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Amid media speculations that a large pharmacy multiple was putting all its stores at risk of closure, PSNC supremo Janet Morrison said the sector was in crisis and in danger of a significant collapse. Addressing delegates via a video link at Sigma Pharmaceutical's 13th Annual Community Pharmacy Conference held last week (March 4 -9) in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, she said while "a lot of consolidation or sales" would continue, a lot of the smaller, independently-owned community pharmacies - which had to work harder and harder to make ends meet - were just "hanging on in there". "But I don't know how much longer people can go on," she said, adding that the risk of actual closure was rendering the remaining pharmacies so fragile that "they may not be able to pick up the slack of many thousands of patients" who would need repeat prescriptions. "The disruption is frightful and awful. We have got 53 per cent of the population on repeat prescriptions, so that matters." Her comment on the opening day of the conference was a sober reminder that the sector - which relies heavily on income from prescriptions - couldn't afford to "carry on with the current format of a contract and the current amount of money" it was paid to deliver numerous tasks which have been heaped on it to share the burden of a crippling NHS.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has launched a new revised RPS Professional Standards for Hospital Pharmacy Services at its annual conference held on Friday (11 November). RPS developed the standards through an extensive consultation with the profession, multidisciplinary teams and patients. They are relevant for providers of pharmacy services in acute, mental health, private, community service, prison, hospice and ambulance settings. The revised Standards contain two brand new descriptors - research, audit and quality improvement, and inclusion and wellbeing. Updates have been made to the supporting statements to ensure they reflect current practice and are fit for the future. A new assessment tool has been developed to support organisations either self-assess or peer-assess against the Standards. "For the first time the Standards apply UK wide, having gained support from Pharmacy Forum NI, alongside endorsement from The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK and other professional groups," RPS said.

The Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) will be expanded to enable urgent and emergency care settings to refer patients to a community pharmacist for a consultation for minor illness or urgent medicine supply from Monday (15 May), the DHSC and NHSE said. The service builds on the progress made in GP referrals via the CPCS and hospital referrals under the Discharge Medicine Service. It was originally planned to launch in March, and fee for this service will be the existing CPCS fee of £14, as per the agreement for both year 4 and year 5 of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2019 to 2024 5-year deal. In an update on the CPCF, published today (12 May), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England (NHSE) has also committed to the 4 October 2023 launch date for the Tier 2 of the Pharmacy Contraception Service, subject to a positive evaluation of the pilot. The Tier 1 of the service was launched on 24 April, delayed by over three months. This new service enables community pharmacists to provide ongoing management, via a patient group direction (PGD), of routine oral contraception that was initiated in general practice or by a sexual health clinic. The fees for this service are as follows: a fee for each consultation of £18; and a set-up fee of £900, paid in instalments. The Tier 2 will "enable community pharmacists to also initiate oral contraception, via a PGD, and provide ongoing clinical checks and annual reviews," Alette Addison, deputy director for pharmacy, dental and optical at the DHSC and Ali Sparke, director for dentistry, community pharmacy and optometry at the NHSE, said in a letter.

Community pharmacies in England will have to go through a clinical audit focusing on valproate, following an agreement reached between the PSNC and NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I). The audit, a part of NHS contractual requirements, aims to reduce the potential harm caused by taking valproate during pregnancy. The 2021/22 audit will be based on the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) audit, allowing contractors to close the cycle by re-auditing their practice. NHSE&I recently shared the results of the PQS 2019/20 valproate audit. Around 5.6 per cent of the 12,068 girls or women of childbearing potential who participated in the audit said they were not advised in line with the MHRA Drug Safety Update 2018 relating to the potential impact on an unborn child.

Wales has begun the rolled-out of a community pharmacy prescribing service as part of reforms agreed by the Welsh health minister last December. Eluned Morgan approved wide-ranging changes following re-negotiation of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework with Community Pharmacy Wales, the representative body for community pharmacies in Wales. The roll out will allow appropriately trained community pharmacists to treat an extended range of conditions that currently require people to visit their GP. Initially pharmacist prescribers will be able to prescribe medicines, including antibiotics for acute illnesses like urinary tract and upper respiratory tract infections, and also prescribe routine contraception. The first of its kind in the UK, the service is being rolled out progressively across Wales, building on local schemes which are already in place.

Calls have been made for more pharmacies to help with the rollout of the county's coronavirus booster jabs. Around 25 pharmacies in Kent and Medway have been distributing vaccines to thousands of patients. This represents just seven per cent of the 320 pharmacies in the county. The call comes despite staff shortages and growing workload pressures, such as carrying out non-essential tasks, which include patient satisfaction surveys. Shilpa Shah, the chief executive officer at the Kent Local Pharmaceutical Committee, said: "We have workforce issues, but are pulling together to deliver essential patient services and Covid vaccinations at the same time." Pharmacies are one of several health organisations working hard to ensure that everyone aged 18 and over will be offered a booster vaccination by the target of January 31, which has been set by the government.

New amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations will soon allow registered pharmacy technicians to supply and administer medicines under Patient Group Directions (PGDs). Laid before Parliament at the end of May, the legislative changes will come into effect from June 26, 2024, the Community Pharmacy England (CPE) announced today. The introduction of this new legislation follows an announcement made by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) earlier this year. The regulatory adjustments provide the legal framework for pharmacy technicians to engage in the supply and administration of medicines under PGDs in the course of their professional practice. However, there will be no immediate change in the provision of community pharmacy services, the CPE noted

The Pharmacy Collect team is now in position to supply additional stocks of lateral flow device (LFD) test kits to pharmacies that are still experiencing higher demand, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update. The team has informed the negotiator that LFD orders in some locations have reduced allowing them to work with Alliance Healthcare to facilitate extra deliveries. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is continuing to deliver LFD stocks to Alliance Healthcare for onward delivery to pharmacies, distributed over 14.5 million tests to the company last week. Community pharmacy contractors can seek up to three additional cartons of test kits by emailing the Pharmacy Collect team. This will be in addition to one carton daily order that contractors are allowed to get through Alliance Healthcare.

The Health Education England (HEE) has secured funding to further support growth of the pharmacy technician workforce in 2022/23. This support is through expansion of pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician (PTPT) training capacity in community pharmacy or as part of a cross-sector integrated apprenticeship programme. HEE will be holding two 90-minute webinars on Monday 27 2022. There will be a morning webinar (10-11.30am) and an evening webinar (7-8.30pm) for attendees to choose from. Topics like- available funding; eligibility for funding; PTPT training programme requirements for employers; how to apply for this funding; and the support available from HEE for successful funding of applicants to develop their PTPT training programmes, will be covered during the webinars. HEE is also hosting another webinar to provide an update on the Independent Prescribing (IP) for pharmacists training offer that they are developing for Autumn 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has updated the final price concessions for June 2023, following a discussion by Community Pharmacy England regarding medicine pricing issues reported by pharmacy owners (its members). A price concession only applies for the month it is granted; any prices agreed for concessions requested late in the month will roll over into the following month. Community Pharmacy England encouraged pharmacies to report any problems obtaining a Part VIII product at or below the stated Drug Tariff price, using the online feedback form on the Community Pharmacy England website along with full details of the supplier and price paid for any products sourced above the Drug Tariff price. The association will investigate the extent of the problem and, if appropriate, discuss the issue with DHSC.

Now is the best time for community pharmacy to integrate its model of NHS representation and support to ensure better outcomes for contractors, said James Wood, director of Contractor & LPC Support, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). It is important for the sector to adapt to the new landscape and address challenges such as workforce, digital data, integration of pharmacy services, and medicines optimisation, he said during the first session of the sixth annual Pharmacy Business Conference held online on Tuesday, September 21. Under the new system, every part of England will be covered by integrated care systems (ICSs) from April 2022. ICSs have been created to bring about big changes in how health and care services in England are planned, paid for and delivered. They are a key part of the direction of travel for the NHS as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Despite a 13 per cent increase from last year, less than a quarter (21%) of pharmacy teams recommend Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) as a first line of treatment for frequent heartburn. There has been a 4% decrease in pharmacy teams considering 'frequent heartburn' as a condition that occurs more than once a week 8-in-10 said a larger pack size would be useful to their patients who suffer from frequent heartburn. Haleon, formerly part of GSK, has recently commissioned research to better understand how pharmacy teams help patients to treat frequent heartburn. Comparing with data captured last year, there has been a been a +13% increase in the number of pharmacy teams recommending Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) (21% in 2022 vs 8% in 2021). Nexium Control, the UK's number one heartburn product for 24-hour protection, aims to use this research to provide better support for pharmacists and their teams and encourage the recommendation of PPIs, where appropriate for frequent heartburn, over other heartburn remedies.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has initiated the process for the regional representative election for the North-East and Cumbria region after Mark Burdon's resignation from the committee earlier this year. The North-East and Cumbria region covers Community Pharmacy County Durham, Community Pharmacy Cumbria, Gateshead and South Tyneside LPC, North of Tyne LPC, Sunderland LPC and Tees LPC. PSNC said that Pharmacists who are independent chemists and members or officers of these LPCs are eligible to stand for election as a new regional representative. "An independent chemist is defined in the PSNC constitution as a chemist operating retail pharmacy businesses' from no more than nine premises in England from which NHS Pharmaceutical Services or Local Pharmaceutical Services are provided and a person who is not a member of the Association of Independent Multiple pharmacies (AIMp)," said PSNC. The following PSNC briefing sets out the election process and the actions required by those seeking to stand for election.

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.

Community pharmacies in England could soon be allowed to make cancer referrals to hospitals under new plans to improve early detection of the disease. An NHS pilot scheme, which starts later this year as a pilot in an undisclosed number of places of England, will see community pharmacy staff spotting signs of cancer in people who might not have noticed symptoms. Pharmacy teams will be trained to spot red flags, such as patients with symptoms such as a cough that lasts for three weeks or more, difficulty swallowing or blood in their urine, and send them for scans and checks without needing to see a GP if they think it could be cancer. Amanda Pritchard, the NHS chief executive, will unveil the plans at the NHS Confed Expo conference in Liverpool on Wednesday (June 15), and say: "These plans have the power to truly transform the way we find and treat cancer, and ultimately spare thousands of patients and their families from avoidable pain and loss." The plans include new "roaming liver trucks" - which will be parked near GP surgeries, in town centres and food banks - to encourage people most at risk of getting liver cancer to get "on the spot scans" for diagnosis.

Despite the government's announcement on lifting most Covid-19 related restrictions from next Thursday (January 27), people working in community pharmacies will be required to adhere to the UK Health Security Agency's infection prevention control (IPC) guidance. The ambit the guidance, which aims to protect everyone against the infection, also covers GP practices, dental practices and optometry practices, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said in an update. The negotiators also urged community pharmacy teams to encourage patients to wear a face covering while vising pharmacy to keep staff and other patients safe. Prime minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday (January 19) that Covid-19 restrictions re-imposed in England last month would be lifted by from next Thursday (January 27).

NHS England has urged the pharmacy owners to continue to voluntarily submit New Medicine Service (NMS) quarterly summary data to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022/23 (January to March 2023). Community Pharmacy England have agreed with NHS England that the quarterly returns will continue to be on a voluntary basis, with Q4 (January to March 2023) as the second quarter to be reported. It has thanked all the members that submitted NMS quarterly summary data for Quarter 3. The mandatory requirement to submit this data has been suspended since 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "NHS England wants to continue collection of the quarterly returns to provide baseline data to support a long-term evaluation that will be conducted as part of ongoing work to expand the scope of NMS," said Community Pharmacy England. Voluntary submissions can be made via the NHSBSA website, where an updated reporting spreadsheet is also available for head offices to use who are able to submit data on behalf of multiple pharmacies.

Majority of community pharmacies are benefiting from the use of real time exemption checking (RTEC), as per an update by the NHS Business Services Authority(NHSBSA). RTEC allows community pharmacy teams to check digitally if their patients are eligible for free NHS prescriptions because they hold a specific exemption. The service not only saves staff time but also reduces the use of paper, risk of infection transmission and pharmacies environmental impact. Pharmacy contractor need to confirm their agreement to the terms of the RTEC, before it can be activated.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has advised pharmacy contractors to use emergency provisions to avoid and reduce temporary closures amid shortage of pharmacists and other staff. The provision was introduced at the start of the pandemic to enables flexible provision of pharmaceutical services by pharmacies. It has been extended several times, currently until January 31, 2022. The negotiator noted that self-isolation requirements and a lack of available pharmacists led to a spike in short-notice closures/late opening/early closing incidents in the community pharmacy sector. However, it reminded contractors that they have a clear duty to provide services in line with their contractual arrangements.

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.