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The government has unveiled its much awaited 'NHS Long-Term Workforce Plan' to tackle the staff shortage in the pharmacy sector. The plan set out an ambition to increase the training places for pharmacists to around 5,000 places by 2031/32. David Webb, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, in his open letter to pharmacy professionals said: "The NHS LTWP sets out how we can build on changes, addressing the changing needs of patients over the next 15 years, by closing the current workforce shortfall through funding for increased education and training places and a comprehensive retention strategy." The plan commits to expand training places for pharmacists by 29% to around 4,300 by 2028/29 and Grow the number of pharmacy technicians in future years. "The development of independent prescribing as part of initial education and training is a gamechanger for pharmacists, patients and the NHS, with approximately 2,800 newly registered pharmacist independent prescribers due to join the workforce every year from September 2026," said Webb. "This will be transformational for all pharmacy teams, creating improved access and quality of care for patients and, importantly, a more flexible workforce with skills that are equally applicable in all pharmacy settings, enabling multi-professional clinical teams to work in new ways."

A new NHS-funded training course on clinical examination skills has been announced by Health Education England (HEE) for 10,000 community pharmacists. The training will be provided by CliniSkills and be coordinated by HEE with the Pharmacy Integration Programme at NHS England. With pre-registration now open to all community pharmacists, the programme will be available from 17th April 2023 and will until March 2024. It will be delivered online, with optional face-to-face attendance for pharmacists who would find this beneficial. Pharmacists will be required to complete a module on history taking and identification of serious conditions and can then choose from four optional modules, which cover the following themes: dermatology; cardiology; paediatrics; and ear, nose and throat. The training is designed to be complementary to the independent prescribing training and can be completed prior to or after an independent prescribing training course. It is open to all community pharmacists including those that work part time and locums.

Health Education England (HEE) has invited community pharmacy contractors to a meeting to discuss training of pharmacists to become Independent Prescribers (IP). Earlier, HEE together with NHS England and NHS Improvement has supported a first phase of IP training for community pharmacists from January to March 2022, and is now working to secure a further rounded of funded training from Autumn 2022. The upcoming virtual meeting is aimed to help inform future independent prescribertraining offers by ensuring it is aligned with the needs of the pharmacy workforce.

Two more independent community pharmacists have been appointed to the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership. NPA board member Reena Barai and Sheelin McKeagney from Lurgan in Northern Ireland will join 25 other commission members, including Ash Soni who was the only practising community pharmacist on the initial list published in June. Welcoming the announcement, the National Pharmacy Association chief executive, Mark Lyonette, said: "To their great credit, the co-chairs of the commission and the UK's chief pharmaceutical officers have listened to our request for more community pharmacy presence on the commission. They have acted swiftly to achieve a better balance in its membership and we thank them for responding to our representations. "Around 70 per cent of pharmacists practice in the community. With more voices from community pharmacy within the leadership commission, there is a greater sense that the profession as a whole will be able to own the final recommendations when they are ultimately made."

A Company Chemists' Association (CCA) analysis has shown that 'Pharmacy First' service in England could free up 30m+ GP appointments each year. It has urged the Government and NHS to be even 'bolder in their ambition and go further and faster'. The recent 'Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care' announced a 'Pharmacy First' service for England, mirroring similar approaches in Scotland and Wales. The association has estimated that with the added capability to supply non-prescription medicines and prescribe additional prescription-only medicines, an ambitious 'Pharmacy First' service could free up 30m+ GP appointments annually. Harnessing community pharmacies to deliver care for minor health conditions will effectively create 11,000 urgent care centres in England.

Community pharmacy bodies have said that the current crippling financial pressures and severe staff shortages will limit the sector from fully supporting the new health secretary's ambition to improve patient care in England. Thérèse Coffey announced her plans on Thursday (September 22) which would be looking to reduce the country's reliance on general practice by expanding the range of services available from community pharmacies and allowing pharmacists more "prescribing powers". "Pharmacists will be able to manage and supply more medicines, without a prescription from a GP. We will look to go further on enabling pharmacists with more prescribing powers and making more simple diagnostic tests available in community pharmacy," she said in her foreword to Our Plan for Patients. However, the National Pharmacy Association has lamented that the plan stops short of promising any fresh funding for community pharmacies to deliver patient care and develop clinical services. NPA vice-chair, Nick Kaye, said: "The life is being choked out of independent pharmacy businesses by the continuation of a fundamentally under-resourced contract in England.

Jonathan Burton will receive the 2022 RPS Charter Award for his outstanding work for the Society and the wider profession in promoting the interests of pharmacy. The award will be presented by the President at a future meeting of Fellows and Members to take place at the Society's Edinburgh office on 22nd March 2023. Jonathan's main role is as a practising, patient-facing pharmacist within the community in NHS Forth Valley where he uses his advanced practice skills and independent prescribing qualification to assess and treat acute ENT, dermatology, and respiratory conditions. He was one of the first community pharmacist prescribers in Scotland and has always been at the forefront of innovation and service development. Jonathan has demonstrated outstanding commitment and passion for the pharmacy profession throughout his career. He has excelled as a pharmacist in the Right Medicine Pharmacy group, on local and national committees, in advocacy for the pharmacy profession and as a local and national leader who is highly regarded as an exceptional role model for the profession.

The Health Committee's new report has reminded the government of a much-needed pharmacy workforce plan to support recruitment, training, and retention of staff. The report makes a number of recommendations to optimise workloads across primary care, reduce pressure on general practice and hospitals, and support the integrated care systems. It also recognises the potential of pharmacist independent prescribers to support patient care, backed by appropriate supervision, training, and opportunities for professional development. RPS England gave evidence to MPs on the Committee at a public hearing in May, highlighting key issues to support the pharmacy workforce. RPS director for England, Ravi Sharma, said: "Today's report underlines the urgent need for the Government to set out a comprehensive workforce plan for health and care. "It rightly recognises that boosting recruitment and retention, supporting staff wellbeing, fostering inclusion and diversity, and investing in education and training will be crucial to the future of the NHS.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have both urged the new health secretary Steve Barclay to back the 'pharmacy first' approach in England as mentioned by his predecessor on numerous occasions. "Sajid Javid recognised the vital role of community pharmacy and the potential of a 'Pharmacy First' to support patient access to care. I would urge the new Health Secretary to see this through to completion," said chair of RPS in England Thorrun Govind. Thorrun hopes the new health secretary will engage with pharmacy leaders about how we can make the most of our health and care workforce to support the NHS recovery, including reducing health inequalities, managing the growing cost of long-term conditions, and utilising the enhanced skills of Pharmacist Independent Prescribers. Commenting on the new appointment, she said: "This is a crucial time for the future of health and care - with continued pressures on teams, changes to NHS structures and organisations, and the need for long-term investment in the workforce. "With a 'refresh' of the NHS Long-Term Plan and the Government's workforce plan expected later this year, these must support a more ambitious approach to advancing the clinical role of pharmacists across the NHS to better meet changing patient demand, backed by investment in pharmacy education and training.

For people who spend the majority of their days sitting in standard wheelchairs or lying in beds, pressure sores are a very probable reality. Yet they don't have to be, thanks to assistive technology like tilt or recline wheelchairs that help distribute pressure to other parts of the body. While pressure relief is the main objective to using either a tilt wheelchair or a recline wheelchair, each has its unique qualities that help with posture. (Even though some chairs come with both tilt and recline options, for clarity purposes, they will be addressed as two separate seating systems.) "Obviously, a tilt wheelchair does a better job of providing postural stability by not changing any of the angles of the knee and hip, while recliners allow the pelvis and hips to move through approximately 90 degrees of motion. Both seating systems have their own specific functions," noted David Kreutz, PT, seating specialist at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Reclining wheelchairs move the body from a flexed position to an extended position, making the chairs more likely to elicit a spastic response in the user. Because tilt and recline chairs use gravity to their advantage and come with head rests, patients who have poor head, neck and trunk control may benefit from the stability and balance they provide. When in tilt or recline, gravity helps the patient improve balance and head control. Once a tilt chair is prescribed for a patient, it is important to teach the caregivers how to use the tilt function and position the patient correctly. If a patient is cognitively intact, it is also important to teach that individual how he or she should be positioned in the chair, to be able to instruct caregivers. Candidates who would be suited for a recliner chair are those who cannot achieve a 90-degree hip-to-back angle when sitting. For example, patients who have hip precautions following total hip replacement surgery, patients who have had cardiac surgery and might develop

Community pharmacies will be able to deliver approximately 15 million blood pressure screenings by 2026, revealed the Company Chemists' Association (CCA)'s new research. This will also prevent 15,000 people from suffering heart attacks or strokes. CCA has called the Government to take up their offer and commission pharmacies as the first port of call for cardiovascular care. "Thousands of lives can be saved with ambitious commissioning and the investment to match," said CCA. There is an opportunity to use the expertise of community pharmacy to go further and provide the care these newly identified patients' need. To do this the sector needs funding and workforce. The association said: "Community pharmacy is under great financial pressure, suffering a real term funding cut of over 30% over 8 years. With funding, the sector can transform to deliver this critical need for patients. Whilst there are plans to train Independent Prescribers (IPs), there are no clear roles for them to use these skills. There is a need to accelerate training plans to allow pharmacists to deliver the service described here and play their part in CVD management."

A leading pharmacist and member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scottish Pharmacy Board has been chosen to share her experiences of working in a community pharmacy in Scotland. Catriona Sinclair FRPharmS will speak at a roundtable entitled 'International Experiences in Professional Pharmaceutical Health Services' in Madrid on Thursday (May 5). Catriona, who owns and runs a pharmacy in the Highlands, is expected to give her take on community pharmacies' significant contribution towards achieving improved health outcomes and reducing health inequalities for local populations in Scotland. As an active independent prescriber, she is at the cutting edge of the profession in Scotland. Speaking ahead of her visit to Madrid, Catriona said: "I'm honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with pharmacists from across Europe, and to share my experiences of working as a community pharmacist in Scotland.

The pharmacy inquiry will explore issues impacting different types of pharmacy, with a particular focus on community, primary care and hospital pharmacy services. It will also consider current challenges around funding, workforce and the digital infrastructure. Planned developments within the profession will enable future pharmacists to be independent prescribers from day one of registration, giving them a greater role within primary care teams. Health and Social Care Committee Chair Steve Brine MP said: "It is clear that pharmacy has a central role to play in the future of the NHS. With a greater focus on personalised and patient-centred healthcare, we will be asking what more must be done to make sure that the profession is in the best shape to meet demand. "Better use of the pharmacy workforce would reduce pressures on general practice and hospitals. However, this will not happen without a planned workforce with the funding, supervision and training to support it. "At the end of the inquiry, the committee will be making recommendations to the government on what action needs to be taken to ensure the potential of pharmacy is realised.

Preet Kaur Gill, Shadow Minister for Primary Care and Public Health, has paid a recent visit to a community pharmacy in Staffordshire to personally experience the services it provides to patients, while staying updated on the latest sector developments. Her visit to Eason's Pharmacy in Tamworth on September 22nd marked her first since assuming new responsibilities for pharmacy policy matters within Labour's health team. Gill was also joined by a member of the National Pharmacy Association staff. The Minister received a comprehensive briefing on Eason's Pharmacy from its third-generation owner, Kieran Eason (R). He outlined the NHS services, which include the New Medicines Service and blood pressure monitoring, and showcased two consultation rooms and an operational dispensary. "It's great that Preet came to learn firsthand about the challenges we face and the substantial potential of community pharmacies nationwide," Eason said. "As an independent prescriber, I have the expertise to provide even more convenient care, but the current funding levels severely limit our contribution."

The GP Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (GP CPCS) is also delivering 'unexpected' insights to help transform patient care and facilitate integrated working between pharmacists and GPs across Greater Manchester. Since April 2021, almost 14,000 appointments have been referred using the GP CPCS across the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership - a figure that is growing as its success gathers pace and they continue to support practices to increase referral activity. Joshua Nolan, a pharmacist at Internet Pharmacy in Heywood, one of the first in the area to join the referral service, said: "The number of patients we're seeing from GP CPCS has been building consistently month-on-month. On average we see around 50 patients, but recently we recorded 53 in just one week." The pharmacist, who has been practising for six years and is also an independent prescriber, believes the GP CPCS has helped bring about more awareness to the clinical services community pharmacy can offer.

Women in the UK will be able to purchase Gina 10 mg vaginal tablets without prescription from September from their local pharmacies, announced the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) product, Gina 10 microgram vaginal tablets (containing estradiol) are used for the treatment of vaginal symptoms such as dryness, soreness, itching, burning and uncomfortable sex caused by oestrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women aged 50 years and above who have not had a period for at least one year. The decision to reclassify these vaginal tablets follows a safety review by the MHRA, independent advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), and a public consultation. The UK regulator sought views from patients, pharmacists, prescribers and a wide range of stakeholders including the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, the British Pharmacopoeia Commission and the British Menopause Society.

England's chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) David Webb has promised his "wholehearted support" for the community pharmacy sector at the board meeting of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) on 28 June in St Albans. After hearing the CPhO at the meeting, NPA chair, Andrew Lane, later declared: "David is someone we can do business with." Webb thus listed his priorities as head of profession: integration of independent prescribing as part of pharmacy practice by 2026; promotion of inclusive pharmacy practice for all pharmacy professionals; assurance of post-registration practice; developing the role of pharmacy technicians; support for Integrated Care Systems and Primary Care Network pharmacy teams (including community pharmacy); medicines optimisation; and strengthening of professional leadership for community pharmacy. He also reported that NHS England had recently increased its team of regional pharmacy integration leads from seven to 14, creating seven new senior posts. Webb told NPA board members: "I want sincerely to thank community pharmacy teams for everything they are doing and to say that you have my wholehearted support. I believe in the importance of community pharmacy and will listen and engage as I've already demonstrated.

Acknowledging publication of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Scotland's new professional vision for the future of pharmacy in Scotland - Pharmacy 2030, a Parliamentary Motion has been lodged in the Scottish Parliament. The vision, produced in collaboration with the National Pharmacy Technician Group Scotland, expects all pharmacists in a patient-facing role to become independent prescribers by 2030. The motion recognised the aim of the publication that by 2030 pharmacy teams will work together, using their expertise to make the best use of medicines and, will take a person-centred approach, providing care holistically rather than by clinical condition. It highlighted the important role that RPS would play by working with partners across health and social care to turn this vision into a reality.

The Health Education England (HEE) has secured funding to further support growth of the pharmacy technician workforce in 2022/23. This support is through expansion of pre-registration trainee pharmacy technician (PTPT) training capacity in community pharmacy or as part of a cross-sector integrated apprenticeship programme. HEE will be holding two 90-minute webinars on Monday 27 2022. There will be a morning webinar (10-11.30am) and an evening webinar (7-8.30pm) for attendees to choose from. Topics like- available funding; eligibility for funding; PTPT training programme requirements for employers; how to apply for this funding; and the support available from HEE for successful funding of applicants to develop their PTPT training programmes, will be covered during the webinars. HEE is also hosting another webinar to provide an update on the Independent Prescribing (IP) for pharmacists training offer that they are developing for Autumn 2022.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has rejected Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England's proposal on price concessions reform and relief measures to ease pressure on pharmacies. The Committee called the proposal 'insufficient' to meet the sector's needs considering the impact of the current crisis, reflecting on the economic pressures that accelerated through the autumn and winter. The Ministers and other decision-makers have shown their interest in the potential role of community pharmacy, particularly in using a Pharmacy First approach and making use of PGDs and the skills of independent prescribers. But the Committee had made clear to them that without new money this is all a pipedream. "We need an urgent injection of funds into the sector, otherwise we will continue to see a degradation of services and eventual collapse of the network. The Committee is clear that there is no further place for warm words while pharmacy collapses," said PSNC. The Committee reflected that the 5-year CPCF agreement had been based on working together to create the capacity and context necessary to deliver the shift towards greater service delivery. Not only has that capacity-release not happened due to slow progress by Government, but pharmacies have also been burdened with these additional, and insurmountable, challenges.