The Pharmaceutical Society NI (PSNI)'s Council has decided to freeze the annual registration fee for the current financial year 2023/24.
The annual registration fee is considered each year by the PSNI's council. At its meeting in November 2022, Council members in recognition of the effects of the
Covid-19 pandemic, the personal and professional impact of the cost of living crisis on pharmacists, and the overall cost of regulation agreed to maintain
registration fees at their current level for the next financial year.
Pharmaceutical Society NI's Chief Executive Michaela McAleer said: "I am pleased with Council's decision to continue the freeze on registration fees for the 7th
successive year. We are acutely aware of the pressures facing the pharmacy profession and hope this can provide some reassurance to the profession as we deal with
these financially difficult times.
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.
In its response to NHS England's consultation on 'the future of vaccination services', the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has suggested
that a wider range of NHS vaccinations being available from community pharmacies could support the achievement of increased vaccination levels.
PSNC said: "Any additional services that contractors could provide can only be considered with additional remuneration above the current global sum in the community
pharmacy contractual framework to ensure that the services are adequately resourced."
Alastair Buxton, director of NHS Services at PSNC, said: "We've always known, and the evidence supports this, that community pharmacies are one of the most popular
and accessible places for people to receive a range of vaccinations.
"The NHS was slow to take advantage of this at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, so we welcome this consultation from them to bring together a wide range of views
on the topic.
"In the longer-term, if the right funding and support is in place, many pharmacies could help deliver a much wider range of NHS vaccination programmes - giving the
public the convenience and service that they want, and taking pressure off our general practice colleagues. It makes perfect sense, and we look forward to the NHS
response to this consultation."
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