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Paul Rees MBE has joined the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) today (27 November) as its new Chief Executive. Current NPA Chief Executive Mark Lyonette, who is retiring, will remain at the NPA for some weeks in order to ensure a smooth handover. Previously, Paul has worked as the Chief Executive of the Royal College of Psychiatrists for the seven years. On joining NPA, Paul said: "It is a great privilege and honour to take up the position of NPA Chief Executive. The association is the voice of independent community pharmacy and is core to the sector's future success in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. "I am delighted that the NPA has placed its trust in me and I intend to deliver for NPA members, for the sector and for society at large, which relies on there being a vibrant community pharmacy network in villages, towns and cities across the four nations of the UK." When Paul's appointment was first announced in September, NPA Chair Nick Kaye said that they identified him as an "excellent fit for our organisation" after a rigorous recruitment process, and also thanked Mark for his "great work as chief exec since 2018."

When I was asked by fellow independent contractors to join the Review Steering Group (RSG) back in late 2020, I said yes, because I wanted, fundamentally, to look for some ways to improve both LPCs and PSNC. Through my experiences with Greater Manchester LPC I had seen the sorts of changes that LPCs could make and the positive impact that those had on local engagement and in allowing us to do more to support contractors: I wanted to help share what we had learned with the rest of the country. I was pretty sure that the national negotiator could make some positive changes as well. It took longer than I had hoped. And it was a lot harder than I had imagined - not least because of the extent of some of the divisions within our sector - but after 15 months of hard work, I'm pleased with where we have got to, and I believe the 37 changes being proposed will help all contractors. Consensus is not a sexy word. It is not something that fires up our imaginations or that we put on our list of key work objectives for the year. It is also not something that might come naturally to us as independent contractors. But consensus is something that matters. It is the thing that allows us, as a vibrant and diverse group of businesses, to see beyond our differences and to fight together for outcomes that benefit every single one of us. Consensus is also the thing that the RSG has been relentlessly focused on throughout its work, and it's at the heart of what will give our LPCs and PSNC a stronger voice for community pharmacy in the future.

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.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has reiterated its call for all pharmacists working at Boots to join the PDA Union to support the collective voice of the profession within the company. It said this would enable PDA to send direct communications to pharmacists working at Boots and keep them up to date with key matters impacting their work life. Currently, the association uses the company communication channels to cascade key information to the non-member pharmacists, however, it fears such measures can be disrupted by management. Besides, having more member pharmacists at Boots would strengthen their "negotiating power", PDA said.

Community pharmacy should be involved in key decisions in neighbourhoods and systems to help reduce workload and increase patient access, a roundtable organised by the National Pharmacy Association to discuss a recent review on primary care integration has concluded. The NPA said it would be sending the recently published report on the roundtable to local pharmaceutical committees (LPCs) and other local pharmacy leaders as a tool to help them engage with Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) which will become statutory bodies from July 1. The 'Fuller Stocktake: Community Pharmacy Roundtable' report, published on June 13 by the NPA, is based on a meeting hosted by the association on behalf of the NHS team running a key review of primary care integration, the so-called 'Fuller Stocktake'. NPA integration lead, Michael Lennox, said: "The NPA recognises the critical importance of our LPC network colleagues being there for contractors at the 42 local systems level and influencing to fulfil the laudable ambitions of the Fuller Report. "We ensured that community pharmacy voices were heard in the stocktake process and now that conversation needs to be amplified locally."

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has raised its concerns over rising cost of rent for its members. The association highlighted that pharmacy spending is shrinking, and therefore, the NHS Property Services must ensure viability of health centre pharmacies. In May, the NPA wrote to NHS Property Services to voice its concerns over the rising cost of rent after some of its members reported demands for a three-fold increase in rent. Many pharmacies operate in premises of which NHS Property Services is the landlord. In a letter last month to chief executive Martin Steele, NPA said: "The past years have seen far fewer patients in health centres and therefore using the on-site pharmacy - whilst the situation will change somewhat as we move out of the pandemic we expect a permanent impact on workload as practices handle more of their interactions virtually. "The NPA encourages NHS Property Services to review lease agreements involving community pharmacies and consider favourable changes to terms that are in line with current financial realities affecting the sector. This could avoid the loss of a pharmacy service to communities and the resulting loss of rental income to NHS Property Services."

The Gaia Voice is a Canadian online psychedelics magazine that produces timely stories about psychedelics and how they have immensely helped the world grow both in the area of medicine and social life.

The new 'How to Involve and Engage Patients on Digital Health Tech Innovation' learning module has been created specifically to support the development and delivery of patient-centric technologies, at a time of critical digital transformation in the NHS. The foundation level module will be freely available at www.orcha-digitalhealthacademy.com and on the Health Education England NHS Learning Hub (learninghub.nhs.uk). No training previously exists on conducting effective patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), leading to wasted resource on unsuitable technologies at a time when the healthcare system simply cannot afford it. The module aims to educate innovators who are creating new technology, and the clinicians who are prescribing these solutions. Crucially, the module also provides valuable support to the 500 NHS clinicians who are on the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme. The module is an introduction to the first evidence-based framework for PPIE, launched by the University of Plymouth, the AHSN Network (the national voice of the 15 academic health science networks in England) and Boehringer Ingelheim UK & Ireland. It helps to fast-track learning for the EnACT principles described in the framework, outlining how to involve patients in product innovation and critical issues such as data privacy, intellectual property, inclusivity, reimbursement, useability, and recruitment of patients.

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.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is pushing ahead with its plans to implement a new drug tariff from April 2024. However, this move has sparked strong opposition from Community Pharmacy England (CPE), raising concerns about its potential impact on pharmacies and patients. Earlier, it was announced that the April drug tariff will include the new 'Retrospective top-up payment for Concessionary prices, which will be applied automatically for the products listed in Part VIIIE each quarter by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), according to the volume the contractor was paid for. However, CPE argued that the government has imposed these "untested" changes without their agreement, and strongly opposed them stating that "no recovery or downward pressure on margin is acceptable given the financial fragility of community pharmacies." Janet Morrison, chief executive of CPE, has voiced strong opposition to these changes, arguing that "any system expecting pharmacies to dispense at a loss" jeopardises the sector's financial stability and compromises patient care.

A recent UNISON survey has unearthed disturbing findings regarding the prevalence of sexual harassment among NHS staff across the UK. With data collected from over 12,000 healthcare workers, the survey sheds light on the challenges faced by frontline workers in their workplace environments. Approximately 10 per cent of healthcare professionals reported instances of sexual harassment during their tenure, with nearly 29 per cent of those experiencing harassment also reporting incidents of sexual assault. Shockingly, 50 per cent of respondents reported being leered at or subjected to suggestive gestures, while a quarter faced unwelcome sexual advances or demands for favors. The most common complaint, voiced by 61 per cent of those affected, was the experience of unwanted crude banter or jokes in the workplace.

At last Friday's Clinical Congress Conference, the NHSE Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England at NHS England, David Webb, announced the upcoming launch of the Pharmacy Stakeholder Forum- an initiative led by NHS England aimed to improve pharmacy professional leadership and foster collaboration within the sector. Webb highlighted the forum's significance as a platform for driving transformative change in pharmacy leadership. "The aim is to deliver collaboration to develop a stronger and more united voice for pharmacy professionals," Webb emphasised. Highlighting the need to drive transformative change in pharmacy leadership, he underscored that "the overarching goal is to address key challenges facing the pharmacy profession and chart a course for future development and innovation." Scheduled to commence in June, the Pharmacy Stakeholder Forum will provide a space for diverse organisations and networks with a vested interest in pharmacy professional leadership to converge.

A Lake District pharmacy is grappling with significant medication supply issues, affecting its ability to provide essential drugs to customers amidst nationwide drug shortages. According to Simon Butterworth, whose family has operated Collins & Butterworth Pharmacy in Hawkshead for nearly 40 years, voiced his concerns to the ITV stating that the staff is "having to spend time hunting for (medications), looking for it or doing our best to find ways to solve that problem" for distressed patients. "They've got to know when they can get the medications they need," he added. Butterworth also highlighted the financial strain pharmacies face due to the NHS's fixed tariff system. "Certain items are actually costing more to buy than we get paid for them by the NHS. An item we were trying to get this morning was 250 per cent higher than the tariff price, which is significant and builds up over lots of items," he explained.

In a significant event organised by Eastern Eye (EE), a sister publication of Pharmacy Business, political leaders gathered on July 1st to address pressing issues affecting the Asian community The EE election debate aimed to amplify their political voice and encourage participation in the political process. The debate, moderated by Barnie Choudhury, Editor of Eastern Eye, saw prominent figures including Andrew Boff AM of the Conservative Party, Anneliese Dodds represented Labour as Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities, and Lord Richard Newby from the Liberal Democrats engaged in a robust discussion. They fielded questions on various issues affecting the UK, including economic and social inequality, immigration, health inequalities, and funding cuts to community pharmacies. Amid an audience that included stakeholders from the pharmacy sector, a notable query focused on each party's stance on the role of community pharmacies and their commitment to funding these vital services.

Ensuring comprehensive healthcare services for the community necessitates collaboration between pharmacies and GP surgeries. However, several pharmacists have voiced concerns about a lack of cooperation from their local GPs in implementing the Pharmacy First (PF) service. In a survey conducted by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) covering 470 pharmacies across England, three-quarters of pharmacists (77 per cent) indicated that local GP practices are not appropriately referring patients to the new service. The survey highlighted instances of patients either not being referred or being referred but found ineligible for support through Pharmacy First. Additionally, one in five NPA members (19 per cent) felt that their local GP practices were not engaging with the initiative at all. Commenting on the issue, NPA chair Nick Kaye said: "Feedback from across our network suggests that the rollout of Pharmacy First varies considerably from area to area.

Speech-language pathology is the study of disorders that affect a person's speech, language, cognition, voice, swallowing (dysphagia) and the rehabilitative or corrective treatment of physical and/or cognitive disorders communication and/or swallowing.

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Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has asked community pharmacy owners to share their views on preparations for the new national Pharmacy First service, ahead of the next full Committee meeting at the end of January. The advanced service, which is set for launch from 31 January, will allow patients to seek advice and treatment for seven common conditions directly from their local pharmacy, without the need to contact their GP practice. It is expected to help NHS free up 10m GP appointments a year. However, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison has previously expressed that the Pharmacy First investment is not the panacea for pharmacy's funding woes. Pharmacy owners' feedback will be used in the Committee's campaigning and influencing work to press for an uplift to core funding, CPE said.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has launched its third annual Pressures Survey to uncover the various challenges encountered by individuals owning or working in a community pharmacy. The Committee expressed concern that community pharmacies in England are now in a critical situation, significantly affecting workload, stress levels, patients, and businesses. The 2024 Pharmacy Pressures Survey is aimed at finding out more about these issues and other areas such as medicines supply problems and workforce challenges as well as the recently launched Pharmacy First service, it said. CPE chief executive Janet Morrison said that they were able to receive a huge number of responses in previous surveys and they are expecting to achieve a similar level of engagement this year too.