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Take New Year resolution to stay sober and clean. Difficult but not impossible! Here are following goals to help you keep your resolution through the year. Learn how to stick to your New Year resolution in New Horizon Recovery's latest blog.

Take New Year resolution to stay sober and clean. Difficult but not impossible! Here are following goals to help you keep your resolution through the year. Learn how to stick to your New Year resolution in New Horizon Recovery's latest blog.

International day for persons with disabilities on 3rd December - Note on schemes for the welfare of persons with disabilities and concessions available to them. The Government of India is committed for the realization of full participation, protection of rights, and equal opportunities to all including persons with disabilities. India is a country where most of the population lives in the rural areas and accessing the health and rehabilitation services has always been a challenge. In a Backgrounder issued yesterday, a brief summary of the major steps initiated by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment in this direction were given. Following is the Background Note on the legislative and Institutional framework along with the major schemes of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment for the welfare of the People with Disabilities (PwDs). The Note also contains information on facilities and concessions available to PwDs under other central schemes which are being run by other Union Ministries. OFFER ON INTERNATIONAL DISABILITY DAY Wheelchair @ 4499 INR Tricycle @ 6500 INR Legislative Framework: There are four important legislations dealing on disabilities issues- The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, has laid the foundation of recognition of rights for Persons with Disabilities and has facilitated development of specific programmes for their education, rehabilitation, employment, non-discrimination and social security. The Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992 regulates and monitors training of rehabilitation professionals and personnel. The National Trust for the welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act, 1999, aims at enabling and empowering persons with disabilities to live independently as fully as possible in their community. Mental Health Act, 1987, address to the specific needs of persons with ment

A winter NHS crisis is inevitable unless the government acts now to reverse the worrying decline in community pharmacies. Years of government underfunding could see 3,000 pharmacies in England - around a third of the network - having no option but to shut their doors to patients in the next few years. That figure is based on independent assessments from Ernst & Young and UCL/LSE healthcare professors: it is not scaremongering - it is the reality the country faces. Fifty per cent of pharmacies are already in financial distress because government funding has been falling in real terms since 2019 and that figure is predicted to rise to 75 per cent within the next two years. The government needs to act now and invest in pharmacy or sleepwalk into a healthcare disaster as we have seen with access to dentistry care. Prescription volumes have risen consistently year-on-year by roughly 2 per cent which means fewer pharmacies doing more work and under greater pressure than a decade ago. Ten years ago around 11,200 pharmacies in England were dispensing roughly 79,000 prescriptions; nowadays around 11,500 are dispensing roughly 89,000 prescriptions. The secretary of state recently asked pharmacy to do more to avoid a winter NHS crisis and at the same time said there will be no new money to pay for those additional services. This at a time when the network is in decline with random unplanned pharmacy closures - 640 closures since 2016 - and pharmacy staff face huge workload pressures as prescription demand is increasing year-on-year. The government's approach to pharmacy literally does not add up: the pharmacy contract is not fit-for-purpose now let alone dealing with a NHS winter crisis.

Professor Michael Gordon Scott and Professor Charlotte Anne Skitterall have been recognised in the New Year Honours list 2023 for their 'service to pharmacy'. Professor Scott Director, Medicines Optimisation Innovation Centre was one among the 1,107 people to received MBE for his 'service to pharmacy' in Northern Ireland. In 1994 he established the first academic practice unit in the province in conjunction with the Queens University of Belfast. In 2004 he was made a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland. In June 2009 he was made an honorary Professor of Pharmacy Practice at QUB. Professor Skitterall, Group Chief Pharmacist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust received MBE for 'services to Pharmacy'. Last year, she was appointed as a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. "I think it was awarded in recognition of the work I have done as chair of the National Medicines Optimisation Clinical Reference Group. I also supported the National Pharmacy Task and Finish Group for Covid Vaccine deployment," she commented. This year, dozens of NHS staff have been recognised in the New Year Honours list ahead of the health service's 75th birthday.

Independent charity group, Pharmacist Support has appointed five new trustees to its board - David Downham, Karen Harrowing, Mohammed Hussain, Mala Khiroya, and Alison Scowcroft, for a term of three years. The new recruits will join the existing Board members Anita Cawley, Catherine Harper, Paul Johnson, Steve Lutener, Esther Sadler-Williams, Mark Sweeney and Sarah Willis. Harrowing, Downham and Hussain have begun their 3-year term in January 2022, while Scowcroft and Khiroya would join the board in June. The new appointments are in line with the Charity's plans, announced last year, to enhance its volunteer schemes. "Since the launch of the charity's new strategy in January 2020, the profession has been faced with many new challenges. We are really proud of the work we have done in the last few years to address some of these challenges," said Pharmacist Support chief executive Danielle Hunt.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) Board has elected 14 Board members on Friday (30 March) that will govern the association for next two years. Four new Board members have been elected while five previous members left the Board after serving their terms. The period April 2023 to March 2025 will see the completion of the transition to the new Board structure. The Board will meet again on Monday (24 April) to elect the Chair and other appointments. Gareth Jones, Returning Officer for the NPA Board elections, said: "The NPA has undertaken a process of significant modernisation of organisational governance over the past years. Key elements of this process include adopting modern new Articles of Association, reforming the structure of the Board and introducing term limits. The process of electing the Board has also been changed so that half of the Board will be up for election every two years - which supports continuity and reduces the risk of a loss of organisational memory." "Recognising that the Board would already be losing a lot of organisational memory in 2023 with five members of Board standing down, the Board determined that three individuals should be co-opted onto the new Board as the process of transformation continues. In March 2025, anyone that has served 12 years or more will be required to stand down."

England won't have any new Covid-19 restrictions before the end of 2021, health secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday (December 27) whilst the government awaits more evidence on whether the NHS can cope with high infection rates in the new year. "There will be no further measures before the new year," Javid told reporters, adding: "When we get into the new year, of course we will see then whether we do need to take any further measures." He said that the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus now accounted for around 90 per cent of cases across England and urged people to celebrate New Year cautiously. The government's attention is focused on the number of patients being hospitalised with Omicron after early data last week suggested the variant carried a lower risk of admission. The latest data showed the number of patients in hospital in England with Covid-19 was its highest since March, at 8,474, but a long way off peaks above 34,000 in January. A combination of factors, including Britain's vaccination programme, the lag between infections and hospitalisations and the potentially less harmful effects of the Omicron variant have all been put forward by health experts as possible explanations for lower numbers.

The renowned health and beauty chain has announced impressive annual sales and profit figures, following the expansion of its British high street estate. According to a report by The Times, Superdrug's pre-tax profits jumped by 43.6 per cent to £111.6 million in the year ending December 2023 compared to the previous year. The company's revenue also experienced significant growth, rising by 11.8 per cent to reach £1.52 billion, marking its third consecutive year of market share growth. Key factors driving this growth include the opening of 14 new stores across strategic locations such as The Trafford Centre in Manchester and Brent Cross shopping centre in north London, and the refitting of 45 stores last year. Additionally, the continued expansion of its cheaper, own-label products, along with exclusive launches from brands like Bioré SPF, Nyx X Barbie, and Billie Eilish fragrances, significantly contributed to a 4.2 per cent year-on-year increase in Superdrug's sales volume.

Paul Rees MBE, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), has announced his resignation to take on a new role as interim chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in the new year. He will join the NMC on a one-year contract starting January 20, where he will oversee the development of a multi-year programme aimed at transforming the NMC's culture and performance. This follows an independent culture review conducted by Nazir Afzal OBE, which highlighted issues of racism, discrimination, and bullying within the organisation. The NPA is engaging a leading recruitment agency to find its next chief executive, with plans to make an appointment early in the New Year. NPA chair Nick Kaye praised Paul's contributions over the last year, stating: "I'm enormously grateful to Paul and the brilliant NPA team who are doing so much to raise the profile of community pharmacy, campaign for a better deal and improve our outstanding support to members. "Our board and senior team are pressing ahead with our very successful campaigning and our work to transform the support and services we give to pharmacies across the country.

Smoking is more harmful than previously thought. New research from University College London (UCL) reveals that every cigarette smoked shortens a smoker's life by an average of 20 minutes. Published today (30 December), the study estimates that a pack of 20 cigarettes results in nearly 7 hours of life lost. The research, commissioned by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), also highlights the positive impacts of quitting smoking. Smokers who stop on New Year's Day could save a whole day of their life by 8 January, assuming they smoked 10 cigarettes daily. By 20 February, this figure increases to a week, and by the end of the year, they could avoid losing up to 50 days of life. Public health minister Andrew Gwynne has urged smokers to make a New Year's resolution to quit, describing smoking as "an expensive and deadly habit." "The new year offers a perfect chance for smokers to make a new resolution and take that step."

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has announced the retirement of its Chief Executive, Mark Lyonette. Mark will retire in 2024. The association has announced his retirement well in advance so that the Board can start work with a leading recruitment agency to search for the new Chief Executive. "The Board is keen to build on the strong foundations established and ensure there is a seamless transition and minimum disruption to the business once the new Chief Executive is in post," said the association. Mark said: "After five years at the NPA and 40 years working for and leading national membership organisations, I am looking forward to living a different life. "I am pleased that in the time that I have been with the NPA we have grown both the membership and customer base and created a profitable, stable membership organisation. "Alongside our NPA Insurance company, the association is well set to help members face the future. "Meanwhile there is much to do to ensure that 2023 is another good year in terms of the NPA delivering consistently for members. The process of changing Chief Executive won't deflect us from our vital work."

The Government has been forced to intervene formally 50 times in the past two years to authorise the use of alternative drugs because of serious medicine shortages hitting patients, new analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has found today. 78 per cent of all Serious Shortage Protocols, produced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) due to medicine shortages, were issued in 2022/24 - more than three times the rate in the previous two years. The NPA, which represents independent community pharmacies in the UK, is warning that shortages are leading to pharmacists having to increasingly turn patients needing vital medication away. Analysis by the NPA of the NHS's Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) issued to pharmacies and other providers over the last five years has found that: The number of SSPs issued in the last two years is 3.5 times higher than in the previous two years.

All adults aged 50 years and above are eligible for free flu jabs in England under the autumn Covid-19 booster programme, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced. "The flu virus could also be highly infectious at this time of year, so I am also announcing that those eligible for a free flu vaccination this year will include everyone aged 50 and over, primary school children and secondary school pupils in years 7, 8 and 9, as well as people in clinical risk groups, unpaid carers and household contacts of those who are immunosuppressed," said new health secretary Steve Barclay. Commenting on the DHSC's announcement, CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said: "We welcome the decision to accept the advice of the JCVI on who can have free Covid-19 boosters and flu jabs this autumn. Community pharmacies have turbo-charged the Covid-19 vaccination programme over the past 18 months and last year we witnessed the most successful community pharmacy flu campaign ever."

Boots UK is set to start recruiting for a new superintendent pharmacist as Marc Donovan moved into a new role. The company announced the appointment of Anne Higgins as the new pharmacy director for Boots UK. A Boots veteran for 25 years, she has been in the role of director for stores for more than two years since starting her journey as a pre-register pharmacist in July 1997. Marc Donovan will be moving into the new role of director of healthcare development and public affairs for Boots. Earlier this year Donovan was appointed the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to pharmacy" in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. Donovan and Higgins will be reporting to Jamie Kerruish, the director of healthcare at Boots UK. A Boots spokesperson told Pharmacy Business: "We will be recruiting for a new superintendent pharmacist and once this appointment is made, Marc will hand over his superintendent responsibilities"

The General Pharmaceutical Council is in the process of appointing five new council members within the next two years, coinciding with the conclusion of the current members' terms. The regulator aims to recruit five individuals from diverse professional and personal backgrounds for its governing council, the GPhC has said. "We are seeking three members to join us in April 2024 and two in April 2025," said GPhC in its job advertisement brief. "For the 2024 intake, two of the new council members must be lay members of the public, while one must be a Saxton . Moreover, at least one out of the three must primarily reside or work wholly or mostly in Wales. As for the new members commencing in 2025, one must be a lay member, and the other must be a registrant member." The members will be initially appointed for a three-year term, with the option to extend their position for a maximum of eight years, GPhC added. The council, which serves as the regulator's governing body, currently comprises 14 members. Half of the council consists of lay members, who bolster public confidence and infuse novel viewpoints into the GPhC, as highlighted by the regulator. "This council will play a pivotal role in shaping the regulatory body's future strategic goals," the regulator added. "These members must contribute positively to patients and society, ensuring the benefits of secure and efficient pharmacy care."

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) says the pharmacy regulator should maintain a two-year post qualification eligibility criteria, in addition to the qualitative measures being introduced which would be in the best interest of patient safety, before a pharmacist is allowed to commence an IP course. The association was responding to an announcement by the GPhC's move to scrap the two year requirement for Independent Prescribing (IP) course. "The PDA accepts that the qualitative approach could mean greater individual consideration of potential IP course candidates and the two-year measure could have sometimes been a blunt tool. However, the PDA is already seeing cases of patient harm and allegations around fitness to practice arising from IP," the association said. The association also said that it supports individual pharmacists with near misses, as well as actual incidents, giving the organisation possibly the most comprehensive understanding of risk. Frontline pharmacists also recognise these issues and in a survey of over 1,000 pharmacists undertaken by the PDA in late 2021, of those who had 2+ years' experience of practice and who were already independent prescribers, 90 per cent said the qualifying period should be two years or more.

Kamila Hawthorne, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Council, was honoured with the GG2 Woman of the Year Award at the annual GG2 Leadership and Diversity Awards, held at the Park Plaza Hotel on Tuesday, 5 March. Hawthorne has been a practitioner and a mentor to young GPs for almost 35 years, and has led pioneering research projects focusing on health inequalities, diabetes and heart disease. She has been recognised twice as GP of the Year for her work with minority ethnic communities. Professor Kiran Patel, Group Chief Medical Officer at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, was named the GG2 Man of the Year Award. Apart from being a sought-after cardiologist and consultant, Patel also possesses a wealth of experience in managerial roles. He has done a lot of work in addressing health inequalities, and notably, in 2020, he prescribed the very first COVID-19 vaccine.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the parent company of high street pharmacy Boots, plans to close 1,200 stores in the United States over the next three years in response to a slowdown in consumer spending and low drug reimbursement rates. As reported by The Times, the closures are part of a strategy by new CEO Tim Wentworth to restore growth for the group, which runs over 8,700 stores in the US and 2,000 Boots pharmacies in the UK. Wentworth described the 2025 financial year, which started last month, as a crucial "rebasing year" for the company. He expressed confidence that, although the turnaround will take time, it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits in the long term. The announcement of the store closures coincided with the release of the fourth-quarter results, which slightly exceeded Wall Street's lowered estimates. Walgreens' stock, which has declined by 65 per cent this year and is now trading near 30-year lows, rose by $1.44, or 16 per cent, closing at $10.44 on Wall Street.

The King's New Year Honours List 2025 has been announced, recognising unsung heroes who have made outstanding contributions to their communities across the UK. Over 1,200 individuals were honoured this year across various sectors, including healthcare, academia, sports, and voluntary service. Michelle Riddalls, CEO of PAGB - the Consumer Healthcare Association, has been awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for her exceptional work in advocating for the over-the-counter (OTC) medicines sector. She played a vital role during Brexit negotiations, ensuring continued access to OTC medicines in Northern Ireland and supporting self-care initiatives across the UK. Riddalls has provided oral evidence numerous times to the House of Lords Select Committee on the NI Protocol Bill and actively engaged with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) during the rollout of the Windsor Framework.

The King's Fund has published an in-depth analysis highlighting the priorities that the government's new 10-year health plan should address to combat health inequalities. This plan, currently being developed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England, will significantly shape the long-term future of the NHS. The independent think tank emphasises that a core focus of this new plan should be to enable the NHS to better address health inequalities and support people with the worst health outcomes. Sarah Woolnough, CEO of The King's Fund, explained: "Health inequalities are avoidable, unfair, and systematic differences in health between different groups of people, and they reflect broader societal issues such as those related to income, housing, gender, ethnicity or disability." "Supporting the health and care system to do more to tackle these differences has been a strategy priority for the Fund over the past five years." Drawing on its extensive work on health inequalities in the last five years, the charity has outlined seven key priorities that should shape the 10-year health plan: