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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has urged people across Scotland to be kind to their pharmacy teams this winter through its campaign called 'Be Kind'. The pharmacies are facing lot of pressure and challenges during winter, RPS has heard from its members that abuse towards pharmacy teams, particularly those in community pharmacy, has 'unfortunately' risen. The campaign has been running throughout December, to promote 'be kind' message to the public at a time when pharmacy services are particularly stretched by winter pressures and other factors, including the recent shortages of antibiotics. "Throughout December, leading figures have provided a series of powerful videos, which all encourage the public to be kind to their pharmacy teams. The campaign has highlighted personal video messages from many figures including Jason Leitch, Scotland's National Clinical Director, Maree Todd, Minister for Public Health, Women's Health and Sport, and Andrew Carruthers, RPS Scottish Pharmacy Board Chair," said RPS.

In a move towards greater diversity and inclusivity, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has welcomed three accomplished women to its board of key members. Aisling O'Brien, Sukhi Basra, and Sehar Shahid-who is the youngest member- have joined the board, marking a significant step in the organisation's commitment to equality and representation. The announcement, made on the occasion of the International Women's Day, by chief executive, Paul Rees MBE via X reflects the organisation's dedication to celebrating and empowering women in the pharmacy profession. Sukhi Basra, the inaugural female board member since last April, adds a valuable dimension to the NPA. With her role as a Community Pharmacy KCW committee member and her experience in clinical pharmacy spanning over 25 years, she brings a wealth of knowledge and a distinctive viewpoint.

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has confirmed that City Pharmacy in Portsmouth, Hampshire has been purchased by the existing regional operator, JCL (U.K.) LTD - Lalys Pharmacy. Nyewood Healthcare, which owned the community pharmacy for over 25 years, decided to sell the business to concentrate on their two remaining pharmacies in West Sussex, the broker said. Located on a busy parade in the North End area of Portsmouth, City Pharmacy dispenses an average of 6,900 items per month, it added. Following a freehold sale, the business has been acquired by Lalys Pharmacy, which already has multiple other pharmacies in Hampshire, Dorset, and Surrey. Raj Laly, Director at Lalys Pharmacy, commented: "We are delighted to continue the expansion of our group in Portsmouth as we currently operate right across Hampshire, Surrey, and Dorset.

STADA has appointment Nigel Stephenson as General Manager UK with effect from 1 August 2023. Based in Huddersfield, UK, Stephenson will report directly to STADA's Head of Western Europe and Germany, Stephan Eder. He will take over from Rudolf Bär, who has successfully led the UK business for almost one year in addition to his responsibilities for STADA's Mid-Sized European Markets.| A dynamic and modern commercial leader with extensive experience in sales and marketing across Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and the UK in leading pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and fast-moving consumer goods companies. He joins STADA from consumer healthcare leader Haleon, where he most recently served as General Manager Switzerland. "With his strong people and results orientation, along with deep purpose-driven engagement, Nigel will support our UK team in realizing its full potential through innovative and inclusive leadership," stated Eder.

The routine, twice-weekly asymptomatic Covid-19 testing by pharmacy staff can be paused from the end of August. The health regulator announced that regular asymptomatic testing for Covid-19 will be paused in all remaining health and care settings from 31 August 2022. Currently all pharmacy staff test twice-weekly for Covid-19, using a self-administered Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test at home. "Prevalence of Covid-19 in the community has fallen and remains at a comparatively low level as we emerge from the current Omicron wave. This means that the likelihood that individuals entering healthcare settings are infectious has also reduced and the relative risk of onward transmission into these settings is lower."

Being aware of and understanding our mental health is extremely important. Mental health is not simply a medical condition, it essentially encompasses our psychological and emotional well-being. Mental health awareness has increased in recent years, however, since the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness of our mental stability and how we process our feelings has become all too apparent. It is important that we all learn to be open with our feelings and also be able to support others who may be struggling with their own mental health. The World Health Organisation (WHO) conceptualises mental health as a "state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."

Alitam Group, the 100-plus pharmacy store consolidation, has appointed Bharti Patel, the former group executive director of Avicenna to its executive board. Patel, who was part of the leadership team at Avicenna until late 2021, brings with her a wealth of experience covering pharmaceuticals, multiple retail and independent pharmacy, homecare and NHS primary and secondary care. In her early career, she worked at Lloyds Pharmacy, where she rose from a prescription medicines buyer to director of procurement over a period of eight years. She is known in the industry for her strong leadership, commercial acumen and ability to create opportunities for innovation and strategic partnerships. Alitam founder and CEO Feisal Nahaboo said in a statement that Patel's appointment will further strengthen the group's ability to deliver its transformative multi-billion-pound 'Pharmacy of the Future' concept.

Bas Vorsteveld, who was made vice president and general manager for Great Britain & Ireland (GBI) in November last year, is joined by Monica Michalopoulou as GBI marketing director and Onyeka Anugwom as GBI commercial excellence director GSK Consumer Healthcare. He took over from Jonathan Workman, who held the position from 2018, and has now moved into the role of Business Unit general manager for Northern Europe. Vorsteveld, who has 15 years' industry experience, played at major part in the merger of Novartis and GSK consumer healthcare businesses. Most recently, he held the role of VP & head of commercial excellence EMEA LATAM at GSK Consumer Healthcare, where he spearheaded international sustainability initiatives. Commenting on his new role, Vorsteveld said: "I am incredibly honoured to have been a part of GSK Consumer Healthcare's journey to date and it is our collective ambition to deliver better everyday health with humanity for our customers, with a laser focus on 'self-care'. "The recent pandemic has shown us that healthcare matters more now than ever before for our consumers. We want to redefine the role that self-care plays in people's lives, because it can bring long-term benefits for individuals and society, and is a key component of a sustainable healthcare system.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA)'s Health Education Foundation (HEF) has funded a major study that aimed to test the SPUR tool and evaluate how effective it was at measuring medicines adherence. The study has been published in the British Medical Journal Open. Dr Joshua Wells, a fourth year PhD candidate at Kingston University, who was awarded the NPA bursary, was the lead researcher for the SPUR UK study, under the guidance of Professor Reem Kayyali. Created by Observia, a health research group, SPUR is a self-assessment questionnaire which helps to detect a patient's risk of medicine non-adherence and aims to accurately articulate the reasons for health behaviour. As well as funding from HEF, the study was made possible via a partnership with Kingston University and Kingston Hospital. HEF chair of Trustees, Dr Ian Cubbin, said: "We are delighted that NPA's Health Education Foundation has played a part in such an important study. This research could lead ultimately to a far more personalised, tailored approach to medicines optimisation - recognising that people's medicines behaviour can be highly individual to them."

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has confirmed it will respond to UK Commission's 'call for evidence' on pharmacy professional leadership. The commission wants to ensure the professions are well equipped, with a voice to help shape the future, and enabled to develop through sharing and learning from best practice. The UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership has been set up by the chief pharmaceutical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will produce recommendations for the future of pharmacy professional leadership in the UK. The commission is co-chaired by Nigel Clarke, former chair of the General Pharmaceutical Council, and Professor Dame Jane Dacre, professor of medical education at University College London's Medical School. The commission will be hosting a webinar and has urged the associations and individuals to take part in 'call for evidence' which has been launched to inform and develop its work. A webinar in England will take place on Wednesday 7 September 6:30 - 8 pm. In Scotland it will be organised on Tuesday 6 September 7-8:30 pm and in Wales it will be hosted on Thursday 8 September 7-8:30 pm.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed James Davies as Director of England. Davies will be joining RPS in January 2023 to drive professional leadership for the pharmacy profession in England, working with and for RPS members. He'll lead on national policy development, professional advocacy and member engagement across England, in partnership with the English Pharmacy Board. Davies said: "It's a privilege to take up this position within the RPS, the professional home of pharmacy. I have been a member of the RPS throughout my pharmacy career, and that has helped me to continually drive excellence in pharmacy practice. I'm excited about delivering the current RPS strategy to ensure that pharmacy is, and continues to be, at the forefront of healthcare. I'm eager to work as part of the team and with the Board, leading and developing opportunities for the profession that improve the lives of patients and the public.

Boris Johnson has picked Steve Barclay as the new health secretary following the resignation of Sajid Javid, who stepped down on July 5 after saying he had lost faith in prime minister's leadership. Barclay - who had served as chief of staff of the prime minister since February 2022 - was previously a junior health minister in 2018, responsible for NHS workforce and finance, before serving as Brexit secretary, chief secretary to the Treasury, and chancellor of the duchy. He is the fourth health secretary after Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid in the past five years. In a statement on his appointment, Barclay said it was "an honour" to be take up the position, adding: "Our NHS and social care staff have showed us time and again - throughout the pandemic and beyond - what it means to work with compassion and dedication to transform lives. "This government is investing more than ever before in our NHS and care services to beat the Covid-19 backlogs, recruit 50,000 more nurses, reform social care and ensure patients across the country can access the care they need."

In its response to a Freedom of Information Request (FOI), the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has confirmed a net decrease of 101 pharmacies in England - with 371 closures and 270 new contracts. Meanwhile, the General Pharmaceutical Council data projected a drop of 43 registered pharmacies in England, Wales, and Scotland for the year ending March 31, 2023, compared to the preceding period. The data, released by business advisor Christie & Co in its annual pharmacy market review on Sept. 5, revealed a total of 14,328 pharmacies across all four UK country regions as of March 31, 2023, indicating a 0.3 per cent decrease from the previous year. Corporate operators experienced a net reduction of 249 pharmacies, while the total number of independent operators remained consistent with 2022. According to the study, the corporate sector saw the most substantial shift, with a 13.7 per cent reduction in businesses operating 300 or more pharmacies. Following closely, groups managing 11 to 15 pharmacies experienced a 5.6 per cent decrease. Christie & Co attributed this shift in group size to operators acquiring additional pharmacies through corporate disposal opportunities throughout the year.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended elosulfase alfa for routine use in the NHS for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis type 4A (also known as MPS 4A and Morquio A syndrome). Elosulfase alfa, also called Vimizin and made by BioMarin, becomes the first disease modifying treatment recommended by NICE for routine NHS use for people with this rare, severely life-limiting condition. NICE's final draft guidance follows the collection of 'real-world' data from 69 people who received NHS-funded treatment since 2015 as part of a managed access agreement. Clinical trial evidence and data collected as part of the managed access agreement, along with expert clinical opinion, shows some long-term benefits with elosulfase alfa treatment which suggest it slows progression of MPS 4A.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) on Monday alerted the Health and Social Care Committee that medicines shortages have increased and are "around double what they were a year ago." BGMA chief executive Mark Samuels told the committee that they have been highlighting the medicine shortage risk to ministers since July 2021 and the association is "very concerned" about the current situation. "We've been monitoring it for several years now, and as you saw in the written evidence, shortages have increased. They're around double what they were a year ago. We have them at 101 shortages in February this year," said Samuels. Dr Rick Greville, director of distribution and supply at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), highlighted that the problem of drug shortages in the UK is a "long-standing issue" and the scarcity of certain medications "continues to be challenging".