony Blair Institute. In a paper 'Modern and Sustainable NHS Providing Accessible and Personalised Care for All', it has propose six areas for reform where radical-but-practical policy action will begin to transform the future of the NHS and deliver better patient care. It has proposed to create new access routes for services and providers. It added: "The range and availability of health-care services must increase to reflect citizens' demands and their increasingly complex needs. "Pharmacies, gyms, supermarkets, workplaces and other spaces should all be able to provide or facilitate the provision of health care, bringing services closer to patients and reducing demands on general practice. It suggested: "We must move towards greater community-based care and the creation of a neighbourhood health service, with more routes for direct patient access, to ensure services are available when and where people need them. These should all be accessible through a single, simple digital front door to the NHS."

Community Pharmacy England has submitted a full and detailed written response to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's pharmacy inquiry. The Committee is expected to hold oral evidence sessions when Parliament returns in the Autumn. The commencement of this inquiry follows on from those held on other primary care sectors, including Dentistry and General Practice. According to the Committee website this inquiry 'will explore issues impacting different types of pharmacy, with a particular focus on community, primary care and hospital pharmacy services'. Key themes of CPE's submission include- Suggestions on future service provision; Challenges with the pharmacy workforce; Longstanding underfunding of the sector; and Current pressures. Janet Morrison OBE, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: "This is an extremely important opportunity for all who work with and in the Pharmacy sector, to highlight not only the extreme challenges we face, but also ideas and suggestions for what more we can do to help patients and the public in the future.

The Health Committee's new report has reminded the government of a much-needed pharmacy workforce plan to support recruitment, training, and retention of staff. The report makes a number of recommendations to optimise workloads across primary care, reduce pressure on general practice and hospitals, and support the integrated care systems. It also recognises the potential of pharmacist independent prescribers to support patient care, backed by appropriate supervision, training, and opportunities for professional development. RPS England gave evidence to MPs on the Committee at a public hearing in May, highlighting key issues to support the pharmacy workforce. RPS director for England, Ravi Sharma, said: "Today's report underlines the urgent need for the Government to set out a comprehensive workforce plan for health and care. "It rightly recognises that boosting recruitment and retention, supporting staff wellbeing, fostering inclusion and diversity, and investing in education and training will be crucial to the future of the NHS.

A groundbreaking research project has revealed that the public is urging the government to prioritise primary and community care over hospitals. The study also found a strong public willingness to pay higher taxes to enhance NHS services. The Health Foundation and Ipsos UK conducted the research, combining nationwide polling with in-depth public deliberative workshops. These workshops, held in King's Lynn, Leeds, and London, constitute one of the most comprehensive public consultations about the future of the NHS in England. The study published on 16 May underscores the public's desire for a redistribution of NHS resources. If the NHS budget remains unchanged, 60 per cent of those polled believe the government should focus on improving access to community-based services like general practice and dentistry.

The Company Chemists Association (CCA)'s 'Prospectus for community pharmacy' has revealed that community pharmacies can release over 42 million appointments from general practice every year. In its prospect, the association calculated that community pharmacies could reduce hospital readmissions by 65,000 and administer an additional 10m routine vaccines annually. The prospectus sets out bold ideas and proposals regarding the future of community pharmacy. The association said: "Community pharmacies already work collaboratively with the NHS to ensure that patients can access care easily and safely. Whilst the sector has evolved considerably in recent years, the CCA proposes that pharmacies could do even more to directly tackle key problems for patients." CCA is concerned that without immediate action pharmacy closures will become increasingly common. "Fewer pharmacies will considerably diminish access to vital medicines and services, with the greatest impact on those in deprived communities."