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The Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee has expressed disappointment with the government's response to its recommendations for tackling the obesity crisis. In October 2024, the Committee released its report, Recipe for Health: A Plan to Fix Our Broken Food System, following a special inquiry. The report identified obesity and diet-related diseases as a public health emergency, costing society billions annually in healthcare expenses and lost productivity. It urged the government to develop a "comprehensive, integrated long-term new strategy to fix the food system", supported by a new legislative framework and outlined key actions that should be included. The government published its response to the report on 30 January 2025, but the Committee criticized it for lacking boldness and delaying many necessary measures. Baroness Walmsley, who chaired the Committee said: "In recent interviews with researchers, former prime ministers and health secretaries expressed regret that they had not done more to tackle obesity and advised the government to 'be bold and act fast'. "The report from the Lords Food, Diet and Obesity Committee recommended bold measures to be implemented immediately.

The current funding and contractual framework for community pharmacy is not fit for purpose, the Health and Social Care Committee report has concluded, recommending a complete overhaul to reduce its complexity. Published today, the report highlighted the necessity for a new framework to ensure adequate funding and to prevent damaging cross-subsidy between clinical services and prescription dispensing, as is presently observed. The report revealed that community pharmacy funding has fallen by over 30 per cent in real terms since 2015, resulting in an annual shortfall of at least £67,000 per pharmacy for individual owners. More than 1,100 community pharmacies have closed since 2015, of which were serving the most deprived areas, it said. MPs on the committee have urged the government to address medicine shortages, warning that they could undermine flagship initiatives such as 'Pharmacy First' by eroding public confidence in pharmacists. "People living with type 2 diabetes, ADHD, epilepsy and cystic fibrosis, and those experiencing the menopause, have faced challenges accessing the vital medication they need. Many others are facing similar experiences.

Several medium-sized pharmacy chains and multiples in Scotland are increasing in size by purchasing numerous LloydsPharmacy sites that were closed last month. The Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA) Regional Committees met to dwell on the issues faced by the community pharmacists across the UK. The PDA's Scottish regional committee highlighted the impact of Lloyds Pharmacy's closure in their third committee meeting of 2023. It said: "Davidsons who have purchased various businesses in Tayside. Rowlands has purchased 30 branches across central Scotland and the PDA has been in touch with members affected. These members will be supported to ensure that they are properly subject to a TUPE transfer (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) as they should be when a business changes ownership." Most discussion amongst the Scottish Regional Committee members was around community pharmacy. Reports suggest that negotiations between the Scottish government and the pharmacy owners' body, Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) have broken down. As the independent voice of the frontline employed and locum pharmacists that deliver the contract, the PDA wants to see an agreement found for the benefit of patients, taxpayers, and health professionals.

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).

The Health Committee's new report has reminded the government of a much-needed pharmacy workforce plan to support recruitment, training, and retention of staff. The report makes a number of recommendations to optimise workloads across primary care, reduce pressure on general practice and hospitals, and support the integrated care systems. It also recognises the potential of pharmacist independent prescribers to support patient care, backed by appropriate supervision, training, and opportunities for professional development. RPS England gave evidence to MPs on the Committee at a public hearing in May, highlighting key issues to support the pharmacy workforce. RPS director for England, Ravi Sharma, said: "Today's report underlines the urgent need for the Government to set out a comprehensive workforce plan for health and care. "It rightly recognises that boosting recruitment and retention, supporting staff wellbeing, fostering inclusion and diversity, and investing in education and training will be crucial to the future of the NHS.

What will it take to get help from the government before an individual or sector breaks? Pharmacists raised questions after the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC)'s 2023 Pharmacy Pressures Survey confirmed the ongoing pressures and health issues faced by the pharmacies. Pharmacists are not all shocked by the PSNC's survey report as they feel the same as what has been reported related to their businesses and health. They hope the government listens and work with them to find resolutions. "We are bullied into a corner," said Salim Jetha Chairman, Avicenna. "Unlike other industries, we can't increase our prices. Most of the daily calls I get from Independents is about financial health of their business and any cost cutting would be detrimental to patient care. Urgent holistic review is required." Bristol pharmacist Ade Williams said: "The report is a dire indictment, and I would also warn, likely an underestimate of the extent and detrimental impact of the ongoings pressures and squeeze on Community pharmacies." "If the closest interface of the NHS to communities and patients is so distressed, what does that mean for those that need and depend on us? We are notoriously very stoic, so this is a warning light, which, taken with workforce pressures, market-exit activity, and other reports raising concern about wellbeing and stress, must beg the question; what will it take to get help before the sector and individuals break?" he questioned. The survey results don't surprise Kent-based community pharmacist Amish Patel. He said, "I have been feeling exactly what has been reported for far too long. I'm burnt out and would say beginning to suffer with my own health because of it. Now it's for PSNC to talk to government, and government to listen and work with us to find resolutions."

There's a "clear lack of awareness and understanding" of women's reproductive health conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis and heavy menstrual bleeding among primary healthcare practitioners, despite their widespread prevalence in the UK, according to a new report by the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC). This is causing considerable delays in diagnosis and treatment, leaving women and girls to "suck it up" and endure pain and discomfort, it stated. The report identifies pervasive stigma associated with gynaecological and urogynaecological health, a lack of education and 'medical misogyny' as factors contributing to poor awareness of these conditions. Labour MP Sarah Owen, chair of the Committee, said: "Our inquiry has shown misogyny in medicine is leaving women in pain and their conditions undiagnosed." "Women are finding their symptoms dismissed, are waiting years for life changing treatment and in too many cases are being put through trauma-inducing procedures. All the while, their conditions worsen and become more complicated to treat."

The Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) has undertaken an inquiry into prevention and has published its first report of the series which focuses on vaccination. It has announced ten workstreams that will form the basis of inquiry, of which vaccination is one. HSCC said: "The UK has long been one of the world leaders on vaccination - one of the most successful and cost-effective preventative tools available. However, if challenges around uptake and bureaucratic processes in clinical trial set-up are not addressed, there is a very real risk that the UK's position as a global leader could be lost. This cannot be allowed to happen and in this report we set out some of the steps that we think will make a difference." It recommended a more flexible delivery model making use of a wider range of healthcare professionals. "The NHSE vaccination and immunisation strategy must have a strong focus on tackling practical challenges that limit vaccination access, make best use of a wider array of professionals, empower local leaders to pursue ways of addressing uptake in their own areas, and to set out guidance and examples of best practice around how voices other than NHSE can communicate important messaging around vaccination programmes," it suggested.

Integration of primary and community care is key to health service improvement - Lords Committee has said in a new report published on 15 December. The report highlighted the need for better staff training, improved data-sharing, flexible healthcare structures and collaboration across different professions in the healthcare system to support more integrated care. Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) England has welcomed the report, and highlighted the important role pharmacy teams can play in improving patient care. Tase Oputu, Chair of RPS England Pharmacy Board, said: "Pharmacists and pharmacy teams play a vital role in supporting more integrated care, working with multidisciplinary teams across the health service.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has expressed its concerns over sustained pressures on medicines supply that are having a very serious impact on community pharmacy teams and their patients. It has asked contractors and their teams to continue using its regular reporting tools to help them demonstrate the scale of the problems to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and to support escalations as needed. The committee said: "The sustained increases in price concessions that we have seen so far in 2022 - with more than 100 concessions being granted in some months - show no signs of abating, and we know that many pharmacies now find themselves in a critical situation trying to source medicines in timely manner and facing significant financial risk due to greater uncertainty around expected reimbursement prices for a large number of medicines." "We know that some concessions being imposed by the Department do not match contractors' experience on the ground, and we would ask all contractors to continue reporting pricing issues to us on a regular basis to support our representations: Report product over Drug Tariff price."

The Health Select Committee Expert Panel has concluded in its report published on Tuesday (25 July) that the funding aspect in the community pharmacy sector 'requires improvement' based on the evidence received. The Expert Panel reviewed nine Government commitments, seven of which were from the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. It was found that available funding was not sufficient to keep pharmacies open, struggling financially with increased demand for dispensing, workforce pressures and rising costs due to inflation. One of the other commitments requiring improvement covered a scheme intended to protect access to local physical NHS pharmaceutical services in areas where there were fewer pharmacies. Professor Dame Jane Dacre, Chair of the Expert Panel, said: "Pharmacy plays a key role in the delivery of care so it's disappointing that progress overall to deliver on the Government's commitments was rated as 'requires improvement'.

The Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA) has found that the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) met 17 out of 18 of its Standards of Good Regulation during 2023-24. The GPhC's performance and that of other regulators is reviewed regularly by the PSA, with the results reported to the parliament. This year's report covers the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. The PSA concluded that the GPhC has still not met Standard 15 relating to timeliness of fitness to practise (FTP) investigations. The regulator missed this standard last year too. "We note the GPhC's work to reduce the time it takes to progress cases through its FTP system and are aware of the pressure caused by another significant increase in the number of FTP referrals. However, because timeliness has deteriorated this year, we have concluded that Standard 15 is once again not met," the PSA report said. "We have written to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee to provide an update on the GPhC's performance, and we will continue to closely monitor the GPhC's performance in this area."

The Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) provide an opportunity to break the silo mentality in the health and care sector, National Pharmacy Association (NPA) chair Andrew Lane told MPs. While giving evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee on 6 December about the effectiveness of ICSs, Lane also poured cold water on newspaper reports that community pharmacists will be drafted in to break the NHS strike, as he reiterated the call for a "properly costed and funded environment." "We've been in different silos historically and ICSs are an opportunity to pull all systems together for the benefit of patients," he told committee members. Lane pointed to dementia-trained pharmacy delivery drivers and the Discharge Medicines Service as instances where the influence of community pharmacy already stretches beyond primary care into hospitals and social care. "We've seen pharmacists prescribe and get UTIs off doctors' desks, so we are starting to release capacity [in the system] and we're on that clinical journey. We welcome that, but it has to be with the right level of funding," he added.

The government has responded to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's report on community pharmacy, acknowledging 17 of the 19 recommendations. In its report published on 29 May 2024, the Committee recommended, among other things, an overhaul of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF), closing the funding gap, tackling medicines shortages by introducing generic substitution, and establishing an integrated and fully funded workforce plan for pharmacy. In its response, released today, the government stated that NHS England is currently conducting an economic analysis of the sector, which will inform future proposals for funding and contractual arrangements. On medicine shortages, it mentioned that the Department of Health and Social Care, working closely with NHS England, is taking forward a range of actions to improve their ability to mitigate and manage shortages and strengthen resilience. Additionally, the government has stated that it will "publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan" this summer and is "committed to growing the pharmacy workforce."

Attempts to deal with record waiting lists for hospital treatment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are at risk of being derailed by a staffing crisis, which is being exacerbated by the Omicron wave, a cross-party lawmakers' report said on Thursday (January 6). The report entitled 'Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic' calls for a broader national health and care recovery plan - one that would embrace A&E, mental health, GPs, community and social care. Hospitals are facing extreme pressure as they try to catch up on months of operations that have been delayed and suspended during the pandemic, as Covid-19 hospitalizations rise once more and self-isolation hits staffing levels. There is a record 5.8 million waiting list for elective care, the Health and Social Care Committee said, adding that a recent surge in the Omicron variant has pushed cases to record highs and intensified pre-existing issues.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) today (19 October) issued its official response to an evaluation conducted by an independent expert panel from the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC) regarding government commitments in the pharmacy sector. The joint agreement between DHSC, NHSE, and CPE (Community Pharmacy England) under a five-year plan commitment to review the funding model, however, the current status is "continue to monitor and discuss progress". The government has claimed that the panel's rating has "not been met" and still "requires improvement". However, the funding "remains subject to affordability and consultation with the sector on the activity that can be delivered within that funding envelope".

Community pharmacies are being forced to halt certain NHS and public health services due to escalating financial and operational pressures, a recent survey by Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has revealed. In the survey conducted ahead of the June Committee Meeting, an overwhelming 96 per cent of pharmacy owners reported having stopped delivering locally commissioned services over the past twelve months. Additionally, nearly one-third of the pharmacies surveyed indicated they had discontinued providing some Advanced services. The survey also revealed that pharmacy opening hours are being reduced, with 81 per cent of respondents stating they had to stop offering extended hours. In 90 per cent of the cases, pharmacy owners had to cease employing locum pharmacists, likely due to cost constraints. Furthermore, over 20 per cent of the more than 2,100 pharmacies surveyed reported having to discontinue the free delivery of prescription medicines to patients.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has challenged price concessions imposed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) on some of the medicines. It has raised concerns on the process for setting price concessions to senior government officials responsible for medicines supply, warning that the system is not working in the current environment from a community pharmacy contractor perspective. "When a new government takes over next week, this will be one of several urgent topics being raised by PSNC to new ministers, alongside the fuel price crisis, inflationary pressures and winter pressures on pharmacy businesses," said PSNC. The final update to August price concessions was announced yesterday taking the total concessions granted to a record 138 for August. PSNC said: "Of those, 99 were in line with PSNC requests, but prices for 39 lines were imposed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC): those impositions do not match the purchase prices reported by contractors and the evidence of market prices which we passed on to DHSC. In particular, the final imposed prices of Apriprazole and Temazepam tablets has generated a lot of concern amongst contractors due to the large variation between their reimbursement prices and purchase prices during the month of August."

The European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) has initiated a review of semaglutide-containing medicines after concerns were raised regarding a potential increased risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a rare eye condition. Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA), is used in the treatment of diabetes and obesity, with medicines like Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy containing the active substance. A report from the PRAC highlighted two recent observational studies that suggest patients treated with semaglutide may face a higher risk of developing NAION. This condition, caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve, can result in vision loss in the affected eye. However, two other recent observational studies did not show an increased risk, according to the report.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has announced that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted the following price concessions for November 2021. Contractors can find information on the price concessions and learn about the process involved on PSNC's website. A price concession only applies for the month in which it is granted. No additional prescription endorsement are required as the new price is automatically applied by the NHSBSA to all items submitted for payment in the same month for which a price concession is granted. PSNC is still working with the DHSC to agree further concessionary prices on other drugs reported to be unavailable at the stated November 2021 Drug Tariff price.