The University friends purchased the North London pharmacy for a confidential sum.
Nabeel Patel, a GP pharmacist at Haringey GP Federation and Huseyin Akpinar, a former councillor at Enfield Council bought it following a confidential sales
process with Mark Page at Christie & Co.
Kiran and Nita Patel, who have owned and operated Beautychem Pharmacy since 1989, have decided to retire.
They claimed that the pharmacy had "dispensed an average of 6,576 items per month".
Kiran Patel, former owner of Beautychem Pharmacy, said: "It's been a pleasure serving the Tottenham community over the last 34 years. Over the years, we've seen
many changes in the pharmacy profession, but the constant has been the customers and the respect they have for what each independent pharmacy does for them.
WBA, Boots parent company revealed the results for its fourth quarter of the financial year, showing three months to August 2023.
The reports published on 12 October show the loss of at least $1bn following a net loss of $3.1bn on an annual basis. This marks a decrease compared to a profit
of $4.3bn in the previous financial year.
The loss was attributed in part to a $5.5 billion after-tax charge related to opioid claims and litigation during the period, as well as the comparison against a
$2.5 billion after-tax gain from the company's investments in Village MD and Shields Health Solutions in the same period last year.
Ginger Graham, WBA's Interim Chief Executive spoke about the company's performance and its dedication to their customers and patients.
Victoria Atkins MP, the new Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, visited NPA board member Sukhi Basra (L) at CliniChem pharmacy in Central London
on Thursday (16 November).
Basra was accompanied by NPA Chief Executive Mark Lyonette.
This was among Atkins' first appointments following her recent promotion in the recent Cabinet reshuffle.
Atkins met with staff and patients to explore clinical services and discuss the evolving role of the community pharmacy sector.
"Welcoming politicians and officials to my pharmacy is always a pleasure," Basra said.
Basra highlighted the opportunity to brief the Health Secretary on the latest developments, including Pharmacy First.
he British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has voted Pete Kelly, managing director of Accord UK, to become its new chair.
He replaces Peter Ballard, who has completed his second tenure as the association's chair and will now serve a further year as vice-chair.
Pete leads the UK operations of Accord, one of the largest generic and biosimilar manufacturers in Europe. In the UK, the company currently supplies a fifth of
all generic medicines.
Mark Samuels, chief executive of BGMA, said: "We are very fortunate to have someone of Pete's experience and leadership qualities to take on the mantle of chair
of the association. The industry faces a challenging period on many fronts, and Pete's input will be invaluable.
"I would also like to record my enormous gratitude to Peter Ballard, our out-going Chair who has been an incredible servant to the association over many, many years.
He will continue for another year as vice-chair, and we are pleased to have his continuing advice."
Amid the ongoing furore over shortages of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test kits that led pharmacy staff to bear customers' wrath, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Company Chemists Association (CCA) have jointly appealed the public to be "patient and courteous to pharmacy teams".
In an open letter, the two organisations have urged patients and customers to be patient, courteous and safe while visiting their local pharmacies.
Highlighting the efforts put in by healthcare workers to keep everyone safe through this tough winter, the two organisations said the pressure of Covid-19 and shortage of LFD kits have sometimes led to verbal abuse of pharmacy staff.
Mark Lyonette, NPA chief executive said: "The vast majority of pharmacy customers and patients are polite and understanding. The supply situation with Lateral Flow Tests is stretching people's patience, but that's no excuse for abusive behaviour and people need to understand the constraints on pharmacy teams at this time."
Alongside their routine job of providing medicines, health advice and a range of NHS services, pharmacies have put in extra effort to protect people during the pandemic.
Are you looking for ways technology can improve the health sector? Technology has revolutionized every industry imaginable, so it's no surprise that it
has also made its mark on the health sector. In this blog post, we will discuss how technology is helping to improve healthcare for everyone. From telemedicine
to mobile apps, technology makes it easier than ever for people to get the care they need. Keep reading to learn more.
EASILY ACCESSIBLE MEDICAL INFORMATION
One of the biggest ways technology improves healthcare is by making medical information more accessible to everyone. In the past, if you had a question about your
health, you would have to either make an appointment with a doctor or do some research on your own. However, thanks to the internet, now you can easily find answers
to all of your questions with a few clicks of a button.
If you are running a medical facility, it is important to ensure that your IT department is up to date on all of the latest advancements in healthcare technology.
As highlighted by the team behind Medicus IT, you can hire an IT health expert to manage all aspects of your digital infrastructure so that you can focus on
providing quality patient care. This way, you can ensure that your patients are getting the best possible care.
The chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) for Wales and chief pharmacists at Boots and the Ministry of Defence are among a total of 1,134 people who received
an award in the Queen's Birthday Honours list to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
All three pharmacists were appointed officers of the Order of the British Empire or OBE.
Andrew Evans, CPhO for Wales, was honoured "for services to the Covid-19 Response", Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots UK, "for services to pharmacy" and Sumeet
Kaur Matharu, chief pharmacist at the Ministry of Defence, "for services to Armed Forces Healthcare".
Giving his reaction to Pharmacy Business, Donovan said: I'm honoured to accept this recognition on behalf of the many dedicated and hard-working pharmacists and
pharmacy teams that I have had the privilege to work alongside over the years.
Prince Charles has praised the "dedication and professionalism of pharmacy staff" at an event held in London to celebrate the work of community pharmacists during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two hundred pharmacists, pharmacy staff and other health service representatives were invited to attend a special reception hosted by His Royal Highness at St James's Palace on Wednesday night (May 4).
According to the National Pharmacy Association, the event was held, in part, to mark the NPA's recent centenary.
In his closing speech, The Prince of Wales paid tribute to the work of pharmacies on the NHS frontline.
He praised "the dedication and professionalism of pharmacy staff" during the Covid-19 pandemic and said: "I very much hope that this evening's event will help, a little bit, to highlight the marvellous work you do in your communities day in and day out."
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) is asking independents to vote 'yes' to reform of pharmacy representation in England as a three-week voting period opens on Friday, May 27.
The NPA is also calling on PSNC to complete unfinished business and present 'the compelling case for change' that the Review Steering Group was unable to deliver.
The Associations says it is "on balance" and with some degree of reluctance supporting an affirmative vote, because the benefits marginally outweigh the several valid arguments for a "no" vote.
NPA chief executive, Mark Lyonette, said on Thursday (May 19): "After much deliberation and engagement with members, we are recommending our members vote yes, because the alternatives are either the flawed status quo or a further period of uncertainty for the sector, with months or even years of introspection to come. There is no guarantee that going back to the drawing board, particularly with the same actors, would bring about a better outcome.
Health technology pioneer Invatech Health has sold its care homes electronic medication administration record (eMAR) system Atlas to care home management
specialists Person Centred Software (PCS).
Following the transition of Atlas to new ownership, Bristol-based Invatech Health will concentrate solely on further growth of Titan, its cutting-edge software for pharmacy management.
Invatech Health CEO Tariq Muhammad, a pharmacist who started working on care homes back in 2002, first conceived the concept of electronic medicines system for care homes in 2006.
Muhammad said he was proud to see his purpose-driven business given an opportunity for further progress. "It's a bit like being at a child's graduation," he said,
after the completion of the acquisition which marked the end of a 20 year journey for him with Atlas.
"I set up Atlas to tackle a dire need in the care homes sector for a system which could prevent incorrect dosing, mismanagement of prescriptions and administration errors of important medication.
Pharmacy leaders have called for reassurance that the workforce plan, expected by April 2023, will cover the entirety of the pharmacy workforce across the
health service, including in community pharmacies.
A joint letter has been signed by representatives from 14 pharmacy organisations which highlights that with continued pressures on services, it is more important
than ever to support the pharmacy workforce so that the staff needed to deliver patient care now and into the future can be recruited, trained and retained.
Mark Koziol, Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) Chairman said: "Our pharmacist members practise across the entire health system and have the potential to do far
more to help patients and improve public health, but they can only do so safely if they are in appropriately staffed workplaces. This is a workforce issue, so it is
important that the Government works with representatives of the pharmacist workforce, and of their employers, to get a suitably agreed plan in place."
Thorrun Govind, English Pharmacy Board Chair, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said: "It will be crucial to use the skills of all our health professions to support
the NHS recovery, reduce health inequalities, manage the growing cost of long-term conditions, and deliver best value from medicines.
Clinical trials for BioNTech's cancer vaccines should start this year in Britain, marking an important step towards their possible sale on the open market,
the German company's top executive Ugur Sahin told magazine Der Spiegel.
BioNTech, known for its COVID vaccine with U.S. partner Pfizer, is currently deciding which types of cancer it wants to test its personalized cancer immunotherapies
on and the locations where it will conduct the trials, Sahin said.
The company wants these therapies, which are based on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology similar to the one that underpins its COVID-19 vaccine, to soon become a regular
treatment for cancer patients.
"We believe that this should be possible for large amounts of patients before 2030," Sahin said.
The Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) has expressed its interest to support pharmacists impacted with the latest announcement of the closure of Tesco
pharmacies.
"Tesco have followed ASDA and LloydsPharmacy (at Sainsbury's) to announce cost cutting changes to their stores, impacting hundreds of jobs," the association said.
The PDA's interests in the announcement relate to the planned closure of eight in-store Tesco pharmacies and the impact of those closures upon pharmacists, however
the union is of course concerned for all those impacted.
The PDA Union will support individual PDA members impacted by the decision so that they are aware of, and can exercise, their rights at work in relation to this
situation.
Paul Day, PDA Union Director said, "In addition to the immediate impact on pharmacists employed at the stores marked for closure, this is the third instance in just
twelve days of reductions in the overall access to a pharmacy for NHS patients. We expect those who represent communities to be concerned about the loss of a key
part of their local NHS service."
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has been appointed as a core participant in the Covid-19 public inquiry.
The independent public inquiry has been set up to examine the UK's response to and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and learn lessons to shape preparations for
future pandemics. It is chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, a former Court of Appeal judge.
The NPA and RPS will be part of Module 3, which covers the impact of Covid-19 on healthcare systems across the United Kingdom. The preliminary hearing for that
module takes place on Tuesday 28 February.
This will give the association an opportunity to make opening and closing statements, consider evidence provided to the Inquiry and propose questions to be asked by
the Inquiry of witnesses.
NPA chief executive, Mark Lyonette, said: "This is an historic opportunity to place on record the achievements of community pharmacy during the pandemic and to ensure
that the inquiry's recommendations are based in the practical realities faced by health workers such as our members.
Independent charity group, Pharmacist Support has appointed five new trustees to its board - David Downham, Karen Harrowing, Mohammed Hussain, Mala Khiroya, and Alison Scowcroft, for a term of three years.
The new recruits will join the existing Board members Anita Cawley, Catherine Harper, Paul Johnson, Steve Lutener, Esther Sadler-Williams, Mark Sweeney and Sarah Willis.
Harrowing, Downham and Hussain have begun their 3-year term in January 2022, while Scowcroft and Khiroya would join the board in June.
The new appointments are in line with the Charity's plans, announced last year, to enhance its volunteer schemes.
"Since the launch of the charity's new strategy in January 2020, the profession has been faced with many new challenges. We are really proud of the work we have done in the last few years to address some of these challenges," said Pharmacist Support chief executive Danielle Hunt.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has called on the NHS England to uplift funding for pharmacy contractors to enable them to cover higher staffing costs
along with a range of other cost-inflating factors.
This follows latest data released by the recruitment platform Locate a Locum, which showed a huge increase in locum rates for pharmacists in 2021 and predicted the
trend to continue.
The report noted a 71 per cent surge in the cost of employing locum pharmacists in England, from the 2020 average to the second half of 2021.
NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette said: "There is a heavy reliance on locums in community pharmacy to maintain continuity of services with the average pharmacy
operating 50 hours per week. Consequently, increases in locum rates have a big effect on the cost base.
"Pharmacies face a range of general cost pressures beyond locum rates, including much higher energy costs. We hear a lot about the cost of living crisis; our
members are facing a cost of doing business crisis and it's every bit as real.
"The underlying underfunding, significant general inflationary pressures and specific cost increases relating to the locum workforce together make a powerful and
urgent case for new funding."
Northern Ireland will see changes in the regulatory landscape following the issuance of the Windsor Framework on 27th Feb 2023 and the corresponding EU
Commission proposal. An agreement, in principle, has been reached by the UK and EU.
The new path forward of the Windsor Framework marks a turning point in how both the UK and the EU will work together collaboratively and constructively to ensure
that the same medicines are available in Northern Ireland at the same time as they are in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Whilst this is a successful result for Northern Ireland patients, this is major change for companies that have made specific provisions in their supply chains for
Northern Ireland. The supply chains of companies where provisions and changes were made such as introduction of GB specific pack may be impacted as a result.
However, the burden on the UK Pharma supply chain will be eased.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Windsor on February 27, 2023
Pharma companies will need to carefully consider making changes within their processes and supply chains pending the issuance of clear guidance from the MHRA on
the regulation changes resulting from the Windsor Agreement and the corresponding EU Commission proposed regulatory changes associated with medicinal products
within the Northern Ireland market.
Smooth access to the EU market for Northern Ireland pharmaceutical and medical technology firms has been safeguarded within the constraints of the agreement. The
pragmatic dual-regulatory system protects business, patients and healthcare services, and reflects that it is an essential state function to maintain and oversee
the supply of medicines within the whole United Kingdom.
The 1000th Building the Community-Pharmacy Partnership (BCPP) programme in Centred Soul, Newry received funding from the Department of Health in Northern
Ireland to improve the health and wellbeing of women in the local community.
BCPP programme is led by Community Development and Health Network (CDHN) in Northern Ireland and is funded by the Department of Health.
It supports communities and community pharmacists to address locally defined needs so that people make connections, listen to and understand each other better and
work together to address the social determinants of health and health inequalities
Department of Health's Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Cathy Harrison said: "I am delighted to mark the 1000th project to receive funding to improve health inequalities
in the Newry area.
"Since 2001 we have invested over £7 million in local community groups and pharmacy partnerships across Northern Ireland, to work together on a specific, local health
need.
"The Centred Soul project is a great example of how BCPP Programme contributes to tackling inequality and improving community health and wellbeing locally.
The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) has raised concerns over the rise in the VPAS rate for 2023 to 26.5 per cent.
The Department of Health Social Care (DHSC) today announced that the 2019 voluntary scheme payment percentage for 2023 will be 26.5%. The 2019 voluntary scheme
for branded medicines pricing and access is an agreement between the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry.
BGMA believes that the high VPAS tax for 2023 risks more medicines shortages, rising prices for the NHS via reduced competition, and new medicine launches to the
UK being deferred.
Mark Samuels, Chief Executive of BGMA, said: "Raising the VPAS tax to 26.5% will damage the UK's medicines supply because it will make some products lossmaking. It
is more than a five-fold tax increase from 2021, and no industry can cope with this unpredictable and exceptional tax volatility.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to convene a 'medicines supply taskforce', following weeks
of problems with antibiotics supplies.
The NPA's chief executive Mark Lyonette wrote a letter to Steve Barclay this week. It cited the precedent of the HRT Taskforce which this summer brought together
representatives from across the supply chain after months of supply problems affecting women.
"We strongly believe that this situation calls for a similar response from the government. It is imperative that we resolve this supply situation urgently and
therefore we request that you convene a Medicines Supply Taskforce, with all the relevant stakeholders in the supply chain, to urgently discuss and agree practical
solutions to address the disruptions to the supply of medicines. HRT and antibiotics are the most visible examples of a wider problem with medicines supply
which needs to be addressed."
NPA board members Olivier Picard and Reena Barai were among the stakeholders joining meetings convened by the HRT Taskforce this summer.
