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2022 Surgery & Therapy Summit is organized by Surgery & Therapy Summit and will be held from Sep 09 - 12, 2022

If you have recently been diagnosed with hearing loss, you may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. You are not alone - millions of people around the world are living with hearing loss. The good news is that there are many resources available to help you learn how to manage your condition and live a full life. In this blog post, we will discuss some of the most common issues that people with hearing loss face and provide tips on how to handle them. HANDLING ISSUES FROM HEARING LOSS - HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY Hearing loss is certainly a difficult obstacle to face in life, but it doesn't have to stop you from living a full and rich life. Of course, hearing loss comes with its own set of unique challenges, but there are ways to manage them. From learning what hearing aids are the best for you to communicate with loved ones, to the different types of therapies available, we're here to help you find the answers you need. Generally speaking, there are four main issues that people with hearing loss face; Isolation, communication difficulties, feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, and depression. Unfortunately, each of these "consequences" will likely get worse if hearing loss is not managed early on. Here are some tips on how to handle each one:

Professor Harry McQuillan has said community pharmacists in the UK must change their focus from an 'accuracy of supply' to a 'safety of supply' model when it comes to dealing with patients. "The main take away message from tonight's lecture is for pharmacy professionals to really challenge themselves about whether they are focused on accuracy of supply or safety of supply," he said at this year's UCL School of Pharmacy Lecture in London on Thursday, 15 June. "For our community pharmacists it must be about safety, including prescribing, and ensuring patients and citizens get the maximum benefit from prescribed medicines. "To deliver this, we need to invest in our teams - harness technology and always be willing to take the next step in a more clinical future." The Chief Executive Office of Community Pharmacy Scotland, however, noted that at a time when the UK was grappling with an unprecedented national debt crisis exacerbated by severe cost of living and spiraling inflation, community pharmacy will need to make a "compelling case" of where the priority should be in the sector. Expanding on the financial woes of the country, he compared the current national debt of the UK, which stood at a staggering 270 percent of GDP in September 2022, with the previous record-breaking national debt of 250 per cent at the end of WWII.

"Discussions must involve the government on behalf of NHS Scotland, CPS on behalf of the owners, and the PDA as the pharmacists' representative," it said. The association believes that there is a need for discussion and decision-making that listens to and balances the rights and responsibilities of both employers and workers, to generate benefits for individuals, organisations, and society. It added: "Even though Scotland provides the most generous community pharmacy settlement in the UK, recent reports suggest it is not enough for pharmacy owners with CPS's rejection of the latest funding proposal in May. Though the Scottish government found an extra £20M to ease pressures related to medicines price increases, an overall agreement has still not been reached." "The UK-wide chains may be doing less well in the parts of their networks covered by the Westminster government's contract, but the taxpayers and government of Scotland need to be given reassurance that they are in no way subsidising funding shortfalls in England's pharmacy contract." Recently, when LloydsPharmacy's Scotland branches recently came on the market, they appear to have been sold exclusively to existing contractors, including the UK-wide multiple, Rowlands Pharmacy, who have acquired 30 of them. Other small and medium-sized Scottish pharmacy chains have apparently been able to double in size overnight by acquiring branches.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have authorised community pharmacies throughout the UK to dispense original full packs of Valproate-containing medicines upon prescription. The necessary changes in regulations came into effect on 11 October which was strongly supported by 85 per cent of respondents concerned about risks to the unborn baby if valproate-containing medicines are used in pregnancy. The decision was made to ensure patients receive safety warnings and pictograms, including a patient card and the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL), contained in the manufacturer's original full pack. Valproate is a treatment for epilepsy and bipolar disorder but is also associated with birth defects and neurological disabilities.

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".

The proposed increase in the national living wage (NLW) is expected to impose an implementation cost of £150 million to £195 million on the community pharmacy sector, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has warned. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt recently announced a 9.8 per cent increase in the national living wage, raising it from £10.42 to £11.44. "The Autumn Statement overlooks the knock-on effects these measures will have on small businesses like community pharmacies," CPE Chief Executive Janet Morrison said in a statement. "The majority of pharmacies employ staff on or around the NLW, which has increased nearly 40 per cent since the start of the current contractual framework." "This is at a time when pharmacies have faced a 30 per cent real terms reduction in funding since 2015," Morrison added. "No viable business can absorb these cost increases without significant support. This is just another cost pressure that pharmacies cannot control and must be addressed through a sustainable, long-term funding arrangement."

NHS England delivered 358 million general practice (GP) appointments, including Covid-19 vaccinations, in the 12 months to October 2023, an increase of 50.9 million compared to October 2019. This equals to 44 more appointments per practice per working day, with over 70 per cent of these taking place within two weeks of booking, data published by NHSE on Thursday (30 November) showed. Health Minister, Andrea Leadsom, thanked GPs and primary care teams across the country for making it possible to deliver around 32,500 more appointments every day, which clearly demonstrate that "more people are getting the care they need, when they need it." "While this is positive news, we know that there is more to do to make it easier and quicker for patients to contact their general practice and continue to focus on delivering the Primary Care Recovery Plan," she added. The Primary Care Recovery Plan published earlier this year is focused on improving access to primary care. It provided GPs in England with £240 million to support them to embrace the latest technology to tackle the 8am rush, and handle more appointments. As of August 2023, more than 1,000 general practices had signed up to digital upgrades to make booking GP appointments easier.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has announced that it will support its member impacted by the decision to close 300 more Boots pharmacies. After the announcement of closure of 300 Boots pharmacies over the next year, the association believes this is approximately one out of every eight current Boots pharmacy locations. The company has insisted that the objective of this exercise is not to make existing pharmacist employees redundant, and they hope to be able to redeploy individuals into nearby alternative locations. However, PDA believes that it is unlikely that suitable alternative roles will be available for all and redundancy is a possibility for some. The PDA Union will provide pharmacists with information, support, and representation as part of the recognition agreement so that members are aware of and can exercise their rights at work. PDA officials will be in continued dialogue with the company throughout this closure programme.

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".

MP Steve Brine, the chair of the health and care committee, said that the healthcare in the UK "doesn't work without pharmacy". The inquiry focuses on addressing current issues, particularly around the "funding model, digital infrastructure and workforce recruitment, training and retention." Brine said at the Sigma annual conference on Sunday, that he wants to "focus on the sector", and "drill down into some of the challenges and potential" that lies ahead. "The Health and Social Care Committee, we think about much of our work through the lens of pharmacy, what role it plays, the quality of care that it delivers, and the potential for it to do more," said Brine. He further said that he wants to "build on the groundwork" and to "cover as many of the different pharmacy services within the pharmacy sector as we can, so pharmacy in our communities, in hospitals and general practice".

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) CEO, Janet Morrison said that the negotiations for the £645 million investment pledged to community pharmacies in 2023-25 have concluded. The government's primary care recovery plan is to be announced in a "few weeks" and negotiations for the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) from April 2024 will begin. She said: "We have finished the substantive discussions on the recovery plan but detailed discussions about implementation are ongoing and we are awaiting final clearance from the Government and the NHS. "We hope that we will be in a position to make an announcement in the next few weeks and that negotiations on the CPCF from April 2024 will commence soon after that." Morrison reminded attendees that the Primary Care Recovery Plan is "to improve access to primary care by investing £645 million over the remainder of the year".

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Vitamin B12 helps keep the body's nerve and blood cells healthy. Also, it helps prevent a type of anemia that makes people tired and weak. You can find out more about it on the Canadian pharmacy site https://www.canadapharmacy.com/. I take it daily. But I recommend addressing a doctor first.

The national pharmacy bodies has created 'Save Our Pharmacies' campaign website to give new focus to calls for fair pharmacy funding in England. The newly launched site contains key messages for public, politicians and stakeholders, and hosts campaign resources to be used by pharmacy teams. The pharmacy bodies encourage members of the public and pharmacy teams to show their support for the campaign on social media, as well as signing the petition and contacting their local MPs about fair funding. A further resource in the form of a window poster is being printed and will shortly be mailed out to all community pharmacies in England. It is the latest output of a joint programme of work being coordinated by PSNC, CCA, AIM and the NPA.

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

New data published by NHS England on Thursday (4 January) showed that more than 31.4 million GP appointments (excluding vaccinations) were delivered in November 2023. This is four million more than the number recorded in the same month before the pandemic, and is considered the busiest November on record for GP teams. Compared to the previous month (October 2023), 3.3 per cent more appointments were booked and attended on the same day in November. Almost seven in ten patients attended their appointments within seven days of booking, an increase of 4.5 per cent from the previous month.

The Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp) has changed its name to the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA). AIMp, now IPA, stated that rebranding was prompted by the demand from independent community pharmacists for an association that properly represents their interests. The membership of the Independent Pharmacies Association will not be restricted to pharmacy owners with multiple branches, as was the case with AIMp, but will be open to all independents, it announced today (Tuesday). It believes that the switch will "provide a clearer identity and afford a strong voice to the thousands of independent pharmacies in England and Wales." Furthermore, the IPA noted that it will not primarily function as an insurance organisation with membership attached, but it will be "fighting for and representing its members across all fronts."

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has finally published its response to the 2022 consultation on hub and spoke dispensing. Considering the consultation evidence and further discussions, the government has expressed its intention to progress the proposals for enabling hub and spoke models across different legal entities as soon as possible. This will be achieved by using the enabling powers outlined in Part 2 of the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 (MMDA) to amend the Medicines Act 1968 and the HMRs. Furthermore, the DHSC has decided to proceed with the implementation of the two models of hub and spoke dispensing that it consulted on. The government response to the consultation reads: "Having considered the responses, the government intend to proceed to implement the necessary changes to medicines legislation to remove the current restrictions that prevent the hub and spoke dispensing models from operating across different legal entities found in section 10 of the Medicines Act 1968.

The Professional Pharmacists Association (PDA) has demanded efforts to secure greater support and recognition for community pharmacists from governmental bodies. In its written evidence provided to the Health and Social Care select committee's pharmacy inquiry, the PDA raised concerns about the well-being of pharmacists, specifically for those who belong to minority ethnic groups and race and are subjected to bullying, harassment, and ill-treatment. The association highlighted issues in the workplace that impact pharmacists' health and well-being, including chronic understaffing, sub-standard working environments, an absence of protected training time, and experiences of racism, violence, and abuse. Parallel to the PDA's advocacy, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) is intensifying calls for prioritising workforce wellbeing within the pharmacy domain. Stressing the pivotal role of workforce retention in addressing current challenges, RPS emphasises the need for robust support mechanisms and equitable access to mental health services.

PHOENIX UK has appointed Harry McQuillan, former CEO of Community Pharmacy Scotland, as Chairman of Numark, a community pharmacy membership organisation. It has over 3750 members ranging from single store pharmacies to large chains, spread across the 'Four Nations'. The organisation provides its members with the professional and commercial support they need to deliver exceptional care to local communities. As Numark Chairman, McQuillan will be front and central of representing the interests of the members, and will help ensure policy makers across the UK understand fully "the potential of community pharmacy." Steve Anderson, Group Managing Director, PHOENIX UK, commented: "Harry brings to our Numark partnership an outstanding wealth of experience and understanding of how community pharmacy can work successfully with government officials and politicians.