Group items tagged

Pharmacy Minister, Will Quince received flu vaccination and blood pressure check at his visit to a Boots pharmacy in Westminster arranged by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA). The Boots pharmacist, Flavia, explained to the Minister the broad range of services the pharmacy delivers, from the new medicines service to emergency contraception and the community pharmacy consultation service. The Minister witnessed first-hand much of what the community pharmacy sector has to offer patients and the NHS. Malcolm Harrison Chief Executive of the CCA said: "We share the Minister's vision on how community pharmacies and their teams can contribute to the 'Plan for Patients' set out by the Secretary of State. It is great to have the support of the Minister and we are excited for the future of pharmacy.

Glenmark, a multinational pharmaceutical company, has partnered with AI data-driven supply chain management platform 7bridges. Initially focusing on their European business, where they have operations in 15 markets, the supply chain and logistics function is a big focus area for this cost reduction. The partnership with 7bridges will allow Glenmark to baseline their supply chain data giving them visibility of data, cost and service performance across their network of logistics service providers. This exercise will identify areas where invoices from their logistics service providers are being incorrectly or overcharged. With automatic dispute raising, savings will be quickly achieved. The platform will then enable Glenmark to benchmark their data, so they can compare the performance and cost of their LSPs to the wider industry. With Glenmark's global vision to emerge as a leading integrated research-based global pharmaceutical company, this investment in their supply chain will be integral to achieving this. The next step in the partnership will be to run simulations to optimise road freight services and 3PL operations, with the aim to then roll out globally.

You've heard the beauty benefits of turmeric from your grannies; you may know how turmeric soap benefits your skin. Many studies advocate curcumin's skin-lightening effects, a polyphenol emanating from turmeric. There's also evidence to back its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial features. Meanwhile, it's a rich source of antioxidants. The golden powder is not only for flavoring up curries; it is also a mainstay in Ayurvedic therapies, both as a tonic and as a beauty agent. The purported skin benefits of this natural turmeric soap include: Skin Whitening Benefits Skin Conditions Fades dark spots Treats acne Fight Aging Meeting any beauty assertions with a healthy dose of suspicion is wise. (After all, if you've ever undergone distressing skincare bents such as peel-off masks, you might think twice before going for other trends.) Fortunately, turmeric soap emerges to deliver benefits to the skin. Turmeric Soap Benefits Although not tangible, analyses indicate that turmeric will soon become a low-cost substitute for relieving skin diseases like eczema, alopecia, etc. Soaping with a turmeric soap bar can help you enhance your skin health in numerous ways. And what's more? Here are excellent turmeric soap benefits that will improve your overall skin health. Turmeric Soap Benefits Blood Circulation that results in Skin Whitening. If your major skin issue is dullness, try to check out turmeric since it's a natural exfoliator. Numerous animal and test-tube studies have shown that turmeric and curcumin extract can boost glutathione levels. Researchers conclude that the curcumin found in turmeric can assist in restoring adequate levels of glutathione and improve the activity of glutathione enzymes. It has the power to slough off your dead skin cells, remove pollutants, and clear oil or makeup build-up, leaving you with a smooth and healthy glow. Regular use of turmeric soap benefits your skin's glow and brightens it naturally. This is why turmeric is also

The NHS has made major improvements across long waits, urgent and emergency services, and cancer care, latest performance figures published on Thursday (11) have shown. The number of patients waiting more than 18 months fell to 10,737 by April - down by more than 90 per cent from 124,911 in September 2021 and by more than four-fifths since the start of January when there were 54,882. Around half of NHS trusts in England have no patients on their elective care waiting lists apart from those who have chosen to wait longer. More than one in five (21%) trusts had completely eliminated 18-month waits. However, the overall waiting list has risen to over 7.3 million entries in England. "I promised I would cut NHS waiting lists and we are delivering," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. "Reducing 18-month waits by over 90 per cent is huge progress, and it is testament to the hard work of NHS staff who have achieved this despite one of the busiest winters on record. "We still have work to do, but backed by record government investment and the ongoing efforts of the NHS, I am confident we will get patients the care they need more quickly." Ambulance response rates have improved to their fastest in two years, with average category two response times now at 28.5 minutes and category one at 8 mins. The 62-day cancer backlog has fallen for the first time since before the pandemic, with those waiting two months or more down from 21,823 at the end of the last financial year (March 2022) to 19,248 at the end of this March (2023). This is down almost 15,000 from a peak of 34,000 in July 2022.

British health agencies have secured funding to develop a standardised approach to test the performance of vaccines being used or in development against monkeypox, days after the World Health Organization labelled the growing outbreak a global health emergency. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said it would give up to $375,000 to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to develop standard tools to assess the strength and duration of immune responses generated by current vaccines, and for tests used to detect monkeypox antibody levels. Apart from administration fees, these tools will be made freely available to the global scientific community, paving the way for a common standardised assessment between countries documenting vaccine performance against monkeypox, CEPI said. Until this year, the viral disease has rarely spread outside Africa where it is endemic. But reports of a handful of cases in Britain in early May signalled that the outbreak had moved into Europe. So far, there have been more than 16,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox in more than 75 countries.

Sobha Sharma Kandel wants community pharmacy teams up and down the country to be super responsive to emerging needs of their patients - by always being pro-active rather than reactive. "We know that every patient benefits from our proactive approaches - listening, asking questions, providing information and making clinical interventions when appropriate. "At a time when general practice is overstretched, community pharmacy must be relied upon as the frontline of the NHS when it comes to providing diagnosis, treatment and continuous care in our communities to promote health and wellbeing of our patients." Sobha believes Covid-19 has helped shift public perception of community pharmacies from being a place where one goes to collect a prescription to a hub where one can access a range of healthcare advice and services. "We are way more than just a shop where you can collect your medicines," she said, giving examples of how her interventions have helped reduce medication errors, prevent harm and subsequently reduce cost of care. She once saved a baby from getting overdosed with omeprazole when they had issues with gastroesophageal reflux. On another occasion, she managed a lady's high blood pressure by finding equivalent medications to a combination dose prescribed by her doctor in another country.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association has called on the Scottish government to end unnecessary pharmacy closures and introduce emergency regulations to force companies that operate Scotland's pharmacies to open on the days and hours they have agreed. It is concerned that decisions made by some health boards in Scotland have now allowed pharmacy owners to close their pharmacies on Saturdays. The PDA is worried that a pharmacy closure could have negative impact on patients and other parts of the NHS, including neighbouring pharmacies, addiction and mental health services, and minor injury and A&E units. The association claims that there are record numbers of registered pharmacists who are available to work and therefore a decision to close a pharmacy over staff shortages is misleading. "The business owners may claim there is a shortage of pharmacists, but when they actively cancel agreed hours of work it does not suggest there is a shortfall of workers," said the PDA, adding: "These business decisions often include closing their pharmacies at very short notice, even when pharmacists are available and willing to work."

The British scientists behind one of the major therapeutic Covid-19 trials have turned their focus to treatments for monkeypox, a viral disease that has been labelled a global health emergency by the World Health Organization. The team from Oxford University behind the so-called RECOVERY trial - which honed in on four effective Covid treatments - on Tuesday unveiled a new trial, dubbed PLATINUM, to confirm whether Siga Technologies' tecovirimat is an effective treatment for monkeypox. Although there are vaccines developed for the closely related smallpox that can reduce the risk of catching monkeypox, there are currently no treatments that have been proven to help hasten recovery in those who develop the disease. The UK has over 3,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox. The virus is transmitted chiefly through close contact with an infected person. It typically causes mild symptoms including fever, rash, swollen lymph nodes and pus-filled skin lesions. Severe cases can occur, though people tend to recover within two to four weeks. Siga's drug, branded Tpoxx, has been cleared to treat diseases caused by the family of orthopoxvirus that includes smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox by the European Union and United Kingdom, but due to limited trial data it is generally only used in severe cases in Britain.

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."

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on Thursday (30th November) announced the launch of a new suicide surveillance system, bolstering its efforts to tackle emerging methods of suicide and clamp down on those seeking to sell dangerous products to vulnerable people. For now, the DHSC will work with the National Police Chiefs' Council to gather near to real-time data from across the country on deaths by suspected suicide by gender, age group and method. The data will be obtained from individual police forces in England and the government will get it within three months of a suspected suicide, the DHSC said in its release. Previously, the only suicide data available at a national level was provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), but it could take up to 2 years for the official ONS data to come through.

Numark Pharmacy is hosting an event today (December 4) to mark the takeover of one of the former Lloyds Pharmacy stores in Cumnock, Scotland. It has renamed the acquired pharmacy on Tanyard as Rowlands Pharmacy Cumnock HC, which will be reopened to the community on Monday. Rowlands Pharmacy Cumnock HC, which is the latest to reopen in Scotland, will be run by Pharmacy manager Meghan Mcewan, supported by a team of colleagues from the local community. At the new branch, the team will oversee prescription dispensary, vaccination services, over-the-counter medications, emergency contraception, and medication review.

Frontline doctors have sounded the alarm over the rising pressure on emergency departments in hospitals across the country as winter virus cases are "creeping up". An average of 234 people were in hospital with flu every day last week, a 53 per cent increase compared to the week before, according to new NHS data. Hospital norovirus cases increased by 15 per cent last week, with an average 406 people hospitalised each day, a 28 per cent increase from the same week last year. Measures to stop the spread of norovirus to other patients led to the closure of an average of 92 beds were closed each day last week.

Long waiting times for National Health Service (NHS) care are leaving people too sick to work in the UK, which is affecting the country's economy. One in three people missed work in 2022 due to delays in accessing NHS care, revealed a new survey by Pollsters Savanta. The market research consultancy surveyed 2,235 people in the UK this month on behalf of the Liberal Democrats. According to the survey results, 19 per cent of the participants could not go to work as they were waiting for a GP appointment. While 15 per cent of the respondents had to take a long period off work while they waited for treatment or surgery, 12 per cent missed work as they waited for emergency dental treatments. Overall, 36 per cent of those surveyed had missed at least some work because of difficulty getting NHS care.

Heart valves are essential for the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system. They serve to control and regulate the flow of blood, ensuring it moves smoothly through the heart's chambers. In these situations, heart valve replacement surgery emerges as a viable option.

As an unprecedented demand for Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test kits continues through the Pharmacy Collect service, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is planning to distribute 10.5 million tests per week via Alliance Healthcare this month. By the end of this week (January 8), the UKHSA aims to distribute more than 8 million tests to Alliance Healthcare - sole distributor to pharmacies. The announcement comes after many in the pharmacy sector voiced concerns over shortage of test kits. Earlier this week, it emerged that Alliance Healthcare closed for four days shortly after receiving around 2.5 million tests on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, the UKHSA indicated that Alliance Healthcare has been delivering 86 per cent of its orders within 24 hours of the pharmacy order, nearly half of that on the same day. Besides, a plan to switch on a Parcel Force delivery contingency is being finalised by UKHSA, which would enable supply of a further 3.5 million test kits.

American biotechnology company Novavax said on Monday (February 28) it would pursue full approval of its Covid-19 vaccine in the second half of this year and forecast total revenue of between $4 billion and $5 billion for 2022. "We expect to gain additional authorizations where we have already filed, including in the US. We will pursue full approval of our vaccine including filing our BLA (biologics license application), in the second half of 2022," CEO Stanley Erck said during a post-earnings call. Novavax late last month filed for emergency use authorization of the shot in U.S. adults, a much-awaited step following months of struggles with development and manufacturing problems. Novavax said it has completed delivery of around nine million vaccine doses to Indonesia, 6 million to Australia and two million to South Korea and expects to supply 69 million doses to Europe in the first half of this year.

A person in England has been diagnosed with a rare viral monkeypox infection thought to be linked to travel to West Africa, health authorities said at the weekend (May 7). The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in a statement the case, in a person who had recently traveled to Nigeria, was being treated at an expert respiratory infectious disease unit at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London. "It is important to emphasise that monkeypox does not spread easily between people and the overall risk to the general public is very low," said Colin Brown, director of clinical and emerging infections at UKHSA.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued draft guidance on 'Evusheld' which is not recommended for vulnerable adult with high risk of severe Covid-19 on Thursday (16 February). The draft guidance is open for public consultation until 9 March 2023. The committee will consider any comments received at a meeting currently due to take place on 4 April 2023. It comes after last month's decision by the US drug regulator to withdraw its emergency use authorisation for Evusheld as a preventative treatment for Covid-19, which said there was insufficient evidence that Evusheld is effective against the dominant variants of Covid-19 in the US. NICE's independent appraisal committee has reached the same conclusion having considered evidence which shows Evusheld is unlikely to prevent infection with most of the variants circulating in the UK now and in the near future. It has also announced that it is developing a new review process to update recommendations on the cost-effectiveness of Covid-19 treatments so they can be made available more quickly to patients if they show promise against new variants and are found to be cost-effective.

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s analysis on permanent closures of community pharmacies in England showed that there has been a net loss of 670 pharmacies between 2015 and 2022. The analysis highlighted that 37 per cent of permanent closures of pharmacies and GP practices have occurred in the 20 per cent most deprived parts of England. Current trends indicate that primary care 'cold spots' could soon emerge - areas where there is significantly reduced or inadequate access to a pharmacy or a GP. The CCA's analysis shows that some of the most deprived neighbourhoods concentrated in the North West, the West Midlands and Yorkshire have faced the highest losses of local pharmacies and GP practices since 2015. It demonstrates that the trend of permanent closures amongst pharmacies and GP practices is worsening. Moreover, this burden is likely to be felt unevenly with permanent closures occurring disproportionately in areas of high deprivation. Without action, deprived communities, where need is typically greater, may no longer be able to access the GP and pharmacy services they require.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) survey revealed that 93 per cent of respondents experienced 'at least one month' of negative cash flow across their pharmacy business in 2022. Nine out of 10 pharmacy owners responding to NPA survey said they made a net loss dispensing medicines for the NHS during 2022, for at least one month of the year. According to the poll, 48 per cent of them lost money on this core NHS service for six months or more. 45 per cent said their overall outgoings had exceeded overall income in at least six months of the year. NPA Chair Andrew Lane said: "This survey shows the bleak financial reality facing many independent pharmacies after years of underfunding. Dispensing at a loss and negative cashflow is clearly unsustainable." "This funding crisis must be addressed urgently or pharmacies will fall into a spiral of declining services and ultimately widespread closures, he added. "Tragically, the story is playing out very much in line with independent research commissioned by the NPA last year, which warned of a nationwide financial emergency in our sector."