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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.

A pharmacy in Derby is to reopen a year after its closure sparked more than 600 worried residents to sign a petition demanding it stayed open. An old LloydsPharmacy store on Main Drive in Chaddesden is to be the new home for Vision Pharmacy which currently has a branch at nearby Nottingham Road. Vision Pharmacy, which has been based in Chaddesden for nine years, is to move to Main Drive from the beginning of December. It means that Chaddesden will once again have a pharmacy right next to The Park Medical Practice - one of the main GP surgeries in the area - making it ideal for patients as they will simply have to just visit next door to collect prescriptions and medicines. Huge banner signs can be seen on both the existing Vision Pharmacy store and its new Main Drive premises saying the move will take place from December 1.

NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I), in association with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), has published its first inclusive pharmacy practice (IPP) bulletin, with an overarching ambition "to make community pharmacy a more inclusive environment for all pharmacy professionals". The IPP programme will take practical steps to improve the awareness and understanding at all levels of different cultural beliefs and attitudes, according to the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). As a member of the IPP Improving Practice and Engagement Group, PSNC has contributed to this issue of the Bulletin, which focuses on how pharmacy professionals can help to reduce health inequalities via the detection and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The IPP programme, of which the Bulletin forms a part, aims to engage with local communities to help improve their health and reduce inequalities in care - particularly among those from ethnically diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has asked community pharmacy owners to share their views on preparations for the new national Pharmacy First service, ahead of the next full Committee meeting at the end of January. The advanced service, which is set for launch from 31 January, will allow patients to seek advice and treatment for seven common conditions directly from their local pharmacy, without the need to contact their GP practice. It is expected to help NHS free up 10m GP appointments a year. However, CPE chief executive Janet Morrison has previously expressed that the Pharmacy First investment is not the panacea for pharmacy's funding woes. Pharmacy owners' feedback will be used in the Committee's campaigning and influencing work to press for an uplift to core funding, CPE said.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has taken an interesting step to increase public awareness and understanding of the Pharmacy First service. The organisation has launched a new video animation that provides clear and concise information about the service, highlighting the seven conditions covered, the eligible age ranges within the clinical pathways consultations, and explaining how patients can access these services. Pharmacy owners and their teams are encouraged to use the new animation with existing resources to communicate the benefits and scope of the service to their  patients. The animation can be linked to pharmacy social media content and downloaded for display on digital screens in pharmacies. General practices are also encouraged to use the animation on digital screens in their practice waiting areas.

Alitam has announced that it has merged with clinical skills training provider MHRx to upskill UK pharmacists so that its chain of community pharmacies in the UK can diagnose and treat minor medical ailments "quickly and safely". This is a second merger deal announced by the group that has 100-plus pharmacies, just days after its merger with Pharmadoctor to "radically transform the UK and Ireland's community pharmacy sector" into a truly preventative healthcare system. Following the merger with MHRx, Alitam will now be providing a career development platform for its pharmacy teams, which also include nurses and other healthcare professionals. MHRx's training incorporates every aspect of general practice alongside relevant topics including making appropriate patient consultation records in line with NHS guidelines. This, Alitam believes, will allow community pharmacies to carry out formal diagnoses, formulate differential diagnosis plans, and perform full clinical examinations. According to the founder and CEO Feisal Nahaboo, mergers such as these will lead to "a healthcare revolution predicated on building the world's first truly preventative healthcare model".

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.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed Laura Wilson as Director for Scotland commencing 23rd January 2023. Laura, is currently Policy and Practice Lead for RPS in Scotland. She is accountable for bringing national RPS policy to life for members in Scotland, while contributing to the GB wide professional leadership agenda. She will work closely with the Scottish Pharmacy Board, senior NHS officials and other key stakeholders across the breadth of the pharmacy profession and beyond to ensure pharmacy is on the forefront of healthcare in Scotland. She joins the existing team of RPS Country Directors, which includes Elen Jones, Director for Wales and James Davies, Director for England and will report directly to the Chief Executive. Laura Wilson said: "I am delighted to be appointed Director for Scotland having worked as part of the RPS Scotland team as the policy and practice lead. It will be an honour to continue the fantastic work started by former Director Clare Morrison to bring Pharmacy 2030, our vision for pharmacy in Scotland in the future, to life and supporting pharmacy teams to deliver person centred care.

The pharmacy business is one of the most profitable businesses on the planet. However, the trends are changing and as we move forward in this digital world, we see a transition from traditional business practices to modern and digital business practices that change the whole scenario. In this era of advanced technology, if you don't keep up with the world, you lose the race. It is a fast-paced world where trends change every day, something might work today but it won't work tomorrow, it will be replaced with something better and more efficient whether it is a tool, a technique, a marketing strategy, or a manufacturing process. Everything is being replaced with better alternatives more than ever. Now it is time to realize this change and bring some new guns to your business arsenal. You can employ an auto attendant for your pharmacies, or build a website for online orders and deliveries. Online pharmacies are getting popular a lot and they are the future. Here are a few tips and tricks that you can use to run your pharmacy business like a pro.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England has published a review of its 10-year Vision for Pharmacy Professional Practice that was launched in December 2022 in collaboration with The King's Fund. The 'one year on' vision report highlighted key milestones achieved in the first 12 months since its publication as well as opportunities for further progress. It identified the publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which recognises the significant role that pharmacists play in healthcare and commits to growing and expanding the pharmacy workforce, as one of the positive policy developments made since the launch of the vision. The development of a Vision for Community Pharmacy by Community Pharmacy England, the Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund; work on digital integration to enable community pharmacists to update a clinical record; the launch of Pharmacy First scheme; and the publication of the public consultation of pharmacy supervision were other key milestones mentioned in the report.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in collaboration with Health Education England's Centre for Advancing Practice and the Centre for Pharmacy Post Graduate Education (CPPE) will provide a pharmacy-specific professional development pathway for advanced pharmacist practice. Successful completion of the pathway, assured through the RPS Core Advanced Pharmacist Curriculum assessment, will result in pharmacists being recognised by RPS as an advanced pharmacist, along with the awarding of HEE's Centre for Advancing Practice's 'Advanced' digital badge, demonstrating the quality assurance of their advanced practice preparation to patients, families, carers, and other healthcare professionals. The first participants in a fully funded, supported e-portfolio pathway to recognise advanced pharmacist practice in England will get underway in March 2023 This new programme is an important step in creating a clear postgraduate career structure for pharmacists in England. The innovative approach provides funding from HEE's Centre for Advancing Practice in 2023-24 for 300 pharmacists in England who are near to, or already practicing at, an advanced level, to enable them to receive supervision and support in building their RPS Core Advanced e-Portfolio from CPPE's pharmacy education supervisors.

Professional leadership bodies from around the world discussed workforce shortages in community pharmacy and other challenges affecting the sector at a global meeting held in Paris last month. Delegated from Denmark, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, US and the UK updated the conference on how the profession was progressing in practice, technology and workforce development in their respective countries. The UK was represented at World Pharmacy Council meeting by National Pharmacy Association chair Andrew Lane and chief executive at the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee Janet Morrison. Lane said: "It's very useful to be part of a global network of pharmacy bodies who are all going through similar challenges as we are in the UK. Sharing intelligence on other pharmacy systems around the world helps us to prepare the right strategy for engaging with the NHS at home. "Hearing some of the strides in services and digital technology in the profession gives us hope for the future of the sector. It's clear however that key challenges such as workforce shortages are starting to have an effect in other parts of the world too."

Lord Markham, a health minister suggested the House of Lords on Tuesday (10 January) that plan of 'using pharmacies more for patient will put funding their way', just like allocation of Covid vaccine provided support. In a statement to the House of Lords he praised the sector saying they are a 'crucial part of the front line'. His statement was in response to a question from Lord Grade, who is campaigning on behalf of the community pharmacy sector. Lord Grade warned Government that it must take action before pharmacies start to close. On Monday (9 January) the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay MP, commented: "There are many more things that community pharmacists can support with that can ease pressure on General Practice. The Primary Care recovery plan will set out a range of additional services that Community Pharmacy can deliver."

In a first, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) has appointed a pharmacy technician to the chief pharmaceutical officer's team. Liz Fidler, president at the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK (APTUK), will join the team in March 2022 in the newly created post of senior professional advisor: pharmacy technician practice NHSE&I. The appointment signaled "a new era for the profession, leading the step-change needed to build on and fully realise the benefits of the pharmacy technician clinical role for patients across the NHS system," said Dr Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer. In the new role, Fidler will provide leadership and professional advice in relation to the pharmacy technician profession in England.

The Department of Health and Social Care aims to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, thereby enabling pharmacy technicians to provide and administer specific medicines through a patient group direction. In line with this initiative, the Department introduced a six-week consultation to assess whether registered pharmacy technicians should be authorised to dispense medicines using a PGD. The proposals, backed by all four Home Nations, apply exclusively to registered pharmacy technicians. Meanwhile, this coverage will extend to include pharmacy technicians in Northern Ireland upon their achievement of registered professional status. "The proposed statutory instrument, presently applicable in England, Scotland, and Wales would offer 'clear benefits,' especially in areas such as vaccination and the provision of oral contraception and EHC," the DHSC said. According to the Department, facilitating registered pharmacy technicians to execute PGDs might amplify their workload, yet it could simultaneously enhance overall efficiency and cost-effectiveness for pharmacy teams by optimising the utilisation of skill diversity.

The Department of Health (DoH) has launched a new programme to provide pharmacy undergraduate students in Northern Ireland with clinical placements across hospital, community and general practice settings. It has commissioned the Northern Ireland Centre for Pharmacy Learning and Development (NICPLD) at Queen's University Belfast (QUB) to deliver the new Experiential Learning (EL) programme. NICPLD will work with QUB, Ulster University (UU) and local employers to co-ordinate the work placements, the department said. Students across years 2- 4 of the Masters of Pharmacy course will be given up to 12 weeks of Experiential Learning with multisector placements in hospital (6 weeks), community pharmacy (3 weeks) and general practice (3 weeks).

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.

Sobha Sharma Kandel wants community pharmacy teams up and down the country to be super responsive to emerging needs of their patients - by always being pro-active rather than reactive. "We know that every patient benefits from our proactive approaches - listening, asking questions, providing information and making clinical interventions when appropriate. "At a time when general practice is overstretched, community pharmacy must be relied upon as the frontline of the NHS when it comes to providing diagnosis, treatment and continuous care in our communities to promote health and wellbeing of our patients." Sobha believes Covid-19 has helped shift public perception of community pharmacies from being a place where one goes to collect a prescription to a hub where one can access a range of healthcare advice and services. "We are way more than just a shop where you can collect your medicines," she said, giving examples of how her interventions have helped reduce medication errors, prevent harm and subsequently reduce cost of care. She once saved a baby from getting overdosed with omeprazole when they had issues with gastroesophageal reflux. On another occasion, she managed a lady's high blood pressure by finding equivalent medications to a combination dose prescribed by her doctor in another country.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has called for comments and views on the recently launched consultation on selecting the appropriate mode of consultation when assessing a person's needs by pharmacy professionals including pharmacist prescribers. The guidance note sets out what the pharmacy professional or prescriber, in agreement with the patient, needs to consider when selecting the mode of consultation - such as face-to-face; video-link, video-chat, or other online platforms; telephone and online questionnaires - best suited to gaining the information needed to deliver safe and effective pharmacy care. The principles outlined in the guidance apply to consultations undertaken in all pharmacy settings, including those undertaken by online pharmacy services providers. "Our plan is to include the contents of this guidance note in the document: 'In practice: Guidance for pharmacist prescribers' when we undertake our next review," said the regulator.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has developed two new resources- Keeping patients safe being open and honest and Pharmacy team toolkit - learning from incidents, to help pharmacists and pharmacy technicians fulfil the duty of candour - the professional responsibility to be open and honest with patients if/when something goes wrong. The new resources bring together relevant existing policy, standards, and previous statements on the professional obligations of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, with respect to candour. It also emphasises that the duty of candour is not an add on - it's a fundamental part of pharmacy professional practice. The responsibility to be open and honest applies even in difficult or challenging times and it's essential that professionals do the right thing for patients, their families and carers. Saying sorry meaningfully when things go wrong is vital for everyone involved. Given the link with issues around liability and indemnity, the National Pharmacy Association and the Pharmacists' Defence Association - as leading providers of professional indemnity - have also contributed to the new resources and highlighted the importance of openness and transparency in this context.