Group items tagged

NHS England has urged the pharmacy owners to continue to voluntarily submit New Medicine Service (NMS) quarterly summary data to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022/23 (January to March 2023). Community Pharmacy England have agreed with NHS England that the quarterly returns will continue to be on a voluntary basis, with Q4 (January to March 2023) as the second quarter to be reported. It has thanked all the members that submitted NMS quarterly summary data for Quarter 3. The mandatory requirement to submit this data has been suspended since 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "NHS England wants to continue collection of the quarterly returns to provide baseline data to support a long-term evaluation that will be conducted as part of ongoing work to expand the scope of NMS," said Community Pharmacy England. Voluntary submissions can be made via the NHSBSA website, where an updated reporting spreadsheet is also available for head offices to use who are able to submit data on behalf of multiple pharmacies.

As we transition in England through yet another NHS organisational change, I ask myself what does this mean for community pharmacy? I would like to think that this change will bring about opportunity and a chance for community pharmacy to showcase and continue the excellent work that was carried out during the height of the pandemic and is still ongoing today. I hope that it allows community pharmacy to be regarded as part of the NHS rather than sitting on the side lines. This change has to lead to better funding for community pharmacy, without sufficient funding we will see more pharmacies close. We are hearing a lot about winter pressures but this year it feels like all year round pressure. What I have seen, whilst the NHS is under such pressure, is North East London (NEL) CCG transitioning to an integrated care board (ICB) almost seamlessly. I have seen people transitioning into new roles, whilst working hard to ensure that all plates are still spinning, which at the moment is no mean feat. I spent a day out recently visiting pharmacies with the chief medical officer of NHS NEL, Dr Paul Gilluley. The visits were positive, we felt listened to and understood. The feedback was great, it was recognised that community pharmacy is often the informal front door to the NHS and that we have so much to offer in terms of ill health prevention. Community pharmacy can offer a total solution as long as we have the tools to do so, which can save so much time and money. An example is the GP CPCS service, which has launched well across NEL.

Dr Amanda Doyle has been appointed as NHS England as director of primary and community care. Prior to her new role, Amanda had joined NHS England and NHS Improvement as North West Regional Director on 2 August 2021 and previously she was the Chief Clinical Officer for West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Blackpool CCG and Fylde and Wyre CCG. Amanda was also the Integrated Care System Lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria, leading a large health and care transformation programme across the patch. She has been a GP for more than 20 years, practising in a large practice in a deprived area of Blackpool, which, in addition to primary medical services, provides a range of urgent care services for patients across the Fylde Coast. Amanda was the Co-Chair of NHS Clinical Commissioners from 2013 to 2018. She was Senior Responsible Officer for the primary care component of the Long Term Plan and was involved in the leadership of the health inequalities, prevention and personalisation elements.

In a bid to address the ongoing deficit in staff in the UK's healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS) has entered into a new workforce agreement with India. According to media reports, the healthcare service plans to hire 2,000 doctors from India on a fast-track basis to alleviate this pressing issue. It is learned that the NHS has set up training centres across many Indian cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore, Nagpur, Delhi, Gurugram, Indore, Mysore, Chennai, and Calicut to provide postgraduate training for the first batch of doctors. Post their training period (which ranges from six to 12 months), these doctors will be deployed at hospitals across Britain. They will also be exempted from the Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) examination that is otherwise mandatory for practising in the country.

NHS moves a step ahead towards its efforts to address covid-19 backlogs by opening a new 'planned care' hospital in Berkshire dedicated to non-emergency treatment. Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, part of Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, will focus on cutting waits for routine care with staff prioritising patients who have been waiting longest, including for orthopaedic and ophthalmology services. The hospital houses six operating theatres, 48 inpatient beds and 22 day-case cubicles and provides surgical, diagnostic and outpatient care, and will treat patients across Berkshire, Hampshire and Surrey. There will also be a range of outpatient services under the same roof including gynaecology, urology and cardiology services. These will be supported by services offering patients endoscopy, physiotherapy, phlebotomy and radiology checks and treatments.

The hybrid professional and leadership session underscores the Sigma Conference's significance in offering hope and inspiration to its delegates. This pioneering venture unfolds following meticulous planning, months of deliberation, and the collaboration of experts from various health disciplines across the UK. This session, rich in diversity and expertise, aims to elevate the role of community pharmacy in the ever-evolving landscape of the NHS. It comprises three key components and delves into multi-professional collaboration, insights from NHS Chief Professional Officers from the four devolved nations complimented by the Royal College of Nursing Directorate Wales, and the evolving landscape of Pharmacy Professional Leadership. Multi-Professional Collaboration: Breaking Boundaries The crux of this ground-breaking session lies in appreciating and fostering greater multi-professional collaboration to set the stage for a thought-provoking session on how community pharmacy can be recognised as an important cog in the wheel of an integrated NHS. This convergence creates a dynamic platform for community pharmacy to form wider partnerships and explore opportunities, particularly with the recently launched NHS Pharmacy First Service.

Britain on Monday (January 10) put the biggest private health companies on high alert to deliver crucial treatments such as cancer surgery should Omicron overwhelm National Health Service hospitals in England. The United Kingdom's death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic stands at 150,154, the world's seventh worst official Covid toll after the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru. Prime minister Boris Johnson has bet on refraining from lockdowns to deal with the Omicron variant which in recent weeks has swept across the UK, albeit with death rates significantly lower than previous waves. In a sign of just how stretched the NHS could become, health secretary Sajid Javid ordered England's NHS to strike a three-month deal with private health companies to allow patients to get treatments such as cancer surgery outside. "Millions of patients have already got their tests and treatment quicker thanks to our existing deal with independent providers," said David Sloman, NHS England chief operating officer and Covid incident director.

Grundon Waste Management has introduced what it claims to be the UK's first verified nationwide inhaler return and recycling initiative. NHS Trusts and community pharmacies participating in the new scheme will have specialised recycling containers for inhalers installed to simplify public participation, Grundon said in a statement. Inhalers alone contribute to 4 per cent of NHS CO2 emissions, with around 73 million dispensed annually. By 2026, the health service aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from waste management, a target that rises to 80 percent between 2028 and 2032, as outlined in the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy. "This scheme holds the potential to revolutionise the approach of NHS Trusts towards achieving heightened carbon savings and ultimately, net zero emissions," said Chris Edwards, Grundon's General Manager - Technical. "Each discarded pressurised Metered Dose Inhaler (pMDI) contains highly polluting hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases - a category of greenhouse gas known to be over a thousand times more detrimental than carbon dioxide in driving climate change." "This initiative securely captures these gases and repurposes them for application in the refrigeration sector. By also recycling the plastic and aluminium components of the device, we are making a noteworthy contribution to the circular economy," he added. Once collected, these will undergo processing at Grundon's specialist recycling facility in Ewelme, Oxfordshire, which is capable of handling more than 200,000 inhalers a day. The company aims to recycle 80 per cent of all prescribed inhalers by 2025, the statement added.

NHS England has commissioned the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to develop guidance that helps community and hospital pharmacy teams across Britain to reduce the impact of pharmacy services, pharmaceutical care and medicines on the environment. The RPS said the Greener Pharmacy Guidance will enable pharmacies to self-assess their impact against the standards, benchmark and improve through evidence-based activities and actions. "I'm delighted our strong commitment to helping pharmacy reduce its environmental impact can now be taken to the next level through developing guidance and accreditation for pharmacy teams," RPS president Professor Claire Anderson said. "Medicines account for 25 per cent of carbon emissions within the NHS and this initiative underscores our commitment to promoting sustainable healthcare and supporting the NHS's goal of achieving 'net zero' emissions by 2040." Peter Morgan, medicines assistant director at NHS England, commented: "Pharmacy staff are involved in the purchasing and dispensing of almost every medicine used in the NHS and the new Greener Pharmacy Guidance and Self-accreditation scheme will provide support for pharmacy professionals by outlining clear actions to deliver more environmentally sustainable pharmacy practices." The RPS said the guidance and digital self-assessment toolkit will integrate with carbon calculator tools to help pharmacy teams to measure their carbon footprint, action plan to reduce use of carbon and improve sustainability.

The Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) has expressed its keenness to work with the NHS nationally and at the ICB level to discuss how the pharmacist workforce can most effectively be part of the multidisciplinary team, after the publication of Long-awaited NHS England workforce plan. Welcoming its publication Alison Jones, PDA Director of Policy said: "It gives greater clarity around the future direction and strategy for professional development, training, and opportunities for those currently working in the health service or considering their future career. There is a strong emphasis on further development of the clinical role of pharmacists to support better patient care. "However, this is a plan that will take years, indeed decades to come to fruition and its success will need to be underpinned by significant funding for its entire life course. Workplace pressures, reductions in support staff, and a lack of protected learning time are matters of immediate concern for many PDA members, issues which are regularly highlighted through activities, such as the safer pharmacies survey.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has created a form to help locum and other pharmacists to report about breach of NHS contract by community pharmacy. According to the association, they have been told by increasing number of pharmacists about contractors closing pharmacies, despite a locum readily available to cover the shift. The PDA said this is an issue of NHS contractual breach and creates difficulties for patients, and so they have created the form to assist members to report unnecessary closures to the relevant NHS England & Improvement pharmacy contract team. A locum pharmacist, who does not wish to be named, has alleged that a community pharmacy declined their offer to cover an extra shift for £5 more per hour, and decided to close the store, denying the public access to services. The pharmacist recalled the occasion while writing in the PDA's latest member voice article.

Thanks to a new service added to the NHS App, patients in England can now see their prescriptions online and collect their prescribed medication from the nominated pharmacy or a pharmacy of their choice without a paper prescription. NHS England has introduced digital prescriptions in the app following a successful trial last year involving over a million users. Users without a nominated pharmacy can collect their prescriptions from any pharmacy using the barcode in the app, but this is not required for patients with a nominated pharmacy as details would be sent to their pharmacy electronically. From now on, patients waiting for elective hospital treatment can also check the average waiting time for their procedure at their local trust using the NHS App.

Insect bites and stings typically increase in the summer in England. This year, however, there's been an earlier-than-usual spike in the number of people seeking NHS advice on the condition. According to the NHS England, visits to its insect bites and stings web page have nearly tripled in the last three weeks compared to the same period last year, peaking at an average of one visit every 22 seconds in the past week. Over the span of 21 days, a total of 68,986 visited the page, marking a significant 162 per cent increase compared to the 26,368 visits recorded in the first three weeks of May 2023. Although insect bites or stings are usually not serious and people tend to get better after a few days, the health service has cautioned that they can lead to infection or severe allergic reactions. People are encouraged to refer to the NHS website for advice or visit their local pharmacy to get advice and treatment for common health conditions, including infected insect bites.

NHS Somerset is aiming to grow its referral rate through GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (GP CPCS) to between 4,000 to 6,000 patients a month. Since June 2021 GPs in Somerset have successfully referred around 1,000 patients a month through the Somerset GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (GP CPCS) Currently, 59 of NHS Somerset's 64 GP practices and all of Somerset's 102 community pharmacists are using the Somerset GP CPCS. NHS Somerset found that providing the right training for GPs and for reception staff and practice managers was key to a smooth rollout and uptake of the service. As was making sure the technology worked when making referrals from general practice to community pharmacists. NHS Somerset is using software called Patient Access Connect, which seamlessly integrates with the EMIS Web GP system used in Somerset, to give practices a quick and easy way to capture the patient information needed to deliver a referral.

On June 3, Synnovis, a pathology laboratory serving several NHS organisations in South East London, was targeted by a ransomware attack. This cyber incident has disrupted vital blood testing services, crucial for a range of medical treatments, and raised significant concerns over data security. NHS England confirmed that a cybercriminal group, Qilin, published data online, claiming it was stolen from Synnovis. The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are currently working to authenticate the data and understand its contents. A helpline has been established to address patient concerns, and NHS England urges patients to attend their appointments unless otherwise directed. The attack has rendered some of the NHS's blood testing systems inoperable, causing substantial disruption to medical services in South East London.

In a strategic move to enhance healthcare delivery, the NHS has announced plans to intensify the utilisation of virtual wards under the the Urgent and Emergency Care Recovery Plan. The NHS virtual wards are aimed to reduce avoidable hospital admissions across England. This follows a comprehensive analysis revealing significant benefits from virtual wards over the past year. "Virtual wards offer a transformative approach to healthcare delivery, allowing patients to receive medical care from the comfort of their own homes," remarked NHS national director for urgent and emergency care, Sarah-Jane Marsh. "This initiative not only reduces the burden on hospital resources but also ensures that patients receive timely and personalised care."

Community pharmacy may have to share workload as NHS emergency service - 999 - has faced the busiest ever month in October with staff attending to a record 1,012,143 calls, data released today (November 11) has revealed. Of the total, 82,000 were life threatening call-outs, an increase from 61,561 in October 2019. Besides, major A&Es treated over 1.4 million people during October and the NHS Covid Vaccination Programme delivered more than 7.5 million jabs, including more than 5.9 million top-up jabs. Professor Stephen Powis, NHS national medical director, said the latest data show that "pressure on the health service remains incredibly high," therefore, people with minor illness should "contact their local pharmacists." He encouraged people to come forward to take Covid and flu jabs.

ECG has launched a new 'simple and straightforward' Patient Group Direction (PGD) service for pharmacists working in primary care, together with a service which offers direct access to an NHS Consultant for medical advice to offer robust safeguarding as and when needed. Taking on more clinical services with the PGDs can feel daunting and a big responsibility for healthcare professionals. ECG's new medical advice service (for anyone purchasing their PGDs) will offer pharmacists the opportunity to call and speak to a clinical member of the ECG team who will triage the calls and support them. If required, the call will be connected to an experienced NHS Consultant to offer immediate medical advice. The service will start with a Monday-Friday 08:30-16:30hrs provision with an option to increase to 24 /7 for those working out of hours. This is inclusive in the PGD pricing offer. ECG has been the market leader in providing vaccination training to pharmacists since 2004, providing robust knowledge and clinical skills to enable pharmacists to develop their private and NHS commissioned vaccination services (such as flu and covid). By developing their close working relationship with all of the multiples, many smaller chains, membership groups and independents over the years, ECG has continued to further consolidate their 'one stop shop' approach to supporting the sector. ECG wants to offer this sector choices in the level of guidance and support that the individual healthcare professionals feel they need to offer safe care to patients.

In a stirring address at the recent conference on Pharmacy at the Westminster Health Forum, Director of NHS Services at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), Alastair Buxton presented a stark assessment of the community pharmacy sector's challenges. Highlighting years of financial constraints imposed by the NHS and government, Buxton warned of a sector teetering on the edge of survival. "There have been no years of financial and operational squeezes applied by the NHS and government to the community pharmacy sector, so as a consequence, there are a lot of pharmacies that are on the on the brink of survival -battling for survival," he said. Buxton underscored the critical and indispensable role of community pharmacies in delivering essential NHS services, from dispensing medications to innovative initiatives like the Discharge Medicine Service and Contraception Service.

A final review of gender services provided by the NHS has uncovered significant shortcomings, leaving thousands of vulnerable children questioning their gender identity without adequate support. The report, led by Dr. Hilary Cass, a prominent consultant paediatrician, highlights the use of unproven treatments and the detrimental impact of the polarized trans debate on gender care provision. The investigation, commissioned by NHS England in 2020, focused on the Tavistock and Portman NHS mental health trust's gender identity development services (Gids), which treated around 9,000 children and young people between 2009 and 2020. Shockingly, the review found that despite limited evidence of effectiveness and potential health risks, puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones were routinely administered. Dr. Cass emphasized that the "rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence regarding the impact on gender dysphoria, mental or psychosocial health. The effect on cognitive and psychosexual development remains unknown."