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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and Pharmacy Declares are inviting pharmacy teams from around the world to sign up and commit to taking "bold action" on climate change as mentioned in a climate change charter which was published on Monday (June 13). The charter asks pharmacy teams to commit to understanding how human health and the systems which underpin it are "reliant on the state of our natural environment" and actively explore ways to make pharmacy practice and medicine use more sustainable. It also asks to collaborate and share best practice to improve sustainability in pharmacy and healthcare; demonstrate leadership on sustainability or being a champion for sustainability at work; and assist patients to optimise their medicine use to increase both health outcomes and environmental sustainability. The individuals can also commit to a personal action on climate change of their own choosing. The Charter is being supported by a strong coalition of organisations from across pharmacy including the Centre for Postgraduate Pharmacy Education, the Clinical Pharmacy Association, College of Mental Health Pharmacy and Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists.

Thanks to increasing environmental awareness among people worldwide, there's a growing commitment to sustainable practices across industries. The healthcare sector, including pharmacies, is no exception. Recognising the fact that 'climate crisis is a health crisis', 124 countries signed a new Declaration on Climate and Health at the first-ever Health Day at the United Nations climate change conference, COP28 Dubai, which was held on 3 December 2023. The declaration acknowledged the need to prepare healthcare systems to cope with climate change and accelerate actions to protect communities. Welcoming the declaration, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the need to build "climate-resilient and low-carbon" health systems to protect the health of both the planet and people. Pharmacies play a crucial role in providing essential medications and healthcare services to the community, but their operations can have environmental implications.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has committed to playing its part in addressing climate change by undertaking work to establish a carbon footprint baseline to improve its environmental performance. In a statement on Monday (July 18) the pharmacy regulator laid out what it called its vision "to have safe and effective pharmacy care at the heart of healthier communities". Stating that climate change creates health risks and exacerbates health inequalities, GPHC said: "We believe we all have a role to play in contributing to addressing climate change." It announced that it has just joined "a newly formed cross-regulatory group" formed to address issues such as "environmental sustainability". "At the GPhC we have brought together colleagues from across the organisation to consider the environmental impact we have as an employer and as a regulator," it declared.

To combat the effects of climate change, the Integrated Care System (ICS) in South East London (SEL) has initiated a pioneering inhaler recycling project. Supported by NHS England and spanning 20 community pharmacies across the region, the project marks the first nationally-funded pilot of its kind in England, targeting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from improperly disposed inhalers. The project, which commenced at King's College Hospital in February 2024, focuses on the recycling of pressurised metered-dose inhalers. These inhalers, due to their propellant content, contribute significantly to environmental harm, emitting gases equivalent to driving 71.8 miles in a standard petrol car.

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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Wales and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) co-hosted a drop-in session to inform members of the Senedd (MSs) about the action taken by pharmacists to make medicines use more sustainable. At a 'drop-in' session the ABPI, RPS members and staff had the opportunity to speak to a number of MSs from all political parties. "With medicines accounting for around 25 per cent of the NHS carbon emissions, conversations were based around the key recommendations to reverse this from the RPS' policies on sustainability," said RPS. The three key themes emphasised in all discussions were- the need to educate the public and change behaviours to avoid stockpiling medicines; How the clinical skills of prescribing pharmacists can be used for appropriate de-prescribing and switching patients to low carbon options; and importance of tackling waste. RPS Wales Director Elen Jones said: "It was fantastic to see how interested and engaged the politicians were around these important issues. By the end of our conversations, they all clearly understood and supported the importance of pharmacy leadership in this area, as well as the need for the link between climate change and medicines to be better understood by patients.

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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is set to cease all its remaining financial investments in fossil fuels latest by the end of 2022. The decision taken today (November 17) at the RPS Assemble, is part of the organisation's "continued drive to become an environmentally responsible organisation." Calling it a significant move, RPS president Claire Anderson said: "RPS will divest from fossil fuels as soon as possible. "RPS will instruct its investment managers immediately to ensure that we will be completely disinvested by the end of 2022 and hopefully sooner." Environment and human wellbeing have always been a core consideration of RPS investment, however it was not enough to offset the negative impacts of climate change, the organisation said.

Alliance Healthcare, the UK's largest pharmaceutical wholesaler, has pledged to support the global efforts to cut carbon emissions, as set out at the recent UN Climate Change Conference, COP26. The company's pledge is in line with its aim to create "healthier futures and thebusiness", on which it has been working on for years. It aims to become the most sustainable independent full-line pharmaceutical wholesaler in the UK by 2030, ensuring to remain the sustainable partner of choice for its customers and manufacturers.

The government has launched the Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF) on Monday (22 May), under which it has announce up to £39 million fund for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research. Of this new funding package, up to £24 million over four years has been awarded to bolster the UK's partnership with CARB-X - a global AMR research initiative - to support the continued early development of invaluable new antibiotics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics and other products to combat life threatening drug-resistant infections and prevent death and disease across the world. In addition to the CARB-X grant, GAMRIF is investing £5 million over two years into the Global Antibiotic R&D Partnership (GARDP) to develop - and ensure global access to - new antibiotic treatments against major global health priorities. The announcement comes as Health Minister Will Quince attends the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, and Development Minister Andrew Mitchell participates in an event on health leadership and climate change alongside the WHA. They will announce the launch of the UK government's Global Health Framework for 2023-2025, as part of Minister Quince's address at the WHA. Health Minister Will Quince said: Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to global health and has led to millions of tragic deaths per year, but the Global AMR Innovation Fund is supporting cutting-edge research and developing vital new treatments to prevent death and disease across the world.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it would allocate 1.23 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to mental health initiatives across the 27-member European Union and make mental health a pillar of health policy. "Today marks a new beginning for a comprehensive, prevention-oriented and multi-stakeholder approach to mental health at EU level," Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for health and food safety, said in a statement. "We need to break down stigma and discrimination so that those in need can reach out and receive the support they need. It is OK not to be OK, and it is our duty to ensure that everyone asking for help has access to it." The Commission said mental health problems already impacted around 84 million people before the COVID-19 pandemic with an economic cost of about 600 billion euro a year, or 4% of the bloc's GDP. The situation has deteriorated since the pandemic with the war in Ukraine, climate change anxiety and the rising cost of living due to soaring inflation. At a press conference, Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas called it a "silent epidemic" and said the topic was the last piece in the European Health Union "puzzle".

Grundon Waste Management has introduced what it claims to be the UK's first verified nationwide inhaler return and recycling initiative. NHS Trusts and community pharmacies participating in the new scheme will have specialised recycling containers for inhalers installed to simplify public participation, Grundon said in a statement. Inhalers alone contribute to 4 per cent of NHS CO2 emissions, with around 73 million dispensed annually. By 2026, the health service aims to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from waste management, a target that rises to 80 percent between 2028 and 2032, as outlined in the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy. "This scheme holds the potential to revolutionise the approach of NHS Trusts towards achieving heightened carbon savings and ultimately, net zero emissions," said Chris Edwards, Grundon's General Manager - Technical. "Each discarded pressurised Metered Dose Inhaler (pMDI) contains highly polluting hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) gases - a category of greenhouse gas known to be over a thousand times more detrimental than carbon dioxide in driving climate change." "This initiative securely captures these gases and repurposes them for application in the refrigeration sector. By also recycling the plastic and aluminium components of the device, we are making a noteworthy contribution to the circular economy," he added. Once collected, these will undergo processing at Grundon's specialist recycling facility in Ewelme, Oxfordshire, which is capable of handling more than 200,000 inhalers a day. The company aims to recycle 80 per cent of all prescribed inhalers by 2025, the statement added.

Well Pharmacy, a subsidiary company of Bestway Group is donating US$400,000 worth of medicines to help the victims of those impacted by the recent flooding in Pakistan. The Bestway Group has raised funds to the tune of $2.3 million, which will be deployed urgently on the ground in Pakistan. The monies raised has been pledged to build homes (or shelters) for 5,000 families, provide usable water for more than 100,000 individuals and provide food and medical supplies to over 20,000 people. In addition to appealing for donations, the Group held a fund-raising event (23 September) at London's Intercontinental on Park Lane, which was attended by over 650 guests including the Lord Chancellor, the Deputy State Bank of Pakistan, UK Cabinet Ministers, and Members of Parliament in addition to leading City' figures and business community. The Lord Chancellor Rt Hon Brandon Lewis MP said that the British Government has committed funds of £16.5 million for Pakistan and we are dealing with wider climate change issues as well and we are committing to that effort.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has appointed Susan Rienow, country president of Pfizer, as its vice president. "As vice president, she will support the president, Pinder Sahota, general manager and corporate vice president of Novo Nordisk UK, in delivering his priorities. These are improving access to medicines, delivering economic growth and helping to find solutions to big societal challenges such as climate change, AMR, and inequalities," said ABPI in a statement. At Pfizer, Susan leads the organisation to bring the power of innovation, data and technology together to transform healthcare and improve outcomes for patients. She previously led Pfizer UK's vaccines business unit during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has welcomed the appointment of Michael Matheson MSP as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care in Scotland. Commenting on the announcement Laura Wilson, Director of RPS Scotland, said: "I would like to congratulate Michael Matheson on being appointed to this position. NHS recovery is vitally important, and pharmacy has a huge amount to offer this agenda. "Our current priorities include enabling pharmacists to take leadership of prescribing in all care settings, tackling health inequalities and advocating for change, implementing shared patient records between healthcare professionals to provide high-quality, person centred and safe patient care, improving pharmacists' wellbeing and tackling the climate emergency by encouraging sustainable and green prescribing across Scotland.

A combination of factors, including the doctors' strike, medicine shortages, and funding scarcity, indicates that this upcoming winter could be the most challenging period for both community pharmacies and the NHS, Community Pharmacy England has said. In a September 4 blog post, CPE Chief Executive Janet Morrison emphasised that the relentless pressures show no signs of easing. "Pharmacy businesses, like numerous other sectors, are grappling with the challenges of staying afloat in the current economic climate, compounded by the detrimental effects of historical funding cuts." "The doctors' strike, despite ongoing assurances from the Health Secretary that their pay deal is final, will inevitably exacerbate the demand for both primary and secondary care, leading people to turn to their local pharmacies for assistance," she added. "This, in turn, will heighten the pressure on community pharmacies." "Whatever the coming winter brings I am sure of two things: that community pharmacies are going to be more critical to the health of the population than ever before, and that your representatives here will be fighting on all fronts to get you the help that you need."

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