Three pharmacy bodies have called on the government to allow pharmacy students access to the NHS learning support fund (LSF) currently available to students
from other healthcare professions.
Calling it "unjust", the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), British Pharmaceutical Students' Association (BPSA), and Pharmacy Schools Council (PSC) have
voiced their disappointment over continual exclusion of pharmacy students on clinical placements and asked that pharmacy students are given equal access to the LSF.
The Department of Health and Social Care recently announced a 50 percent increase in travel and accommodation allowances for students in nursing, midwifery,
allied health professions, medical, and dental courses. However, this initiative notably excluded pharmacy students.
The Company Chemists Association (CCA)'s workforce finding showed that by 2024 eight years' worth of growth of the pharmacist workforce will have been
funnelled away from community pharmacies.
"In 2019, when NHS leaders realised they were unable to find enough GPs to meet the public's needs, they hastily decided to recruit pharmacists and other
healthcare professionals to fill the gaps. This was implemented without any corresponding efforts to increase the supply of pharmacists, creating huge shortages,"
said CCA.
"The bulk of the NHS's recruitment drive was paid for using additional money ringfenced by the NHS - the £2.4bn Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). We
estimate over the life course of ARRS funding (2019-2024), the equivalent of eight years of growth in the number of pharmacists in England will have been funnelled
directly into primary care at the expense of other sectors.
At the current rate, CCA estimate that community pharmacy will have experienced the equivalent of three fallow years by 2024.
To ensure the pharmacy network is protected and able to take pressure off other parts of the NHS, there are several urgent measures which must be implemented.
Countering the impact of primary care recruitment: Community pharmacists should be commissioned to provide 'packages of care' on behalf of GPs, rather than taking
pharmacists away from accessible high street settings.
Healthcare workers, including community pharmacy staff, can book their Covid-19 booster vaccination through the National Booking Service from Wednesday
(September 7) onwards.
NHS England has announced that around seven million people, including those aged 75 and over, people who are immunosuppressed and health and care workers will be
able to book an appointment for their Covid-19 booster vaccinations online or by calling 119.
Eligible staff are encouraged to book an appointment for a booster dose as soon as possible, provided it has been at least three months since their last dose of the
vaccine.
"For other eligible patients (not health and care workers), invitations are being sent out and will be landing on their doormats from Wednesday 7th September
inviting people to book their appointment for the following week without delay. The NHS will contact people when it is their turn to book in for the vaccine -
there will be no need for patients to contact the NHS," said PSNC.
The latest GP Patient Survey 2024 by the National Health Services (NHS) involving 2.56 million patients has revealed encouraging insights into patient
experiences with pharmacy services across England.
Along with pharmacies, GPs, and dentistry services were also surveyed highlighting the vital role these services provide in healthcare delivery.
Among the key findings, 89.3 per cent of respondents reported utilising at least one pharmacy service in the past year, highlighting the widespread reliance
on these facilities.
Of those who used pharmacy services, an overwhelming majority of 86.8 per cent expressed satisfaction with their experience.
The survey identified 'picking up prescriptions' as the most commonly accessed service, with 75.8 per cent of patients utilising this facility.
The National Health Service(NHS) has reported a record number of attendances at Accident & Emergency (A&E) departments and emergency admissions for any
June, reflecting significant pressure on healthcare services amidst hot weather and recent strikes by junior doctors.
Last month, hospitals across the UK handled over 2.29 million A&E attendances and more than 536,884 emergency admissions, marking increases of 3.1 per cent
and 7.2 per cent respectively compared to the previous year.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, acknowledged the strain on frontline teams:
"Frontline teams are continuing to work exceptionally hard under significant pressure to provide the best care they can for patients."
With the upcoming general election on the horizon, Proprietary Association of Greater Britain (PAGB) is leading the charge to integrate self-care into the
core of all political party manifestos.
The aim is to ease strains on the NHS and forge a sustainable healthcare system for the future.
In a significant move, PAGB unveiled a comprehensive general election toolkit on Wednesday, laying out a compelling argument for the prioritisation of self-care
among stakeholders.
The toolkit underscores the importance of public interest, potential NHS cost savings, and the economic advantages of the over-the-counter (OTC) sector.
Aimed at unlocking the full potential of self-care and nurturing an enabling environment for its implementation, PAGB's toolkit advocates for greater integration
of pharmacy services into primary care.
Change is sweeping through Westminster as the newly elected Labour government makes strategic cabinet appointments following their landslide victory in the
general election held on Thursday, July 4.
With Sir Keir Starmer stepping in as the new Prime Minister and Wes Streeting assuming the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care role, the announcement of
Karin Smyth and Stephen Kinnock as health ministers on Monday marked a pivotal moment in Labour's healthcare agenda.
Who is the new Minister of State for Health?
Karin Smyth, the Labour MP for Bristol South, has been appointed as Minister of State for Health.
Smyth has a robust background in healthcare, having served as a shadow spokesperson on health since December 2021.
Her previous roles include Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland and Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons.
Before her parliamentary career, Smyth worked as an NHS Manager and held a non-executive director position at an NHS Trust.
Thorrun Govind, a former chair of the English Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, has joined Brabners' regulatory & professional conduct team.
With nearly a decade of experience as a GPhC-registered pharmacist, Govind will provide guidance on regulatory and professional conduct issues.
Govind's expertise extends to healthcare advisory and disputes involving NHS Trusts and social care organisations.
She has been recognised as the 'Young Pharmacist of the Year' by Pharmacy Business Magazine and is a frequent commentator on public health and healthcare law
for major television networks.
Her appointment underscores Brabners' commitment to offering top-tier legal services to the healthcare industry.
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.
The 8th Pharmacy Business Conference, organised by Pharmacy Business, unfolded a dynamic narrative around the theme of 'Pharmacy of Tomorrow', highlighting
the trajectory of innovation, adaptation, and the evolving landscape of pharmaceutical services.
Attended by over 200 pharmacy owners, industry leaders, and stakeholders, the conference served as a medium for robust discussions and the exchange of valuable
insights regarding the future of community pharmacy.
Amidst the persistent challenges posed by an underfunded reimbursement system and negotiations with governmental bodies and the NHS for the new community pharmacy
contractual framework 2024/25, the conference pivoted towards investing in staff, adapting to change by investing in new technology, and optimising commissioning
as pivotal strategies.
"Pharmacy professionals are playing increasingly important clinical roles in both primary and secondary care," shared David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer
(CPO), NHS in a video message.
He highlighted the NHS's commitment to empowering community pharmacy, with plans to expand services and deprescribe to align with the NHS's focus on preventive
healthcare.
Community pharmacists in England have launched a new digital platform called My Local Surgery, enabling patients to access Pharmacy First consultations online.
This initiative, a part of the NHS Pharmacy First scheme, facilitates free video consultations for six common conditions, connecting patients with community
pharmacists for clinical advice and treatment.
The platform, spearheaded by a team of pharmacy, tech, and clinical services experts, including experienced community pharmacists Darren Lingaloo and Gulraj
Dhillon, tech specialist Nav Ramiah, and Dr. Adam Kirk, a seasoned NHS and digital healthcare professional, seeks to meet the rising demand for clinical services.
Darren Lingaloo, co-founder and chief pharmacist at My Local Surgery, said: "The evolving role of pharmacists is long overdue and has the potential to save
millions of GP appointments every year.
NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I), in association with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK),
has published its first inclusive pharmacy practice (IPP) bulletin, with an overarching ambition "to make community pharmacy a more inclusive environment for all
pharmacy professionals".
The IPP programme will take practical steps to improve the awareness and understanding at all levels of different cultural beliefs and attitudes, according to the
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC).
As a member of the IPP Improving Practice and Engagement Group, PSNC has contributed to this issue of the Bulletin, which focuses on how pharmacy professionals can
help to reduce health inequalities via the detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
The IPP programme, of which the Bulletin forms a part, aims to engage with local communities to help improve their health and reduce inequalities in care -
particularly among those from ethnically diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.
A new Information Standard has been published to support improved medication and sharing of allergy information across healthcare services in England.
The move will standardise medication message content and help reduce medicines related errors and improve patient safety.
It will also allow efficient sharing of medicine information between NHS and social care organisations, including hospitals, GP practices, residential care homes, mental health trusts, and community pharmacies.
The Standard that came into effect in October "will save healthcare professionals valuable time accessing key medicines information, provide clinicians with access to a richer source of information, consistent across all care settings", said Shahzad Ali, NHS Digital clinical lead for the Interoperable Medicines Programme.
Three leading healthcare bodies in Scotland have called for action to reduce the environmental impact caused by medicine prescribing.
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland, Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland have all
urged policymakers to enable a more sustainable approach to prescribing.
This includes prioritising the introduction of electronic prescribing across the NHS, introducing the requirement for an environmental impact in NHS medicines
procurement and improving the availability of data about the environmental impact of medicines.
"We call on Scottish government, including the chief medical officer, to enable the delivery of a realistic medicine approach to prescribing by developing a
supportive infrastructure for green social prescribing across Scotland," said the healthcare professionals in a joint statement.
They have called on the pharmaceutical industry to make information about the environmental impact of medicines readily available in a standardised data format.
The government on Wednesday (March 2) announced an investment of £260 million to support research, development and manufacturing of new drugs, devices and
diagnostics.
Of the total funding, up to £200m has been allocated for research to better access NHS data through Trusted Research Environments and digital clinical trial services, enabling availability of crucial data with the highest levels of privacy.
This will allow the NHS to deliver new life-saving treatments to patients, tackle health inequalities and improve patient care, a government release stated.
The remaining £60m will support commercial-scale manufacturing investments by companies at the leading-edge of innovation, from cell and gene therapies and earlier
and better diagnostic technologies, to medical devices.
The funding for manufacturing investments will be distributed through the new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), following the success of the earlier Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund.
National pharmacy bodies have welcomed two VAT changes related to community pharmacy services announced in the Spring budget on Wednesday (15 March) but were
disappointed that the budget brought no further relief for the sector in a crippling funding crisis.
It was announced that from 1 May 2023, VAT exemption on healthcare would be extended to include medical services carried out by staff directly supervised by
registered pharmacists.
The government will also extend zero rate on prescriptions to medicines supplied through Patient Group Directions. This measure will be introduced in autumn 2023.
HM Treasury said these measures were being introduced to ensure that the VAT system keeps up with changes to how the NHS operates and how healthcare is delivered
across the country.
More widely, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt promised to halve inflation and said that the NHS would soon publish its long-term workforce plan.
In an announcement following Keir Starmer's and Wes Streeting's visit to a hospital in the East Midlands, Labour Party has unveiled a groundbreaking
partnership with Virgin Media O2 aimed at ensuring every child with type 1 diabetes can access the latest medical technology to better manage diabetes.
With the NHS providing patients with type 1 diabetes the option of an 'artificial pancreas' in the next five years to manage insulin levels and Continuous
Glucose Monitors launched nearly 2 years ago to monitor children's glucose levels, the initiative aims to address the financial barrier hindering hundreds of
families from benefiting from this breakthrough.
Labour's plan to provide every child in need a smartphone, facilitating access to modern glucose monitors, aligns with the centre-leftist party's broader vision
to harness technology for healthcare transformation.
Announcing the partnership in an interview with ITV News, Keir Starmer, Labour Party Leader, highlighted the lack of equitable access to medical advancement
amongst patients as "travesty" and "impact of fourteen years of Conservative chaos has had on the NHS", stating:
Pharmacy professionals to be included as key stakeholders in the implementation, delivery and evaluation of a wide range of genomic services, said the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).
RPS's statement has been developed in collaboration with pharmacy organisations who have co-badged the report, such as the British Oncology Pharmacy Association,
the UK Clinical Pharmacy Association, Association of Pharmacy Technicians and the College of Mental Health Pharmacy.
It looks at current and future roles for pharmacy professionals in genomic medicine across many aspects of practice such as person-centred care and collaboration,
professional practice, education, leadership, management and research.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the UK have already established roles in the application of genomic medicine in some areas of practice, such as antimicrobial
stewardship and infectious diseases, and the management of certain genetic conditions, such as cystic fibrosis.
The society believes, the current role of pharmacy professionals in genomics can be expanded upon in the future to both lead and support many relevant aspects of
genomic implementation. These are described across all healthcare sectors, within the Genome UK strategy produced by the UK Government, and within the implementation
plans published in England, Scotland and Wales.
Lead for Pharmacogenomics at RPS Sophie Harding said: "Pharmacy professionals are the gatekeepers of medication safety and efficacy across all areas of healthcare.
They are skilled at interpreting complex scientific data and use evidence-based medicine to maximise the benefits of treatments for patients, whilst supporting
shared decision-making with patients and the multidisciplinary team.
With the Labour Party now in power, there is keen interest in the healthcare initiatives they pledged during their election campaign and how these proposals
will shape the future of NHS.
One of the key pledges in their healthcare reform is the introduction of the Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service, which aims to empower pharmacists with
independent prescribing rights where clinically suitable.
While pharmacists appreciated Labour's acknowledgment of their role in patient care through expanded prescribing rights, they foresee some challenges in
implementing the service.
"Budgets will be a key issue," said Pharmacist Thorrun Govind, also a Healthcare Lawyer (Brabners LLP).
However, she noted that, given the success of pharmacist prescribing services in the devolved nations, there is "a road map in place."
Trade bodies have reiterated the call for more funding in response to the reports that ministers are considering a Pharmacy First scheme amid the NHS strike.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that pharmacies could be drafted in to help the NHS to cope when other healthcare workers take industrial action.
But, a PSNC committee member has warned on Monday that the government suggestions are "categorically impossible" without extra funding.
The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has echoed the sentiment, saying pharmacy network is on the brink of collapse.
"We welcome plans for a Pharmacy First scheme in England. However, after eight years of funding cuts, the pressures on community pharmacies are simply untenable,"
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said.
