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In a groundbreaking move, the Department of Education has initiated the first phase of its ambitious childcare expansion plan, offering a lifeline to thousands of working parents of two-year-olds nationwide. Effective from April 1, working parents now have access to 15 hours a week of government-funded childcare, marking the onset of the largest-ever childcare provision expansion in the country's history. This milestone initiative aims to alleviate the financial strain on families and promote workforce participation, with over 150,000 children projected to benefit from government-funded places. By September 2025, the expansion will culminate in working parents gaining access to 30 hours of free childcare, offering substantial annual savings and enabling parents to navigate the delicate balance between work and family commitments. Acknowledging the pivotal role of childcare in supporting families and driving economic growth, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasized the government's commitment to delivering on its promise of expanded childcare provision.

Scotland's first minister, John Swinney, has announced the expansion of the NHS Pharmacy First Service as part of the government's strategy to shift more care into communities. However, Numark chairman Harry McQuillan has stressed the need for additional funding to support this expansion effectively. Speaking at the National Robotarium in Edinburgh on 27 January 2025, Swinney outlined the government's plans for enhancing public services and renewing the NHS, promising a significant boost in NHS Scotland's capacity to reduce waiting times. Recognising the importance of identifying new approaches, Swinney underscored the critical role of community pharmacies in easing pressure on GP services. He said: "I want to see the NHS Scotland Pharmacy First Service expand so that community pharmacies can treat a greater number of clinical conditions and prevent the need for a GP visit in the first place." McQuillan welcomed the announcement, stating that this advancement will "empower pharmacists to provide even greater value, leveraging their clinical expertise to deliver comprehensive care directly to patients." However, he noted that the sector should be provided with extra funding to support this expansion.

Many community pharmacists are keen to pursue independent prescribing training, but the lack of access to placements, supervisors, and adequate financial support remains a challenge. In a significant development, the government has announced the nationwide expansion of the 'Teach and Treat' clinics pilot to assist pharmacists in becoming independent prescribers (IPs). Initially piloted in the South West, this initiative allowed many community pharmacists to gain practice-based learning, with supervision from an experienced prescriber called a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP). This expansion was confirmed in the government's response to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) pharmacy inquiry, published on 10 January 2025. The initiative is described as "an effective way to create designated DPP capacity and grow the number of pharmacist independent prescribers." The expansion of the Teach and Treat clinics will be facilitated through the Pharmacy Integration Fund in 2024-25.

The renowned health and beauty chain has announced impressive annual sales and profit figures, following the expansion of its British high street estate. According to a report by The Times, Superdrug's pre-tax profits jumped by 43.6 per cent to £111.6 million in the year ending December 2023 compared to the previous year. The company's revenue also experienced significant growth, rising by 11.8 per cent to reach £1.52 billion, marking its third consecutive year of market share growth. Key factors driving this growth include the opening of 14 new stores across strategic locations such as The Trafford Centre in Manchester and Brent Cross shopping centre in north London, and the refitting of 45 stores last year. Additionally, the continued expansion of its cheaper, own-label products, along with exclusive launches from brands like Bioré SPF, Nyx X Barbie, and Billie Eilish fragrances, significantly contributed to a 4.2 per cent year-on-year increase in Superdrug's sales volume.

An international specialty pharmaceutical group, Essential Pharma has announced the completion of two transactions with fellow UK-based Rosemont Pharmaceuticals. The company completed the divestment of its oral liquid portfolio to Rosemont, and acquired a series of attractive, niche products with "geographic expansion potential." Commenting on the announcement, Essential Pharma chief executive Steen Vangsgaard said: "The Rosemont products bring additional niche products into our portfolio with international expansion potential. "The divestiture of our UK oral liquid products streamlines our portfolio, allowing us to focus and accelerate our strategic growth ambition of building a leading international specialty pharma platform." Under the divestment deal, Rosemont Pharmaceuticals will acquire the product portfolio of licences, registrations and trademarks, as well as related commercial rights, to a number of oral generic products which are used to treat a range of conditions in various therapeutic areas.

NHS England has expanded its national bowel screening programme to people aged 54 so that cancers can be detected at an earlier stage when they are easier to treat. As part of the expansion, the health service would be sending a home-testing kit for bowel cancer, known as the Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT), to thousands more people in the North West. Those who are eligible (aged 54 and over) will now automatically receive the kit every two years by post, enabling them to self-check for blood in stool samples, which can be a sign of bowel cancer. With the expansion of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme to people aged 54 years, an additional 830,000 people in England will now be eligible for the screening test.

The Self-Care Strategy Group (SCSG), comprising of leading pharmacy groups, professional organisations, trade associations and charities committed to self-care, has written to Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, urging the government to fully realise the benefits of self-care and work collaboratively to build an NHS fit for the future. In its letter, the SCSG has outlined several key proposals including: Expansion of prescribing rights. Optimisation of digital health tools such as the NHS App. Enabling direct referrals between primary, diagnostic and specialist care services Widening access to self-care medicines in pharmacies. Training Primary Care Network (PCN) staff to support patients in navigating the care system. Promoting credible health information on self-care and expanding public awareness campaigns Dr Graham Jackson, a GP and Chair of SCSG, expressed concerns over the unprecedented pressures on the NHS and primary care, cautioning that these challenges are likely to increase without urgent action.

The Pharmacy Schools Council (PhSC) has issued a statement urging a cautious approach to the significant expansion of additional UK universities seeking accreditation for new Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) programmes. At least seven more UK universities are seeking accreditation for new Master of Pharmacy (MPharm) programmes, but existing pharmacy school heads are warning that severe staffing shortages could threaten the quality of education. While the council welcomes the increasing interest in the pharmacy profession, it has warned that the "growth is managed not only in the workplace but within the education sector." In a meeting held in April 2024, the council members expressed that while this expansion would increase the number of undergraduate places available for pharmacy students, heads of existing pharmacy schools raised serious concerns about the challenges in recruiting suitably qualified staff to run these programmes. The PhSC highlighted the difficulties in attracting candidates for academic positions, particularly those requiring clinical expertise.

Celerion, a leader in early clinical research, is pleased to announce the expansion of clinical operations to South Korea.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Boronia, in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, in November 2014. The expansion will introduce the latest machinery, which will be used for manufacturing advanced aseptic packing of sterile pharmaceutical liquids.

Skelmersdale-based online pharmacy Chemist4U has secured a £12 million investment from Pitalia Capital, an equity investment company led by Anil Pitalia. Chemist4U is part of JCCO Healthcare, which also houses the weight management platform myBMI. Anil Pitalia is a health enthusiast, who heads SpaMedica, a company providing cataract surgery to the NHS. This investment will propel the group's expansion, with John Davies, Managing Partner of Pitalia Capital, joining the board, the company said. Moreover, it will facilitate the extension of services by myBMI in the realm of weight management. "Our goal is for Chemist4U to emerge as one of the largest NHS dispensing facilities in the country, while also providing vital support to our partners through our rapidly expanding outsourced dispensing services division," said said James O'Loan, Chief Executive Officer of both Chemist4U and myBMI, who joined Chemist4U as a superintendent pharmacist in 2012 before becoming CEO in 2018. Meanwhile, Anil Pitalia, Head of Pitalia Capital based in Bolton, cited the compelling growth potential as the driving force behind his investment in Chemist4U's next-day medicine delivery service.

Almost all community pharmacies in the West Midlands and East Midlands have begun treating people for seven common conditions, as part of the newly launched Pharmacy First scheme. NHS England on Sunday (4 February) revealed that more than 95 per cent of community pharmacies in the West Midlands (1130) and over 97 per cent in the East Midlands (840) have joined the ground-breaking initiative. The scheme allows highly trained pharmacists to assess and treat patients for sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bite, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women (under the age of 65) without the need for an appointment or prescription. With this major expansion of pharmacy services, the health service is aiming to free up 10 million GP appointments a year, while making it easier and more convenient for people to access care.

Community pharmacy is integral to accelerating the three shifts envisaged by the government, but concrete action is needed to address the current funding crisis - the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has stated in its response to the 10-year plan consultation. The CCA highlighted a wide range of pharmacy services that could contribute to achieving the government's vision shifting care from hospitals to community, from analogue to digital, and from treating sickness to prevention. To strengthen the sector's role in prevention, it proposes expanding the pharmacy's role in vaccination, screening, emergency hormonal contraception (EHC), and smoking cessation services. Furthermore, the CCA's submission noted that the expansion of Pharmacy First as "key to moving more care into the community."

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has voiced strong support for a recent report from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), which advocates for the establishment of a 'Digital Health Record' (DHR) for every individual in the UK. The CCA, which was interviewed as part of the report's development, believes that the creation of a DHR could significantly enhance the NHS's efficiency, improve preventative healthcare, and help the health service harness the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI). The TBI report highlights that the current health and care system suffers from fragmented data, with individual records scattered across various providers, including community pharmacies. This siloed approach often hampers the delivery of seamless and effective care. A unified DHR, the report argues, would consolidate all relevant health data into a single, accessible record, ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate care across the entire healthcare system.

NHS England has announced the expansion of Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) to Detained Estate health services in England, starting next month. This means prescribers working in prisons would be able to issue EPS 'To Take Out' (TTO) and urgent prescriptions electronically to community pharmacies, eliminating the need for paper FP10 forms. Currently, around 6,000 of these types of FP10s are issued annually by prisons, according to the NHSBSA. However, with the introduction of EPS, the reliance on this method for supplying medicines to people upon release from prison may change. The NHSE noted that EPS rollout will "significantly improve access to urgent medicines and medicines needed by released patients."

Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are set to receive up to £15.9 million over the next four years which will help them thrive in multidisciplinary healthcare teams and enable expansion of frontline staff in primary and community care. The funding, which is part of the Pharmacy Integration Programme allocation, will improve registered pharmacy professionals' skills, through a range of training and development opportunities. The programme is a part of education reform for pharmacy professionals and will allow them to identify career pathways. Health Education England and NHS England will work in partnership to develop "a formal portfolio recognition process to identify the existing skills, training and experience gained by pharmacists working in primary care, allowing them to work more flexibly and better support GP services", HEE said in a statement today (November 8).

As the government today (November 15) announced plans to expand Britain's booster programme for Covid-19 vaccinations to cover all adults aged over 40, NHS Confederation welcomed the move. The announcement follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) statement that all healthy adults aged 40-49 should be offered a booster, six months after their second dose, and that 16 and 17 year olds should be invited to have a second dose. Accepting the JCVI's advice, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said: "All 4 parts of the UK intend to follow the JCVI's advice. "We know immunity to Covid-19 begins to wane after 6 months and new data published today shows a third dose boosts protection against symptomatic infection to more than 90% - this highlights just how important it is that everyone eligible gets their top-up jabs as soon as possible."

Britain will offer a Covid-19 booster shot to all adults and could halve the dose interval for booster jabs from six to three months in a bid to accelerate its vaccination programme amid concern over the new Omicron coronavirus variant, as number of new cases found in the country rise. The move, backed by a scientific advisory body and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, comes as ministers scramble to react swiftly to the new variant, which was first detected in South Africa. Prime minister Boris Johnson has responded to the emergence of Omicron by making mask-wearing compulsory in shops and on public transport in England. Until now, only adults in the UK aged 40 and above were eligible for a booster dose six months after their last. But that timeframe will now be halved to three months, alongside the programme's expansion to all over-18s, with priority given to older people. "These measures will protect more people, more quickly and make us better protected as a nation," Javid told MPs.

Community Pharmacy Wales and the Welsh government have entered an agreement on Thursday (December 16), enabling all pharmacies to deliver provision of contraception, treatment for common minor ailments, and access to repeat medicines in an emergency. Expansion of clinical community pharmacy service will be supported with an increased funding of £20 million a year by April 2024 from the current level of £11.4m. The two bodies have been negotiating the terms of agreement, which also includes plans to roll out a Wales-wide pharmacy prescribing service, allowing trained pharmacists to treat an extended range of conditions that currently require GP visits. The agreement will allow patients to access NHS services closer to home which in turn would free up GP and other NHS services for patients with more complex needs. Eluned Morgan MS, minister for Health and Social Services said: "I welcome the positive approach to negotiations taken by Community Pharmacy Wales, embracing our ambition for a reimagined community pharmacy service, which is an integral part of a strong primary care landscape."

The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) has issued a new policy statement which encourages a "life-course" approach to vaccination by pharmacists. In the statement, published on September 27, FIP backed expansion of vaccine schedules and strategies so that patients of all age groups could be vaccinated throughout their entire lifespan, from infancy to old age. A life-course approach in public health and healthcare focuses on an individual's health and well-being, including vaccination, administered throughout their entire lifespan, from infancy to old age. FIP urged governments and policymakers to eliminate regulatory barriers, enabling pharmacists to prescribe and administer all relevant vaccines throughout the life-course. Additionally, FIP recommended that policymakers develop remuneration models for pharmacies to deliver sustainable life-course vaccination services within the private and public sectors.