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At the Future of Britain Conference 2024, the newly appointed Secretary of Health and Social Care, (DHSC) Wes Streeting, stated that "Labour's DNA is in the NHS". He also called for a long-term approach to reform the broken health sector and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) to steer the healthcare system towards sustainability and growth. Hosted by Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and My Life My Say today, Tuesday, 9, Streeting discussed the plans to fix the healthcare system and role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in "making the right choices" by bringing in three essential shifts in the healthcare. Criticising the previous Conservative administration for leaving "massive burning deck issues" due to constant reshuffling within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), Streeting lamented that this "instability" and "indecisions" have made comprehensive reform even more pressing. Drawing inspiration from Chancellor Rachel Reeves' speech on economic growth, Streeting stressed the interconnectedness of health and economic prosperity.

In his first speech as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP acknowledged that the NHS is in crisis while outlining his mission to save the health service. Streeting described the current state of the NHS as "broken," noting its failure to meet the needs of both patients and dedicated healthcare professionals. "When we said during the election campaign, that the NHS was going through the biggest crisis in its history, we meant it. "When we said that patients are being failed on a daily basis, it wasn't political rhetoric, but the daily reality faced by millions," he said on Friday (5 July). The new health secretary remarked that previous governments had been unwilling to admit these simple facts.

Rising chronic illnesses and an aging population are threatening to bankrupt the National Health Service, Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said on October 11. Streeting announced a substantial £1.1 billion injection to strengthen the NHS with the goal of clearing the backlog and introducing additional clinics on evenings and weekends. The frontbencher outlined a reform agenda to ensure NHS is back on its head for the future of healthcare in the UK. Streeting said that a Labour government will not waste "money we don't have"- instead aims to revolutionise the NHS by shifting its focus from hospitals to communities. "Our emphasis is on transitioning from an analogue to a digital framework and prioritising prevention over sickness-oriented healthcare," he noted.

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting outlined his plans for NHS reform on Friday (21 April), where he also mentioned a desire to see pharmacies take on more workload and pharmacists' clinical skills to be better utilised. In his speech, he also expressed concern at warnings from the pharmacy sector and pharmacy closures. The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) appreciated Shadow Health Secretary's desire to enhance pharmacies' role in primary care reform but also stated that the sector is in urgently needs a funding injection. Dr. Nick Thayer, Head of Policy at the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) comment: "We are pleased to see the Shadow Health Secretary recognise the enhanced role that pharmacies should play in primary care reform. Mr Streeting wants to see care brought closer to people's homes and more front doors into the NHS. With 89.2% of the population located within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy, pharmacies do just that. They are essential to realising his vision of a 'neighbourhood health service'. Pharmacies could free up over 42m GP appointments annually, including 10m vaccination appointments. Urgent same-day appointments for minor conditions in pharmacies will immediately benefit patients by increasing GP access. The first step is for the Government to immediately commission a fully-funded Pharmacy First service in England.

It was a night filled with anticipation and excitement, and the atmosphere was electric with a sense of achievement and pride. The 23rd annual Pharmacy Business Awards had the honour of hosting the distinguished Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, who served as the event's chief guest. The event took place on 4 October at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, located on the South Bank of the River Thames, right across from the Houses of Parliament. There was a gathering of 600 guests, impeccably attired by the dress code, which added to the festive atmosphere. In his keynote speech, Labour MP Streeting said the NHS, which marked its 75th anniversary in July, could once again become the "envy of the world".

High street pharmacy giant Boots permanently shut down two more branches on Saturday (March 16) as it moves forward with its plan to close 300 stores. The Wrightson House branch at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Teesside and the Aslake Close pharmacy in Sprowston were closed for good, according to BirminghamLive. The pharmacy giant and chemist announced that all their prescriptions from its branch in Sprowston will be moved to Lawson Road Health Centre, with the nearest Boots branches located in London Street and Aylsham Road. The closure of the branch at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Teesside was confirmed to the public with a notice placed in the shop window, informing customers about nearby Boots stores to collect their prescriptions. The notice reads: "We are closing. This store will close, on March 16, 2024. Your nearest store for collecting prescriptions will be Thornaby Health Centre, Trenchard Avenue, TS17 OEE. Other stores nearby are: 12-14 High Street, Teesside Retail Park, Norton, TS20 1DN 21B Goodwood Square, TSI7 7BW."

Wes Streeting MP has been appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in the new Labour Government. The Ilford North MP will now take on the critical role of overseeing the National Health Service (NHS) and implementing Labour's ambitious health agenda. At the core of the Labour Party's healthcare reform manifesto is enhancing accessibility to primary and community healthcare. This involves implementing a 'Community Pharmacist Prescribing Service,' to empower pharmacists with independent prescribing rights where clinically suitable. This initiative aims to alleviate the strain on GP practices and enhance service accessibility. Additionally, the manifesto proposes piloting Neighbourhood Health Centres, to integrate various healthcare services -such as family doctors, district nurses, and mental health specialists under one roof.

An executive director of Day Lewis and also board director and member of Association of Independent Multiple pharmacies (AIMp) Jay Patel highlighted the key issues and on ground challenges faced by the community pharmacies in a meeting hosted by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and health secretary Steve Barclay in Downing Street on Saturday (January 7) to tackle the NHS pressure. In his interview with BBC, he said: "He (prime minister) was very engaging and trying to understand the key issues and practical challenges on the ground." Patel described the meeting atmosphere as 'collaborative and proactive', and said, "people were genuinely asked their options and there were listeners too." On BBC, answering to a question on 'how community pharmacies can alleviate the NHS pressure?', Patel said: "Pharmacies is the workplace for this. We have trust of our patients; we have high skilled workforce both clinically and professionally. One of the opportunities we have is working around the acute treat

The 14th Community Pharmacy Conference by Sigma Pharmaceuticals has been timely, prime minister Rishi Sunak said, noting that it coincided with the launch of Pharmacy First, a new initiative that enables patients to receive treatments for seven common conditions directly from a pharmacist without the need for a GP appointment or prescription. "We are all grateful for the tremendous contributions that pharmacists make to our NHS. The fantastic work you do is critical to the success of Pharmacy First and many other initiatives," Sunak said in a written message. The conference was organised from 25-29 February at Sun City in Johannesburg, South Africa, under the theme 'community pharmacy in an integrated NHS'. In a recorded video address to the Sigma Conference, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said community pharmacies are 'critical' to the Labour party's mission to make the NHS 'fit for the future'. "You should be playing a much more significant role. Labour's reform agenda will get pharmacists working to the top of their licence. We want community pharmacists to play a greater role in healthcare, with more focus on their expertise in prescribing and medicines management," he said.

Change is sweeping through Westminster as the newly elected Labour government makes strategic cabinet appointments following their landslide victory in the general election held on Thursday, July 4. With Sir Keir Starmer stepping in as the new Prime Minister and Wes Streeting assuming the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care role, the announcement of Karin Smyth and Stephen Kinnock as health ministers on Monday marked a pivotal moment in Labour's healthcare agenda. Who is the new Minister of State for Health? Karin Smyth, the Labour MP for Bristol South, has been appointed as Minister of State for Health. Smyth has a robust background in healthcare, having served as a shadow spokesperson on health since December 2021. Her previous roles include Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland and Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Commons. Before her parliamentary career, Smyth worked as an NHS Manager and held a non-executive director position at an NHS Trust.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has raised concerns over the NHS ad campaign highlighting how community pharmacies can support patients with non-health advice amidst the growing pressure on pharmacies. It believes the campaign will only 'worsen' the pressure on pharmacies. "It is always deeply concerning to see campaigns directing people to pharmacies without any regard for the pressures they are under: it is irresponsible and extremely unhelpful," said PSNC Chief Executive Janet Morrison. She called the campaign 'particularly irritating' just weeks after the committee rejected a series of proposals from NHS England and DHSC on relief measures to ease pressure on pharmacies as being totally inadequate. "NHS England Board Members have noted the pressure on pharmacies - so why are their teams so often acting to make these pressures worse? We need to see a radical change in how NHS England treats pharmacies and we're continuing to press for that via our influencing and campaigning work," she added. The NHS launched the new campaign on Monday (27 February) to highlight how high-street pharmacies can support patients with non-urgent health advice for minor conditions including coughs, aches and colds.

Self-confidence is not a gift from heaven, we are craftsmen. Similarly, we built a temporary or chronic lack of confidence following an unfortunate event or untoward behavior on the part of others.

Bollywood love stories never deter from making headlines. We put the other professional news on hold and get glued to read any romantic or emotional Bollywood love story to not to miss a detail. With this blog, we take you through the idealistic Bollywood street throwing spotlight on some of the lesser known Bollywood love stories.

I have always been passionate about Community Pharmacy and am proud of the way that the sector navigated itself through Covid-19 and is currently navigating itself through all the changes in the NHS landscape. When I started my role in Sep 2019 as the CEO of Kent LPC, I used to say that community pharmacy has changed more in the last five years than the 15 before that, however, I now believe community pharmacy has changed more in the last two years than the 20 before. The year 2019 saw the start of the five-year Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework which set out how community pharmacy would support delivery of the NHS long term plan. What PSNC (or any of us) when negotiating this deal had not envisaged was the Covid-19 pandemic. Whilst the world turned upside down, we saw high street shops close their doors and immense pressure flood the NHS. Community pharmacy did what they always do, they adapted, teams came together, worked through, and showed resilience in the face of adversity. In Kent, I saw us integrate into primary are and into the NHS structure very quickly, in the first few weeks after Covid-19. All the usual red tape was removed, we all worked together to implement services to help patients in a matter of weeks when they would have normally taken months.

Salrook Healthcare, a family-run pharmacies in Chester has sold its two well-established community pharmacies named Westminster Park Pharmacy on Castle Croft Road and Owen's Chemist on Chester Street. Together, they dispense circa 13,000 items per month. The business has been owned by the Persaud family since 2014 and was recently brought to the market as a retirement sale. Following a confidential process with Christie & Co, it has been purchased by Aqib Sheikh, an existing operator with a pharmacy in Walsall, West Midlands. Aqib plans to enhance the business's service offering and grow his portfolio in the region. Chloe Yadav (nee Persaud), previous owner of Salrook Healthcare Limited, comments, "As a family, we are delighted to have completed the sale of the business to Aqib. Whilst we will miss our team who have become like family, it is good to know that the two sites have been acquired by a forward- thinking Pharmacist who will enhance the offering to the benefit of the patients and the community which they serve. My family and I wish Aqib and the whole team the very best of luck with the future." Aqib Sheikh, new owner of Salrook Healthcare Limited, comments, "I am delighted to have inherited such a well-run and profitable pair of pharmacy businesses in the charming city of Chester. I'd like to wish John Persaud the very best with his retirement and look forward to building on the work of the Persaud family."

According to research, indoor air pollution is more harmful than the outdoor air pollution. If one compares the air pollution index of the workplace with outdoors, then it is seen that the indoor air is dirtier than the outside air. You may reckon that working inside the office protects you from the air pollution caused by the vehicles on the streets, but you are wrong my friend. A study suggests that the air we breathe inside the closed glass doors of our office is not good for our health. There are many factors which cause pollution which will be disclosed on the blog. The chemicals which are daily used to clean the office rooms are toxic for our organs which later on lead to serious health problems. The chemicals have no place to escape from the four walls of your office and thus, it contaminates the entire office.

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We often hear the expression "The Love of My Life", "My Soulmate", "My half". All these expressions that imply that there would exist somewhere a person "made for oneself" and by extension that there would not be much to expect from others in love.

In the parliamentary drop-in-event hosted by Community Pharmacy England last week, Members of Parliament (MPs) questioned the Health Secretary on the rising issue of medicines supply. "Eighteen community pharmacists in my constituency are reporting challenges on medicine supplies. What more is the Minister going to do to get a grip of this situation?", Mike Amesbury MP for Weaver Vale, who was present at the event last week, asked the Health Secretary. In his response, the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP said: "We have a long-standing team in the Department focused on medical supplies, which are a continual issue; as a matter of routine business, there are often challenges in that area." The Shadow Pharmacy Minister, Karin Smyth MP, also asked: "People across the country rely on local, accessible pharmacies, but whether it is high street closures or supply problems leading to the absurd situation where women are phoning or visiting multiple pharmacies for a prescribed dose of hormone replacement therapy and other drugs…They have repeatedly announced plans to expand the role of community pharmacies but have failed to update legislation that could possibly help. … Why will they not do so?

A pharmacy assistant has been jailed for three years and seven months for stealing £330,000 worth of diabetes-testing kits from his workplace. Abdul Nargoliya stole the products while working as a pharmacy assistant at a Lloydspharmacy counter inside a Sainsbury's supermarket in Fosse Park, Leicester where we was employed since 2012. The 30-year-old from Woodboy Street in Leicester was sentenced on Friday (May 26) after pleading guilty at Leicester Crown Court "to theft by an employee and concealing, transferring, converting criminal property". According to police an internal investigation launched at the pharmacy branch in July 2018 revealed that more than 22,000 test kits had been ordered since January 2017. Leicester Police said they identified Nargoliya as a suspect due to the time of the orders being placed matching up to his shift patterns. They arrested him in July 2018. Orders for the products were placed by telephone and CCTV footage showed Nargoliya handling them. It was noticed that during his shifts, the defendant would move the deliveries into a private consultation room and later leave with full carrier bags.