The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has published Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier Wales that outlines a plan focusing on what can be achieved by end of 2025.
The society has urged people to share their views by responding to the consultation on four key themes which were already set out in Pharmacy: Delivering a Healthier
Wales -enhancing patient experience; developing the pharmacy workforce; seamless pharmaceutical care; and harnessing innovation and technology.
"We want to hear from as many of you as possible. It is important that the aims for pharmacy over the next three years are right. So please take a look at the draft
2025 goals, the proposed activity and measures and complete our consultation response form by 11 September," said RPS.
"We have been proud to continue to manage this important ambition for Wales, working on behalf of the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee and with colleagues from all
over Wales. Over 300 of you have already contributed to our face to face and virtual engagement sessions we held over the past three months and we thank you for your
valuable input.
Duncan Rudkin, the CEO of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhc) has highlighted the importance of strengthening pharmacy governance to provide clarity
around how pharmacies are organised and managed.
This will ensure that patients and the public continue to receive safe and effective pharmacy care, he said while speaking at the annual Sigma Conference in
London on Sunday (5 November).
According to him, there could be rules that outlined the essential roles and responsibilities of responsible pharmacists, and professional standards for
responsible pharmacists, superintended pharmacists and chief pharmacists.
He also announced that the GPhC will be shortly launching a consultation to integrate a new set of standards for the statutory role of hospital chief
pharmacists "which up until recently has never been recognised in law." It is expected to be launched by early January 2024.
However, Duncan, emphasised that they cannot start the work on standards for responsible and superintendent pharmacists until they know the government plans
in relation to supervision.
"Because of course, the responsible pharmacists' regime, and the supervision regime are in many ways intertwined, and can't certainly be looked at separately.
In the competitive landscape of healthcare, strategic alliances can be a game-changer. Dr. Dupe, a General Practitioner at Christchurch Clinics, and Baba, a
Pharmacist at Christchurch Pharmacy, married for 24-years cultivate their synergy through mental wellbeing walks.
Their recent 24 kilometres fundraising walk to support a local hospice - Farleigh Hospice, is one of such.
Having met Dupe first in 1994, first as interns at a teaching hospital, now married, the couple offer a comprehensive range of services, including pharmacy, private
clinics, homecare services as proprietors of Christchurch Health-centre in Braintree.
gp; pharmacist; mental wellbeing walks, healthcare
Dupe and Baba in their clinic
Dr. Dupe and Pharmacist Baba Akomolafe in their clinic, demonstrating their synergy and dedication to patient care.
United by faith, a love for healthcare, and a shared commitment to service the community, their 'Mental Wealth Management' as they call it comprises of daily
morning walks covering a distance of six kilometres.
The National Health Services England (NHSE) is poised to revolutionise diabetes management with the introduction of the 'artificial pancreas', also known
as the Hybrid Closed Loop system, to treat type 1 diabetes. This pioneering initiative, endorsed by the National Institute of Health Care and Excellence (NICE),
represents a global first in healthcare innovation.
With 269,095 individuals grappling with type 1 diabetes in England, the Hybrid Closed Loop system is set to cater to tens of thousands of children and adults across
the nation.
This cutting-edge device operates by seamlessly monitoring blood glucose levels and autonomously adjusting insulin dosage through a pump, by eliminating the need
for regular insulin injections.
Furthermore, it holds the promise of averting life-threatening hypoglycaemic and hyperglycaemia episodes, mitigating significant risks associated with the condition.
To facilitate the identification of beneficiaries, NHSE has allocated a substantial sum of £2.5 million, ensuring that those who could benefit from this innovative
solution receive the necessary support.
The 14th Community Pharmacy Conference by Sigma Pharmaceuticals has been timely, prime minister Rishi Sunak said, noting that it coincided with the launch
of Pharmacy First, a new initiative that enables patients to receive treatments for seven common conditions directly from a pharmacist without the need for a GP
appointment or prescription.
"We are all grateful for the tremendous contributions that pharmacists make to our NHS. The fantastic work you do is critical to the success of Pharmacy First and
many other initiatives," Sunak said in a written message.
The conference was organised from 25-29 February at Sun City in Johannesburg, South Africa, under the theme 'community pharmacy in an integrated NHS'.
In a recorded video address to the Sigma Conference, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said community pharmacies are 'critical' to the Labour party's mission to
make the NHS 'fit for the future'.
"You should be playing a much more significant role. Labour's reform agenda will get pharmacists working to the top of their licence. We want community pharmacists
to play a greater role in healthcare, with more focus on their expertise in prescribing and medicines management," he said.