Group items tagged

Pfizer's oral Covid-19 therapy will be evaluated as a potential treatment for patients hospitalised with the illness in a major British trial, scientists said on Monday, as cases rise in some parts of the world. The world's largest randomised study of potential medicines for Covid-19, dubbed the RECOVERY trial, will assess Paxlovid across hospitals in Britain, which has already approved the drug for early-stage treatment. "Paxlovid is a promising oral antiviral drug but we don't know if it can improve survival of patients with severe Covid-19," said Peter Horby, a professor at the University of Oxford and joint chief investigator of the RECOVERY trial. The scientists said they aim to mainly find whether Pfizer's Paxlovid reduces the risk of death among patients admitted to hospitals with Covid-19.

The NHS England and Improvement has announced the emergency provisions introduced during pandemic to provide flexible opening hours for pharmacy contractors end today. The flexibilities were enacted in March 2020 when changes to the Pharmaceutical Services (Advanced and Enhanced Services and Emergency Declaration) Directions 2020 were made following a declaration of emergency at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since March 2020, the flexibilities have permitted temporary opening hours and closures during a specified period due to a genuine Covid-19 related emergency. NHS England and Improvement has advised pharmacy contractors that the emergency declaration will not be extended further and will expire on 31 March 2022. Pharmacy contractors will therefore no longer have the option to close pharmacies within their agreed contracted hours with the NHS.

Two pharmacies in Rotherham are set to merge into one, if plans are approved by NHS England. Weldricks Pharmacy has applied to merge its two Swinton branches, on Church Street and the Crown Street Surgery. If approved, the branch on Church Street will be modernised, and additional consulting rooms will be added, while the Crown Street site will be closed. Rotherham Met Borough Council's health and wellbeing board are set to make a representation supporting the plans, and say that analysis by public health "outlines the very minimal impact that this change will have in terms of pharmacy access in the borough based on the service offer, opening hours and walking times to this branch and the main pharmacy." They say the current opening hours will remain the same, and there will be no disruption to services during the consolidation. A statement from Weldricks adds that the decision to merge is down to funding cuts, and the company could go out of business if operating costs are not reduced - 'despite having been a local, family-owned business for almost 100 years'.

The PSNC on Friday said it has warned the DHSC about the "very serious impact" of the limited supply of certain antibiotics on pharmacies who are "having to chase stock, purchase without sight of any concession prices, and cope with increasing patient questions and abuse." With higher than usual number of cases of scarlet fever, caused by invasive Group A Streptococci (iGAS) infections, being reported in children across the country, supplies of antibiotics for Group A Strep treatment have seen a surge in demand, leading to limited supply at certain wholesalers and pharmacies. PSNC has urged the DHSC to adopt measures that could help to manage the current crisis, such as allowing pharmacists more freedom to change strengths or formulations without prescriber approval, outside of Serious Shortage Protocols. It has also raised concerns on the significant rise in wholesale prices of many oral antibiotics as a result of the surge in demand and the ongoing supply disruptions. PSNC also said they have received reports of some suppliers putting up their prices for any oral antibiotics they do have in stock.

Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies has said pharmacists have been "struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine." She told the PA news agency that the shortage wasn't around "just the branded medicines" but "also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain killers - particularly the ones that are soluble." Stating that the sector was finding it very difficult these shortages she said "those people who are in charge of supporting us with it are denying it." "The demand has been high because this season we've seen higher cases of colds and flu and people are obviously trying very hard to look after themselves and making sure that they use the relevant products to manage the symptoms.

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."

Our Totton branch has an incredibly high volume of original pack dispensing, roughly 45,000 items. As we became busier and busier in the dispensary we were finding that our pharmacists, dispensers and other technicians simply didn't have capacity to deliver the services that we needed them to. We all know there is a real emphasis right now on pharmacies doing more services and we knew we had to change the way we operate to survive. So we decided it was time to look into a sound automation solution for our medication dispensing process, one that would allow us to free up the time of the pharmacists and the rest of the team so they could better support patients. After a lot of research we invested in Centred Solutions FLOWRx Hub and InStore solutions which were installed late last year. It provides us with the whole package and has automated our entire dispensing process from picking to packing and labeling to checking. Our situation was quite unique as we bought the system initially for our existing high-volume pharmacy in Totton so the hub and the spoke are actually on the same site. People wouldn't usually look at a hub and spoke solution for that kind of set up but it has allowed us to significantly free up time in store for more services. What it has also done is allow us to look at other opportunities to grow and expand. The pharmacy landscape is changing and there are lots of opportunities coming up. We have found that having your technology and the right infrastructure in place to support your existing footprint before you expand is the ideal way to grow in a safe and controlled way. We never thought that five years ago we would buy another pharmacy, yet we have already bought one and are now in the process of buying two more. I'm not worried about the increase in volume this expansion will bring because I know our technology is going to be able to support it. The pharmacies we are buying are struggling but having our solution already in place m

The nationwide implementation of the Pharmacy First service is viewed as a significant development that benefits pharmacies, primary care, and the broader National Health Service (NHS). Pharmacy teams are striving to ensure its success despite challenges within the industry landscape. However, not all pharmacists are able to reap the benefits from it. Recently, two members of Numark shared their experiences of how the scheme is impacting their pharmacies. Graham Phillips, who owns Letchworth Pharmacy in Hertfordshire, revealed that patients are responding favourably to the service. "It's all good, people are just delighted to have easier access to care," he said. In its first month, Letchworth Pharmacy provided around 100 consultations, and Phillips envisions that as the service matures, they will be able to conduct an average of 200 interventions per week. "That will make it financially viable for us and mean that we're acting at scale from an NHS perspective. That's 200 GP appointments we've freed up in a week - that's a huge capability and capacity bump for the NHS," he added. Graham credits part of his success with Pharmacy First to the strong relationship he has established with local GPs in his area.

Pharmacists, who are working on the frontline of healthcare, can play an important role in raising awareness about mental health and helping those experiencing poor mental health. With this belief, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) is encouraging its representatives at Boots to participate in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training offered by the company. Nicola Rees, PDA Rep and Boots pharmacist from Solihull, who has recently undertaken training as a Mental Health First Aider, said that trained pharmacists can help in reducing the stigma associated with mental health and identifying the early warning signs that someone may be experiencing poor mental health. Mental Health First Aid training enables pharmacists to "support individuals and signpost to sources of advice and support." Rees expressed that becoming a mental health first aider has empowered her and greatly increased her confidence in being able to support someone dealing with a mental health issue, such as having thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

The British Generic Manufacturers Association (BGMA) on Monday alerted the Health and Social Care Committee that medicines shortages have increased and are "around double what they were a year ago." BGMA chief executive Mark Samuels told the committee that they have been highlighting the medicine shortage risk to ministers since July 2021 and the association is "very concerned" about the current situation. "We've been monitoring it for several years now, and as you saw in the written evidence, shortages have increased. They're around double what they were a year ago. We have them at 101 shortages in February this year," said Samuels. Dr Rick Greville, director of distribution and supply at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), highlighted that the problem of drug shortages in the UK is a "long-standing issue" and the scarcity of certain medications "continues to be challenging".

The UK has witnessed a nearly 50 percent increase in pharmacy closures this year compared to the same period in 2023, which was already considered the worst year in recent memory. A new analysis by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) revealed that 177 pharmacies closed their doors between January and April 2024, compared to 116 in the same period last year. This is the equivalent of 10 local pharmacies shutting down every week. Analysis of NHS figures by the NPA showed that 403 pharmacies closed their doors last year, nearly five times higher than the number that closed in 2022. Since 2017, over 1,400 pharmacies have shut down across the UK. Rising costs and declining real terms funding have led to the fastest rate of closures in decades, said the NPA, highlighting that "real terms funding has decreased by 40 per cent over the last decade."

The Galien Foundation recently announced the winners of the 2024 Prix Galien UK Awards, with the University of Oxford receiving accolades for its groundbreaking contributions to public sector innovation through the PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC Trials. These trials, spearheaded by Oxford's team of experts, have set a new standard for scientific innovation aimed at improving global health outcomes. Led by University of Oxford, the PRINCIPLE and PANORAMIC Trials epitomize a remarkable collaboration aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Not improving our funding is not an option, if they want to continue to deliver anything like the level of patient care we have done in recent years," he emphasised as he prepares for the NPA'S Save Our Pharmacies Day of Action (June 20). Over the past two years, McElrea has navigated crises stemming from NHS Scotland policies, particularly concerning medicines price inflation and delayed payments. "The cost of medicines increased rapidly compared to inflation," McElrea stated, noting NHS Scotland's slow response in adjusting tariff prices. "This wiped out £50,000 of cash reserves and forced us into £30,000 of additional borrowings." Delayed payments further strained operations, with McElrea highlighting the impact of payments based on outdated pricing.

In a powerful display of unity, thousands of pharmacies across the UK participated in a nationwide protest today, organised by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), as part of its #saveourpharmacies campaign. The NPA's day of action was aimed at drawing attention to the severe crisis in pharmacy funding that has forced 1,400 pharmacies to close over the past decade and left thousands more struggling. Participating pharmacies showed their protest through various actions like dimming lights, blacking out their windows, wearing black for the day, or discussing pharmacy funding with customers. Many pharmacies also seized the opportunity to interact with parliamentary candidate, urging them to address the funding crisis.