Former chancellor Rishi Sunak on Monday (October 24) won the battle for leader of Britain's Conservative party and will become the country's first prime
minister of colour.
Penny Mordaunt, the last rival left after Boris Johnson dramatically pulled out, failed to secure the necessary 100 nominations from her fellow MPs.
"Rishi Sunak is therefore elected as leader of the Conservative party," senior backbencher Graham Brady said, as Mordaunt pledged her "full support" for Sunak.
Sunak's triumph came after Johnson's decision late Sunday to abandon his political comeback bid.
Just weeks after he lost out to Liz Truss to lead the ruling Tories, Sunak therefore pulled off a stunning reversal in fortunes.
The contest, triggered by outgoing leader Truss's resignation on Thursday, had required candidates to secure the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 2:00 pm
(1300 GMT) on Monday.
The most generic question that interrupts every couple's mind is when the IVF process should be done. Is it done when one fails to conceive, or is it done when one suffers from secondary infertility.
People who use pharmacies in parts of Pendle have suffered shortages or delays in buying prescription medicines such as insulin, councillors have been told.
In the Barnoldswick area, a number of pharmacies have been impacted and some councillors hope a new regional NHS organisation might look into the problems.
However, pharmacies in the neighbouring town of Nelson are facing shortages with other medicines. A pharmacists in Nelson Pharmacy told Pharmacy Business that he
was struggling to meet local demand for children's paracetamol due to ongoing shortages.
Pendle Council's West Craven Area Committee heard about the issues at its latest local meeting, held in Earby.
An agenda for the committee stated: "Pharmacy provision in West Craven. It is reported that there is an acute problem with people being unable to get prescriptions
filled, with Whitworth chemists suffering a breakdown in service. Previously, Well chemists has suffered similar problems."
Speaking at the meeting, Lib-Dem Coun David Whipp said: "It's quite an appalling situation where people are queuing 30 minutes to get a prescription filled but when
they get to the counter they are told it's not ready. They have to go home and come back at 5pm. It's an ongoing problem.
"It includes insulin, which is critical for people with diabetes. I know several people who have failed to get insulin, It's a very serious problem."
He added: "I think the committee should contact the local integrated care service. I think they are responsible for primary care which includes pharmacies. We need
to find out what's happening and improve things in future. "
The new board of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has adopted 10 principles for transforming the contractual framework in England.
The board met for the first time in April, believes that the current Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework is failing NPA members, the wider sector, the NHS,
Government and patients.
The association's new vice chair, Jay Badenhorst, said: "We can't wait until the current framework limps to its finish line in 2024 before giving serious thought
to the new race we must all run in the future."
"Before negotiations for a new contract begin in earnest, we want to make our position clear to all of those who will be involved in its development. Years more
of the same would be totally unacceptable. Tinkering at the edges of the current arrangements as the basis for a new deal could not achieve the transformation
that is needed."
Former chair of the NPA, Andrew Lane, listed some of the principles in a speech to industry leaders in January, but this is the first time the approach has been
agreed in its entirety, following months of testing with NPA members.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has welcomed the government's defeat in the House of Lords on the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill.
It believes that the proposed Bill, if enacted, would allow the government to dictate minimum levels of service during times of industrial action, enabling
employers to name specific employees that they require in work.
Those employees could then face losing their jobs if they failed to turn up to work on that day. Trade unions could also be fined if they did not force those named
individuals to go to work.
PDA director, Paul Day said, "This Bill should be of real concern to pharmacists and other health professionals. The idea of their employer being able to effectively
conscript them to work or face the sack does not feel like a positive employment relations environment."
The House of Lords has voted for key amendments to the Bill to prevent unions from being required to force workers to comply. This also prevents workers from being
forced to work or face the sack and allows for greater consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny on the proposals which the Westminster government is trying to
implement.
The House of Commons will now be required to vote on the amendments over the next few weeks. Whilst the House of Lords amendments are likely to be defeated, it
shows the degree of opposition there is to this Bill.
The General Pharmaceutical Council has apologised for severe delays and disruptions during the June foundation registration assessment at five test centres in
England on Wednesday (June 29).
The pharmacy regulator said it has since "contacted the candidates affected via email to apologise for the disruption and the extra worry this will have caused.
"We will also be issuing our usual survey for all candidates so we can hear directly from them about their experiences and have also asked candidates to get in touch
if they would like individual advice."
GPhC admitted that the worse sufferers were the candidates at a test centre in Nottingham "where the delay was severe and candidates were only able to start Paper 1
in the late afternoon".
Extremely sorry
In a statement, Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, said: "We are extremely sorry for the severe delays experienced by candidates in Nottingham today. This
is completely unacceptable, and we fully appreciate the significant stress and disruption this must have caused for them in such a high-stakes assessment.
Starting from January 2024, it will be compulsory for medicine suppliers in the NHS supply chain in England to submit an Evergreen Sustainable Supplier
Assessment each year.
Suppliers who fail to submit the sustainability assessment will not be placed on medicines contracts, said NHS England.
The NHS has taken this move as part of its ambition to reach carbon net zero by 2045.
The Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment is a self-assessment and reporting tool for suppliers to share sustainability information with the NHS.
Chris McAleer, medicines net zero project delivery manager at NHS England, announced this new rule at the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists' Procurement and
Distribution Interest Group Autumn Symposium held in Birmingham on 2 November 2023.
The American healthcare company, CVS Health, has decided to remove the cold and cough pills containing phenylephrine from the drug stores.
The following decision comes after the health regulator, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determines the decongestant is ineffective towards flu if
taken orally.
However, when ingested in pill or tablet form, this ingredient fails to reach its destination from the stomach to the nasal passages.
CVS Health spokesperson told USA Today, "We are removing a small number of oral decongestant products that contain phenylephrine as the only active ingredient
from CVS Pharmacy stores but will continue offering many other oral cough and cold products to meet consumer needs."
They almost run more than 9,000 stores in the US whereas their rival, Walgreens has not yet taken the step to remove over-the-counter medications from their shelves.
Archie Norman, the chairman of Marks & Spencer said that shoplifting is "creeping in" among the middle class because of faulty self-checkouts.
He said that the surge is due to the well-off shoppers being "tempted" to walk out without paying for their items when self-checkouts failed to register their
items properly.
The M&S chairman told LBC's podcast Money with David Buik and Michael Wilson that shoplifting has become a "global problem".
"It's too easy to say it's a cost of living problem. Some of this shoplifting is gangs. Then you get the middle class," Mr Norman said.
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has removed a pharmacist from its register who black-marketed 'zolpidem' along with another pharmacist between 2015
and 2016.
Dean Zainool Dookhan, a pharmacist first registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain on 18 October 2004 and whose registration was later
transferred to the General Pharmaceutical Council under registration number 2059808, was jailed last year for exporting 20,000 packets of zolpidem to the Caribbean.
While hearing the case on 24-25 May, GPhC's Fitness to Practise Committee stated that "removal of the Registrant's name from the register is the appropriate and
proportionate response to his convictions."
"The public interest includes protecting the public, maintaining public confidence in the profession, and maintaining proper standards of behaviour. The Committee
is entitled to give greater weight to the public interest than the Registrant's own interest in remaining on the register."
"The Committee recognises the sanction has a punitive effect in that the Registrant's ability to practise and earn an income as a pharmacist and 28 his professional
reputation will be curtailed; it will be five years before he can seek restoration to the register. However, that is the price he must pay for failing to comply with the fundamental tenets of his profession."
According to Alzheimer's Disease International, more than 55 million people worldwide will have Alzheimer's disease by 2020. This figure will nearly double
every 20 years, reaching 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050.
The WHO Global Status Report for 2021 estimated the yearly global cost of dementia to be more than USD 1.3 trillion, with a projected increase to USD 2.8 trillion
by 2030.
To date most drugs developed to treat Alzheimer's disease have failed, largely because they target wrong biomarkers and individuals already exhibiting signs of the
disease. Once symptoms appear, however, many brain cells responsible for memory and cognition are likely already damaged and beyond repair.
Professor Shai Rahimipour in the Chemistry Department at Bar-Ilan University in Israel has pioneered a different approach utilizing theranostics to pinpoint and
treat the earliest, pre-symptomatic signs of Alzheimer's disease. Showing promise in stopping progression of the disease before onset of irreversible brain cell
damage, Rahimipour's groundbreaking approach has garnered significant attention in the scientific world.
After you've had surgery, it's normal to feel a little anxious about the recovery process. But there are some things you can do to help make sure everything
goes smoothly. Here are four important pieces of postoperative advice that will help you heal quickly and avoid any complications. Follow these tips and you'll be
on your way to a full recovery in no time.
FOLLOW YOUR DOCTOR'S ORDERS
No matter how minor the operation, following your doctor's orders after surgery is essential to a speedy and successful recovery. Doing the right things like
following a balanced diet, taking the recommended amount of medications, and avoiding strenuous activity can help minimize complications, reduce pain, and speed up
healing. Furthermore, consistent follow-up visits with your doctor and timely scheduling of any necessary tests ensure that any post-operative problems are addressed
in their early stages when they are easiest to treat. The people behind www.alamoplasticsurgery.com note that failing to take your doctor's instructions seriously
can have a significant impact on your overall recovery time, jeopardize the long-term outcome of your treatment, or even lead to additional procedures. To ensure you
make the most out of your surgery experience - listen to what your doctor has to say!
GET PLENTY OF REST
Getting a full night's rest after the surgery is key to a successful recovery. During recovery, your body is working overtime to heal and repair itself, so by getting
plenty of rest, you'll give it the best opportunity to do this. Not only that - research has shown that getting lots of sleep may help support important bodily
functions related to healing such as immune response and inflammation control. Listen to your doctor's advice post-surgery and make sure you get enough sleep -
providing your body with the downtime it needs will ultimately speed up the healing process and help ensure you get back on your feet soon. When it comes to
recovering from surgery,
Japanese drugmaker Eisai said on Tuesday (January 10) it had submitted a marketing application to the European health regulator for review of its Alzheimer's
drug lecanemab, which was recently granted accelerated approval in the United States.
The drug, developed in partnership with Biogen, is an antibody that has been shown to remove sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of those
in the early stages of the mind-wasting disease. Nearly all previous experimental drugs using the same approach have failed.
The company's application to the European Medicines Agency is based on results from a late-stage study in which the drug was shown to slow down the rate of cognitive
decline in patients with early Alzheimer's by 27 per cent, compared with a placebo.
Eisai also reiterated its plans to apply for marketing authorization of the drug in Japan by the end of its business year on March 31.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has called the 'new general practice contract' which was imposed by NHS England on Monday (6 March)
as 'simply unreasonable'.
The imposition of new contract followed a failed talk of British Medical Association (BMA)'s with the negotiator. The association's main issue with the contract is
the lack of further funding beyond that agreed in 2019 as part of the five-year deal.
PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: "The breakdown in GP contract negotiations for the second year running is another blow for primary care. The verdict of the
GP negotiators is that the demands being made of doctors by Government and the NHS are simply unreasonable."
"Community pharmacy is being treated with the same disregard: too much is being asked of us, with far too little funding available."
The committee has been raising the issue and challenges faced by the community pharmacists with the government. The government is asking pharmacies to do more by
taking giving additional services but the committee is of view with no extra funding the community pharmacies will collapse.
Online pharmacies have to operate from bricks & mortar premises that are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, but recent cases show that, in
reality, the practices of online pharmacies are often very different to other pharmacies, and the regulation of online pharmacies is also different - and evolving
as issues arise.
For a start, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is only one of the regulators taking an interest in online pharmacy services. Other regulators include the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which enforces the advertising and promotion of medicines, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which
regulates prescribing services.
The different regulation of online pharmacies is attributable to the higher risk to patients and the public from medicines bought online. These risks often arise
from a combination of patients who do not tell the truth in order to obtain medicines and the nature of a transaction in which a pharmacist does not see patients
face-to-face.
"The GPhC has strong enforcement powers that it uses when it considers its premises standards have not complied with."
However, there are also things that go wrong because pharmacists have simply failed to act professionally or take sufficient care, as well as cases where things
have gone wrong through misfortune.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), led by Victoria Atkins MP and Maria Caulfield MP, has unveiled proposed updates to the NHS Constitution
for England, aiming to fortify the principles of privacy, dignity, and safety for all patients.
Martha's rule was prompted by a campaign led by the parents of 13-year-old Martha Mills who tragically succumbed to sepsis after staff at King's College Hospital
failed to escalate her care to intensive care, despite her family's pleas regarding her worsening condition in 2021.
Under the new guidance is the introduction of Martha's Rule, empowering patients to request intimate care from someone of the same biological sex ensuring that
the distinct needs of men and women are recognized and addressed.
Patients and their loved ones can exercise the right to "access to a rapid review from outside the care team if the patient is deteriorating."
The consultation on the proposed updates is set to run for eight weeks, inviting feedback from patients, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders for a review
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has advised the public to exercise caution when buying anti-choking devices online,
ensuring these products are purchased from reputable sellers.
As estimated by the regulator, more than 10,000 counterfeit or unbranded anti-choking devices have been purchased by the public within the last two years through
listings on online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay, as well as drop-shipping websites.
People are cautioned that the use of such products poses a substantial risk of failure in clearing blockages and could exacerbate the situation by pushing
obstructions further down into the airway passage.
Dr Alison Cave, MHRA Chief Safety Officer, said: "Buying anti-choking devices that do not have a valid UKCA or CE mark increases the risk of receiving a product
which does not include appropriate instructions and is either fake or does not meet the UK's regulatory requirements.
"These products do not meet our strict quality standards and may put your health and safety at significant risk by failing to resolve or even worsening choking
incidents."
Kanabo Group plc, a medical cannabis research and development company, has entered into a partnership with City Dock Pharmacy in London to introduce a walk-in
clinic for pain management.
The pain clinic will cater to patients who are eligible for alternative therapies (when traditional treatments have failed to deliver improvements), and will offer
specialised medicines, including medicinal cannabis.
When it opens, the new facility at City Dock Pharmacy in Wapping will become the UK's first walk-in clinic for pain management, but it will also deliver
appointment-related services, the companies said.
The partnership is part of the London-based company's wider ambition to extend its reach into physical pharmacies throughout the UK, and its plans to replicate
this model across other pharmacies.
Patients suffering from chronic and episodic migraine attacks are set to benefit from a groundbreaking recommendation by the National Institute for Health
and Care Excellence (NICE) regarding a new medication.
The atogepant, a first-of-its-kind preventive drug for migraine, offers hope for those grappling with this debilitating condition and can be taken orally.
Published as part of the final guidance draft, NICE has greenlit the atogepant, also known as Aquipta and manufactured by AbbVie, as an option for preventing both
chronic and episodic migraines in adults.
Specifically, this recommendation is for individuals who have experienced at least four migraine days per month and have failed to find relief with at least three
previous preventive treatments.
With approximately 4.5 million people in the UK affected by various forms of migraine, this new recommendation marks a significant advancement in migraine management
as the condition significantly impacts patients' day-to-day activities as well as places a heavy burden on the NHS and the wider economy.
The severity of the ADHD medication shortage in the UK has been exposed as former Hollywood extra Lee Cato revealed that he was forced to quit his job but
hasn't been able to access his medicine.
A resident of Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Lee had worked as a film extra in big movies like 'Thor' and 'Edge of Tomorrow'.
The 48-year-old told Mirror that he has been taking Concerta for years to manage ADHD symptoms, but he hasn't been able to get the drug or any alternatives for
over a month.
He said that he first experienced shortages of the medicine in December 2023 but was initially able to take Delmosart, which he took to maintain focus despite
experiencing its side effects such as headaches, nausea, tooth erosion, and a dry mouth.
But now, he can't get access to any of these ADHD drugs as "they're completely out-of-stock and it's been over a month now."
His chemist also tried to get hold of his medication but failed.