Pharmacy bodies have urged the Health Select Committee to hold the government to account on pharmacy funding and workforce challenges.
In a show of unity, leaders from the sector came together to write a joint letter to the chair of the committee and former health secretary Jeremy Hunt and bring to
his attention how financial pressures worsened by nearly a decade of a real-term decrease in funding have made the sector virtually untenable.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s recently published 'Pharmacy Pressures Survey' confirms how this has had an impact on pharmacy contractors,
their teams as well as patients.
The survey found that 91 per cent of pharmacies are experiencing staff shortages. At the same time, demand for community pharmacists has risen - nine in ten pharmacy
teams reported a significant increase in phone calls from patients about prescriptions, and 86 per cent reported a rise in requests for healthcare advice.
The letter to Jeremy Hunt is signed on behalf of the four chief executives of the PSNC, the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), the Company
Chemists' Association (CCA) and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA).
Boots UK will offer a staring salary of £42,000 per annum to newly qualified pharmacists joining the pharmacy chain.
The company also revealed that "in addition, any existing pharmacists in the bargaining unit currently receiving less than £43k."
The newly announced hike in the salary - following an agreement reached between the multiple and and the Pharmacist Defence Association - will be effective from
1 August 2022.
"This enhanced offer for Newly Qualified Pharmacists and further investment in those in the early stages of their careers at Boots is a key part of our commitments
to pharmacists," the company said.
Boots and PDA Union also announced in a joint statement that they will conduct a further formal review of all pharmacists' pay in accordance with the collective
agreement, effective from 1 November 2022.
Boots has become the first community pharmacy in the UK to transport prescription medicines by a drone.
The pharmacy multiple completed a test flight transporting prescription-only medicines by drone from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight earlier this month.
The flight departed from the British Army's Baker Barracks on Thorney Island near Portsmouth and arrived at St. Mary's Hospital on the Isle of Wight. The medicines
were collected by Boots personnel and transported to the multiple's pharmacies across the island, where they will be dispensed to patients with prescriptions for them.
Boots worked with medical drone start-up Apian to facilitate the test flight and is now assessing the future potential for drones in medicines delivery.
Rich Corbridge, chief information officer at Boots, said: "Drones have a huge potential in the delivery of medicines and it is incredibly exciting to be the first
community pharmacy in the UK to transport them in this way. An island location like the Isle of Wight seemed like a sensible place to start a trial of drones and
their value to the delivery of medicines to more remote locations is very clear.
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most important and valuable industries in the world. It is responsible for developing and producing medicines that
improve and save lives. However, there are some things you may not know about this fascinating industry. In this blog post, we will discuss six interesting facts
about the pharmaceutical industry!
1. THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF PHARMACEUTICALS IS HIGHLY REGULATED
All pharmaceutical products must go through a rigorous manufacturing process before they can be made available to patients. This process is heavily regulated by
various government agencies to ensure that the medicines are safe and effective. The pharmaceutical manufacturing process usually involves multiple steps, including
the preparation of raw materials, the manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and the packaging and labeling of finished products. To ensure
patient safety, all pharmaceutical companies must adhere to strict regulations set by government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These
regulations are designed to protect patients by ensuring that medicines are safe and effective.
Homecare.co.uk's famed Top 20 UK awards have turned out a multiple winner, with Blue Angel Care a highlight.
Blue Angel Care took two prestigious gongs , Top 20 Homecare Group Provider in the UK and Top 20 Home Care Providers in South East England.
Finding innovative ways to circumnavigate the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, the homecare specialists have grown to a nationwide team of more than 200
care givers.
Dariusz Motka, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Blue Angel Care, said in a statement: "We are eternally grateful to the readers and reviewers of Homecare.co.uk
for honouring us with, not one, but two awards."
Praising his staff, Dariusz added : "More so, we are all grateful to the incredibly hardworking and professional staff that help to train so many capable carers
every single week."
Almost nine in ten community pharmacists in England say they have patients who sometimes go without prescription medicines because they cannot afford the
prescription charge levied by the government.
Sixty-eight per cent of pharmacists in a National Pharmacy Association (NPA) survey, conducted via email in June 2022, said this has become more frequent in the
past year - suggesting that the rising cost of living could be leading more people to miss out on vital medicines.
While prescription charge does not apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in England an NHS patients needs to pay £9.35 per item. For patients who need
multiples medicines the cost could be exponential and virtually unaffordable amid rising inflation and higher cost of living.
The survey found that 89 per cent of pharmacies in England have patients who sometimes go without prescription medicines due to cost.
For most pharmacists (74 per cent) this happens one to five times a week. Fifteen per cent said they see such patients from six to 20 times a week.
Authorities in Northern Ireland have seized more than 242,000 unlicensed prescription tablets purchased online and destined for addresses throughout NI.
The medicines seized include Diazepam, used for anti-anxiety treatment, Pregabalin, used for epilepsy and anxiety, steroids and Zopiclone.
Other prescription medicines recovered included Tamoxifen, often used in the treatment of breast cancer and Salbutamol inhalers, frequently used in the treatment
of asthma.
"Co-operation between law enforcement agencies and government departments has led to the seizure of over 242,000 illegal and unlicensed tablets purchased online
and destined for addresses throughout Northern Ireland," justice minister Naomi Long was reported as saying.
The minister, together with health minister Robin Swann and assistant chief constable Mark McEwan PSNI were highlighting Northern Ireland's input to the global,
Interpol co-ordinated Operation Pangea XV, which saw multiple packages of tablets intercepted and seized, with a street value of almost £250,000.
She praised the concerted efforts made by PSNI, Border Force and officials from the Department of Health Medicines Regulatory Group during a specific week of action
in June.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has initiated the process for the regional representative election for the North-East and Cumbria
region after Mark Burdon's resignation from the committee earlier this year.
The North-East and Cumbria region covers Community Pharmacy County Durham, Community Pharmacy Cumbria, Gateshead and South Tyneside LPC, North of Tyne LPC,
Sunderland LPC and Tees LPC.
PSNC said that Pharmacists who are independent chemists and members or officers of these LPCs are eligible to stand for election as a new regional representative.
"An independent chemist is defined in the PSNC constitution as a chemist operating retail pharmacy businesses' from no more than nine premises in England from which
NHS Pharmaceutical Services or Local Pharmaceutical Services are provided and a person who is not a member of the Association of Independent Multiple pharmacies
(AIMp)," said PSNC.
The following PSNC briefing sets out the election process and the actions required by those seeking to stand for election.
The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has highlighted a worrying trend of increasing numbers of pharmacy closures in England, which is disproportionately
affecting the most deprived communities in the country.
With 338 more pharmacies closed this year, an average of eight pharmacies closed per week, there has been a net loss of 1,008 pharmacies in England since 2015, the
CCA said.
Between 2015 and June 2023, maximum number of pharmacies were closed in the 20 per cent most deprived neighbourhoods of the country, with 37.5 per cent of the total
closures occurring in Indices of Multiple Deprivation deciles 1 and 2.
The association has raised concern that "permanent closures will undermine healthcare accessibility in deprived areas, where access tends to be more limited despite
greater need."
American healthcare technology company Omnicell has appointed Edward Platt as the new Senior Commercial Director of its UK community pharmacy division.
Along with this new role, Edward, who joined Omnicell in 2015, will continue his current leadership remit for Omnicell's UK & Ireland hospital division.
He will be leading a revamped commercial team, which would be responsible for increasing Omnicell's footprint of automation and consumable solutions delivered into
UK community pharmacies.
As part of the revamp, the company has created dedicated specialist teams to ensure the needs and challenges of community pharmacists (small independents and small
multiple operators) can be fully understood and supported.
The multiple is working in partnership with the UK's other retailers and the Home Office to tackle 'retail crime' at 10 Downing Street on 23 October.
The initiative is known as "Operation Pegasus", chaired by Crime and Policing Minister Chris Philp MP and led by Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne.
Boots with other retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury's, John Lewis, and Waitrose plans to fund a "team of specialist police officers and intelligence analysts".7
Bourne, the national lead for business and retail crime claimed that the action plan will be a "game-changer" for policing as it is "the first national partnership
of its kind".
She told The Times: "It'll be a game-changer for policing because for the first time ever, policing will get a complete picture across the country of where these
gangs are hitting different areas and they'll have that data and intelligence to be able to put that out to local police forces to go after those gangs."
New data on weight loss drugs that could compete with Novo Nordisk's Wegovy are raising expectations there will soon be more options, and possibly lower
prices, in an estimated $100 billion marketplace, doctors and pharmaceutical executives say.
Drugmakers are ratcheting up their research and aiming for new formulations that can be taken as pills, options to deliver higher weight loss or drugs that
reduce fat while maintaining muscle.
"It has really been an explosion of innovation," said Dr. Robert Gabbay, chief science officer at the American Diabetes Association (ADA), which receives
funding from both Novo and Eli Lilly and Co and just concluded its annual meeting in San Diego, California. "If there are multiple (treatments) in the market,
that will lead to some level of competition and greater access."
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) is seeking views from all community pharmacy owners about the pressures faced this autumn season.
A survey has been launched as the "November Pre-Committee Opinion Poll" until 6 November to seek views from independents and non-Company Chemists' Association (CCA)
members.
The results of the poll will be sent to the head offices of CCA multiples next week for discussion at the November Committee Meeting.
CPE confirmed: "The results of these polls and the outcomes of the meeting will be reported back to the sector afterwards.
They said that the survey "will be used to feed into our ongoing work to press for an uplift to core funding by enhancing our evidence base of what pharmacy owners
are experiencing."
Pharmacy owners have less than a week to complete the mandatory 2023 Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey, which closes on Sunday, December 17.
The NHS Business Services Authority sent an email with a survey link to pharmacy owners on October 23, 2023. In certain cases, such as Company Chemists'
Association member companies and other multiple pharmacy groups, head offices will centrally complete the survey.
"If you're unsure whether the survey will be completed centrally, please seek guidance from your head office," Community Pharmacy England has said.
Since 2022, completing the annual NHS England community pharmacy workforce survey has been a Terms of Service requirement for pharmacy owners.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) Union has reached a deal for its members working at Boots, covering 6,000 pharmacists employed by the British retailer and pharmacy chain.
As per the agreement, union members working at the multiple will receive a 2 per cent pay rise effective from November 1, 2021, the two entities said in a joint statement.
The settlement, reached under the guidance of Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), covers provisionally registered pharmacists, pharmacists and pharmacist store managers in the bargaining unit for which the PDAU is recognised.
There will be improved benefits for those at the beginning of their careers as "all pharmacists qualifying in 2021 will be paid at least £38k gross FTE, including those who would otherwise be ineligible due to the 1st August cut-off."
Increased demand and shortages of lateral flow tests are pushing staff at pharmacies to bear the brunt from frustrated customers who are unable to get their free lateral flow tests, Daily Mail reported.
Some Britons claimed that they have been unable to get lateral flow tests at their local pharmacies for up to a fortnight while some pharmacies were forced to put up sign warning stating they have run out of free tests.
Given the patchy supply of test kits, pharmacy bosses warned that staff are facing 'unfair' and 'abusive' behaviour by customers, the newspaper reported.Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP), told the newspaper: "Up until yesterday the supply to pharmacies was still patchy. The past few days the situation has not improved.
"Pharmacies are having to put up with a lot of abuse and aggressive behaviours by members of the public because of this situation which is unfair.
"The demand is still very high now because the governments guidelines put a lot of emphasis on testing as a key out of self isolation, so naturally as Omicron cases are high people are reliant on tests to get on with daily life."
The Pharmacists' Defence Association has asked Boots UK to waive any restrictive clause that prevents pharmacists working with the multiple from working for other pharmacy employers, even after leaving the company.
However, the firm is yet to respond to the formal request, PDA said in an update.
This request follows demand from the association members shortly after the company announced it's plans to cut opening hours.
On workforce shortages, the PDA stated if there was a genuine shortage, then preventing pharmacists from working for other pharmacy employers to make up for the lost hours would be counterproductive and it would further exacerbate any "shortage".
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.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid and Madelaine McTernan, head of the HRT supply taskforce, continue to take urgent action to resolve the shortage of HRT medicines by meeting the drug manufacturers and representatives from community pharmacies on Thursday (May 5).
In the meeting, manufacturers outlined the steps they're taking to boost supply, and pharmacists shared their experiences on the frontline, as well as sharing their
thoughts on wider solutions including improved communications.
Aspen Pharmacare, Besins-Healthcare, Gedeon Richter, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Orion, Pfizer, Theramex, Viatris, and representatives from community pharmacies were
part of the meeting.
As the government confirmed its intention to work with industry to do what is necessary to fix the HRT supply issue, Javis said he wanted to understand the issues
facing suppliers and what can be done to address them.
"We will leave no stone unturned in our national mission to boost supply of HRT. Along with appointing Madelaine McTernan as head of the HRT supply taskforce to implement lessons learned from the pandemic, and ensuring prescriptions are issued in shorter cycles for now, we are working collectively with the sector to urgently resolve this issue," he commented.
The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) said the meeting discussed 'why we got into this position' and the way forward.
We have been specialising in community pharmacy sector for over 30 years and have helped many pharmacists acquire their first pharmacy. We have seen several
of those first-time buyers transition into multiple pharmacy owners under our specialist guidance and support through the years.
Acquiring the first pharmacy can be a challenge to most pharmacists especially when they do not have the necessary skill in reading the numbers presented in terms
of the target pharmacy's performance and how to interpret these in order to arrive at a valuation for the purpose of submitting an offer.
Without the guidance of a specialist accountant in community pharmacy, one of the major risks is that one could end up paying more than what the pharmacy is worth.
Once the offer is accepted, there are other challenges to overcome to get the deal over the line.
1) Assessing the risk
2) Valuation of the business
3) The negotiation process
4) Asset or company purchase
5) Financial due diligence
6) Asset/share purchase agreement
7) Finance the purchase
