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The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has called the 'new general practice contract' which was imposed by NHS England on Monday (6 March) as 'simply unreasonable'. The imposition of new contract followed a failed talk of British Medical Association (BMA)'s with the negotiator. The association's main issue with the contract is the lack of further funding beyond that agreed in 2019 as part of the five-year deal. PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: "The breakdown in GP contract negotiations for the second year running is another blow for primary care. The verdict of the GP negotiators is that the demands being made of doctors by Government and the NHS are simply unreasonable." "Community pharmacy is being treated with the same disregard: too much is being asked of us, with far too little funding available." The committee has been raising the issue and challenges faced by the community pharmacists with the government. The government is asking pharmacies to do more by taking giving additional services but the committee is of view with no extra funding the community pharmacies will collapse.

Alitam has announced that it has merged with clinical skills training provider MHRx to upskill UK pharmacists so that its chain of community pharmacies in the UK can diagnose and treat minor medical ailments "quickly and safely". This is a second merger deal announced by the group that has 100-plus pharmacies, just days after its merger with Pharmadoctor to "radically transform the UK and Ireland's community pharmacy sector" into a truly preventative healthcare system. Following the merger with MHRx, Alitam will now be providing a career development platform for its pharmacy teams, which also include nurses and other healthcare professionals. MHRx's training incorporates every aspect of general practice alongside relevant topics including making appropriate patient consultation records in line with NHS guidelines. This, Alitam believes, will allow community pharmacies to carry out formal diagnoses, formulate differential diagnosis plans, and perform full clinical examinations. According to the founder and CEO Feisal Nahaboo, mergers such as these will lead to "a healthcare revolution predicated on building the world's first truly preventative healthcare model".

Charac, an NHS-integrated one-stop platform for independent community pharmacies, has secured £1 million strategic investment from the Royal Mail Group, enabling its time-saving platform to assist more local pharmacies and patients across the UK to easily manage their prescriptions and consultations online. The company said this new money will enable it to leverage strong levels of trust that pharmacists enjoy within the communities they serve in and will ensure pharmacies remain a cornerstone of vibrant high streets and an invaluable provider of frontline healthcare products and services, including vitally needed consultations. Charac says it is aiming to sign up over 1,000 UK pharmacies in the next 12 months by expanding its geographic footprint beyond current cities, including London, Manchester and Birmingham, and targeting small multiple and independent pharmacies, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the UK's community pharmacy network. The announcement also sees the addition of Stefan Kulik, a managing director at Royal Mail, to the Charac board. Stefan is responsible for leading Royal Mail's expansion into the healthcare industry and brings a breadth of experience, having previously worked in healthcare with companies including Johnson & Johnson.

This Pharmacy First Common Ailments service will help patients seek treatment for seven common conditions directly from a pharmacy without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. Launching on 31 January next year although it is subject to IT being ready, the service will cover ailments including "sinusitis, sore throat, earache, infected insect bites, impetigo, shingles, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs)" in women. People with symptoms of the above seven conditions will be supplied with a prescription-only treatment under a Patient Group Direction (PGD). Patients seeking assistance at the pharmacy, whether walk-in or referred by NHS 111, GPs, or other sources, can receive consultations. The new service includes self-referring patients plus referrals, and the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) will also be a part of it.

Pharmacy Minister, Will Quince received flu vaccination and blood pressure check at his visit to a Boots pharmacy in Westminster arranged by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA). The Boots pharmacist, Flavia, explained to the Minister the broad range of services the pharmacy delivers, from the new medicines service to emergency contraception and the community pharmacy consultation service. The Minister witnessed first-hand much of what the community pharmacy sector has to offer patients and the NHS. Malcolm Harrison Chief Executive of the CCA said: "We share the Minister's vision on how community pharmacies and their teams can contribute to the 'Plan for Patients' set out by the Secretary of State. It is great to have the support of the Minister and we are excited for the future of pharmacy.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), released survey data today (30 October) which suggests Britons have a higher regard for community pharmacies than retail settings. It also highlighted the level of awareness of pharmacies' healthcare duties, which range from NHS medicines consultations to monitoring blood pressure. The survey conducted by Research Without Barriers involved 1680 adults in England from 20-23 October 2023. The data showed that over 90 per cent of adults in England are aware that pharmacies offer each of these services. The survey also suggested that 56 per cent of respondents find it appropriate to ask their local pharmacies for help to quit smoking, and 63 per cent would ask for a blood pressure check.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has been on the lookout for innovative ideas and suggestions that could transform the future of pharmacy practice in England over the next decade. The society's new project with the King's Fund to transform the future of pharmacy practice in England is at a consultation phase, seeking views and opinions of pharmacy teams from all areas of practice including primary, secondary, social and community care to ensure that the system gets the best out of pharmacy and the public receives seamless, joined-up care. "We want to build a vision that sets out the role of and value of pharmacists and pharmacy teams working across systems, providing patient care and NHS services," said RPS in a statement. "Transforming the future of pharmacy practice recognises the urgent need to build on new ways of working established across health and care systems during the pandemic to meet the increasingly complex health needs of people and improve patient outcomes."

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have been tasked to evaluate the impact, safety and effectiveness of the Pharmacy First service, which was launched across England in January 2024. They have been awarded £2.4million by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to generate evidence on the new service that allows pharmacies to provide advice and treatment for seven common conditions without the need for a GP appointment. After consultation, if necessary, a community pharmacist can supply some prescription-only medicines to treat earache, sore throat, sinusitis, impetigo, shingles, infected insect bites or uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women. The LSHTM researcher team will be working together with experts at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Universities of Oxford, Manchester and Nottingham on the project. Dr Rebecca Glover, assistant professor in Antimicrobial Resistance at LSHTM, who will lead the three-year project, said they will evaluate "Pharmacy First's impact on GPs and the wider NHS, pharmacy services and patients."