The pharmacy regulator can hold hearings and meetings either remotely or in-person in future as the Council of the GPhC has agreed to a change in its rules.
The rules are expected to come into force on 1 October 2022. Until the rules and new policy and guidance come into force, the GPhC will continue to only hold
remote hearings with the consent of the person concerned and/or their legal representative.
Following positive feedback from those taking part in remote hearings, the GPhC consulted on a proposed permanent change to its rules so it could continue to hold
hearings remotely in the future, when it is fair and appropriate to do so.
The proposal to continue remote hearings, including fitness to practise hearings, received wide support with 78 per cent of respondents agreeing.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and restrictions we had to hold many meetings and hearings remotely by videolink. As such we were granted - along with other regulators - a temporary provision to enable us to do this and carry out our statutory role," Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPHC, said.
Over the last few years, we've seen the aftermath of Covid-19, with the demand for consumer health products being unprecedented and unpredictable, placing
pressure on supply chains and labour market. In turn, the industry has experienced acute shortages across the healthcare sector, placing huge pressure on
pharmacists, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals.
Europe has an estimated shortage of around 50,000 public-sector doctors[1], which is set to increase in the coming years. While this shortage stems from several
complex problems, there is a hidden force that could play a key part in helping to alleviate this burden. That force is the potential of self-care.
Encouragingly, last month the UK government recognised the unique role that self-care can play through the introduction of its Delivery plan for recovering access
to primary care. Through this, it has pledged to empower patients to manage their own health through several commitments, including improving accessibility to
online tools and reclassifying medicines to make formerly prescribed options available over the counter.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United Kingdom, affecting nearly 50,000 men yearly. Combined with the challenges faced across
healthcare during COVID-19, new figures show that prostate cancer accounts for a third of cancers not treated due to the pandemic, with 14,000 'missing patients'
believed to have not undergone treatment since April 2020. It is more urgent than ever that men are encouraged to get checked, as any set-backs in diagnosis can
reduce the pathways available, in turn affecting health outcomes.
Community pharmacy teams play a crucial role in signposting the help available for men who may be concerned about their health. Therefore, it is vital that pharmacy
teams have access to the information they need to correctly direct men to seek prostate cancer guidance. By maximising the trusted relationship between patients and their pharmacists, more can be done to identify the warning signs, helping men to get an earlier diagnosis.
As part of community service in our pharmacies we provide advice, help and support on the importance of a varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle.
This has been especially important during the Covid-19 pandemic as many of our customers are understandably even more concerned about their immune health and how they can help boost their immunity during this time in order to protect themselves as far as possible.
We help them understand the relevance of good nutrition, the importance doing exercise (where possible), and how they can take steps to reduce risk over these
worrying times.
For example, through our pharmacy services, we offer the flu jab to customers and support the NHS in administering the jab, for which demand has been greatly increased this year as people look to protect their immune system from flu (which for some - can prove fatal).
By protecting from illness, our body's immune system can remain stronger, as is not distracted into fighting illnesses that could have been prevented.
Being aware of and understanding our mental health is extremely important. Mental health is not simply a medical condition, it essentially encompasses our
psychological and emotional well-being.
Mental health awareness has increased in recent years, however, since the COVID-19 pandemic, awareness of our mental stability and how we process our feelings
has become all too apparent. It is important that we all learn to be open with our feelings and also be able to support others who may be struggling with their
own mental health.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) conceptualises mental health as a "state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope
with the normal stresses of work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community."