Deviating from the initial schedule to kick off the flu and Covid-19 vaccination campaigns in October, the NHS England has announced that the autumn
vaccination drive will commence sooner than expected in England, starting on September 11. This decision was taken as a precaution in response to a new Covid-19
variant.
The precautionary measure is being taken as the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency examined the variant BA.2.86, which was first
detected in the UK on Friday, August 18, 2023, the NHSE said on Aug. 30.
While NHS England had previously announced that vaccinations for both NHS programmes would begin on October 2 for residents of older adult care homes, appointments
for other eligible groups were scheduled for the following week, starting on October 7. This decision prompted community pharmacy leaders to denounce the delayed
start of the flu service as 'unacceptable'.
Boots pharmacists will receive a pay rise of 4.5 per cent as the pharmacy multiple and PDA Union jointly announce this year's pay settlement.
Following discussions between Boots management services and the PDA Union negotiators, the agreement was reached in relation to this year's pay claim, effective
from 1 November 2022.
The union also announced that those who have already had a pay increase on or since 1 August 2022, where that increase has been less than 4.5 per cent, a 'top up'
increase will be provided, from 1 November 2022, to ensure that all eligible members of the bargaining unit receive a pay increment of not less than 4.5 per cent in
2022.
Boots and the PDA Union have agreed an increase to the pay of those above the maximum market range by 4 per cent with an additional 0.5 per cent non-consolidated
payment.
The English health secretary has fumbled the opportunity to prevent a crisis in the NHS this winter. She either does not understand or value the role of
community pharmacy as the third pillar of patient access to essential healthcare.
Her announcement that she wants community pharmacy to provide more services to take the strain off A&E departments and GP surgeries comes on the same day DHSC
announces no new long-term investment to sustain the sector.
Does she not understand that as a result of years of government underinvestment in England the network is in decline with random closures across the country? Too
many pharmacies are temporarily closed every day due to workforce shortages beyond the control of pharmacy owners.
Adding a new service here and there, even with some additional funding, does not address the longer term viability of the network which needs to know which patient
services it will be expected to provide over the next 10 years - not just the next few months - and how those will be adequately remunerated.
Asking more from our sector with no new investment is a strategy which is bound to fail. The pharmacy contract remains economically illiterate. The sector's finances
need open heart surgery not a couple of paracetamol tablets.
Sun Pharma has announced that it will acquire all outstanding shares of Concert Pharmaceuticals through a tender offer for an upfront payment of $8.00 per
share of common stock in cash, or $576 million in equity value.
The upfront payment of $8.00 per share of common stock in cash represents a premium of approximately 33% to Concert's 30-day volume weighted average price as of
January 18, 2023, the last trading day prior to today's announcement.
Concert is a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the use of deuterium in medicinal chemistry. Concert has an extensive patent portfolio, including its lead
product candidate deuruxolitinib - an oral inhibitor of Janus kinases JAK1 and JAK2 for the treatment of Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune dermatological disease - which
is in late-stage development.
It has completed the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of deuruxolitinib in adult patients with moderate to severe Alopecia Areata in its THRIVE-AA Phase 3
clinical program and two open label, long-term extension studies are ongoing in North America and Europe. Sun Pharma's immediate focus would be to follow Concert's
plan to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2023.
The pharmacy bodies have expressed a deep concern over Lloyds Pharmacy's announcement on plans to close all pharmacy branches located in Sainsbury's before
the end of 2023.
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) Chief Executive Janet Morrison said: "This significant shrinkage by the second largest pharmacy chain is an
extremely worrying development and one of the clearest signals yet of just how much all community pharmacies are struggling to make ends meet. We know that many
are at breaking point."
She added: "We understand that LloydsPharmacy will be in touch directly with affected staff and patients at this difficult time. As these pharmacies close, other
pharmacies locally will be braced for even more pressures as they try to cope with increased demand."
"The announcement by LloydsPharmacy will be of concern to staff, patients, the public and the community pharmacy sector alike," Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive
of the Company Chemists' Association (CCA).
Pharmacists, and other employees, working at pharmacies owned and operated by LloydsPharmacy in Sainsbury's have been told that the group of more than 200 pharmacies
will be closed this year as LloydsPharmacy will be ending their relationship with the supermarket chain.
The Pharmaceutical Society NI (PSNI) has announced that Michaela McAleer will be replacing Trevor Patterson as Chief Executive of PSNI.
After 15 years at the helm, Patterson announced his intention to retire. Jonathan Patton, Vice President of the Society said, "Joining the Society from the
construction sector Trevor brought fresh thinking and vigour to the Society and quickly established his credibility with pharmacists, Council, stakeholders and
fellow regulatory bodies."
"Trevor has presided over tremendous change and development through his tenure with equal measures of professionalism and passion on creating safer protections
for the public and ensuring pharmacists achieved world class standards in their profession. We are saddened to see him depart but on behalf of Council I wish him a
long and healthy retirement and wish him well in the next chapter of life. We are indebted to him for his dedication to the Pharmaceutical Society NI."
"Losing the constant and continuity of our 15 year serving Chief Executive ushers in a time of change and evolution for us as the Pharmacy Regulator. We are in the
midst of a fast moving and changing environment as we implement continuous improvement.
As part of a new blueprint for primary care, the government today (May 9) announced an investment of £645 million over two years to expand community pharmacy
services in England.
In a statement, NHS England said: "For the first time ever, patients who need prescription medication will be able to get it directly from a pharmacy, without a
GP appointment, for seven common conditions including earache, sore throat, or urinary tract infections."
Prime minister Rishi Sunak hopes that the measures will help end the "all-too stressful wait on the end of the phone for patients" by freeing up 15 million slots at
doctors' surgeries over the next two years.
"We will end the 8am rush and expand the services offered by pharmacies, meaning patients can get their medication quickly and easily," he said
Almost half a million women will no longer need to speak to a practice nurse or GP to access oral contraception and will instead be able to pop into their local
pharmacy for it, according to the government announcement.
Blood checks for people suffering from moderate risk of heart attack or stroke conducted in community pharmacies will more than double from 900,000 last year to
2.5 million next year.
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard said the "ambitious package" would help transform how care is provided within the health service "with pharmacies playing a
central role in managing the nation's health including providing lifesaving checks and medication for common conditions for the first time.
Labour MP Barry Gardiner has raised concerns that the £645 million cash injection announced by the government for community pharmacy is, in effect, 'frozen
funding' for the next two years.
Speaking on Tuesday (May 9) on the BBC's Politics Live, Gardiner said funding for community pharmacies "was cut before 2015, then it was frozen and now the latest
announcement says that it's going to be frozen for a further two years."
He said with a current national contract, which already represented a 25 per cent funding cut in real terms, it was not appropriate to ask for community pharmacy
"to take on more work" without adequate support.
"I heard the prime minister earlier this morning (May 9) on TV saying 'we are investing more in pharmacies'.
"No you are not. You just concluded a contract that says for the next two years it will be absolutely flatlined."
He added that "there will be no more money" for community pharmacy and that steeply rising costs due to inflation were "eating into that contract's health".
Gardiner said community pharmacists "do a phenomenal job" but regretted that from a total of just 11,000, some 700 pharmacies have been lost due to funding cuts.
The public awareness campaign for community pharmacy, 'Ask Your Pharmacist Week' this year will be on 31 October - 7 November, the National Pharmacy
Association (NPA) has announced.
Every year AYP Week is held across the UK, with an aim to raise awareness of pharmacy services and to prompt conversations with key stakeholders at a local
level about community pharmacy's role and benefits.
Activities in previous years have ranged from public exhibitions and window posters to social media campaigns, projects with patient groups and visits to pharmacies
from local dignitaries and politicians.
NPA Head of Communications, Stephen Fishwick, said, "AYP Week is an important fixture in the pharmacy calendar, as it creates a space for focused public awareness
activities to help customers, patients and stakeholders understand more fully the community pharmacy offer.
We want people to be more aware of long-standing and new NHS services plus the skills and expertise on offer in pharmacies across the UK. AYP also aims to cultivate
a richer dialogue with key stakeholders, which in England now includes leaders in Integrated Care Systems."
Boots UK will offer a staring salary of £42,000 per annum to newly qualified pharmacists joining the pharmacy chain.
The company also revealed that "in addition, any existing pharmacists in the bargaining unit currently receiving less than £43k."
The newly announced hike in the salary - following an agreement reached between the multiple and and the Pharmacist Defence Association - will be effective from
1 August 2022.
"This enhanced offer for Newly Qualified Pharmacists and further investment in those in the early stages of their careers at Boots is a key part of our commitments
to pharmacists," the company said.
Boots and PDA Union also announced in a joint statement that they will conduct a further formal review of all pharmacists' pay in accordance with the collective
agreement, effective from 1 November 2022.
A new legislation has been introduced to allow authorised pharmacists along with other healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland to certify 'fit notes',
health minister Robin Swann has announced.
Pharmacists and some other healthcare professionals in England, Scotland and Wales are already allowed to sign 'fit notes'.
Swann announced that 'fit notes' were also set to go fully digital in the future, meaning they would no longer need to be signed in ink.
He said: "I am delighted to introduce this legislation in Northern Ireland. This change will make it easier for people and employers to get the advice they need so
people can stay in work and will help free up doctors' time.
"Too often we see people being faced with unnecessary challenges to get a fit note. More professionals being able to offer this vital service will speed up the
process and support people to return to or remain in work."
LloydsPharmacy has offered three per cent increase in base pay backdated to 1 April for its store pharmacists, the union of Pharmacists' Defence Association
(PDAU) who represented them has announced.
"We are pleased to announce that following a consultation of its members, the PDAU has informed the company that agreement can be reached on the company's latest
offer, made in July 2022," said the PDAU.
The offer made by the company also includes introduction of an overtime rate of 1.5 times basic pay for each hour worked after contracted hours. This will run for
a trial period and be reviewed as part of the next pay round.
"All pharmacists will receive an initial £1,000 payment under the proposed LTIP scheme, paid in April 2024. This will be to all in the bargaining unit and will not
be dependent on meeting any criteria such as targets," said PDAU.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) is organising a series of webinars to help pharmacy owners and their teams to prepare for the implementation of new
Pharmacy First service, and changes to the Contraception and Hypertension Case-Finding Services.
Beginning from 5th December, the webinars would be conducted throughout December and January, with support from NHS England and the Centre for Postgraduate
Education (CPPE), the organisation announced on Thursday (30 November).
During the online seminars, pharmacy teams will be explained about the individual services announced, and things to consider before they start providing, or
expand their offering of, these services.
Each webinar will have CPE's Services Team, who would be leading the team, and policy experts from NHS England and CPPE as speakers.
Thanks to the NHS primary care access recovery plan, more than 23 million people can now view test results and check their consultation notes online without
needing to contact their GP practice.
NHS England on Monday (4 December) announced that over 81 GP practices in England (more than four in five) are now giving patients access to their new health
records online through the NHS App.
In May, the NHS announced the primary care access recovery plan setting a target of 9 in 10 GP practices offering patients access to their records through the
NHS App by March 2024.
By making access to healthcare easier and quicker, the NHSE also aims to free up to 10 million GP appointments a year by next winter.
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 Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) is probing major concerns arising from Boots' communications to pharmacists regarding the company's recently
announced pension arrangements.
In November, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the parent company of Boots, transferred the Boots employees' pension scheme to the financial service provider Legal
and General (L&G) in a £4.8 billion deal.
Boots notified staff that terms allowing an unreduced pension from age 60 have ceased immediately, following its agreement with L&G.
The PDA highlighted member concerns regarding Boots management's announcement that an unreduced pension from the age of 60 is a discretionary benefit and not
guaranteed under the Boots Pension Scheme (BPS), contrary to some members' assumptions.
Thirty-five generic drug manufacturers will make a more affordable version of Pfizer's anti-Covid pill for the world's poorer nations, in licensing deals announced Thursday (17) by a UN-backed organisation.
The global Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed agreements with three dozen manufacturers to produce the oral Covid-19 treatment nirmatrelvir for supply in 95 low- and middle-income countries.
US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer signed a licence agreement with the MPP in November. The MPP, in turn, issued sub-licences to the generic drugs makers.
The deals announced Thursday will "help ensure access to our oral Covid-19 treatment for patients in need around the world", said Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla.
Lloyds Pharmacy's closure of all its 1,300 branches will wake-up the ministers and NHS officials to the reality of community pharmacy sector in England has
reached crisis point, expressed Nigel Swift Managing Director of Rowlands pharmacy and Deputy Managing Director of PHOENIX UK.
On Friday, The SUN reported that the UK's second largest pharmacy provider - is allegedly in the process of selling its entire estate of 1300 branches. Lloyds
Pharmacy will no longer be a High Street presence following its decision to put all its pharmacy branches at the risk of closure. In January it has announced to
close its 237 Sainsbury-based pharmacies.
Nigel highlighted the fact that community pharmacy is struggling due to insufficient government funding and immense pressures on GPs and A&E departments - an ongoing
issue which poses a very real threat to the sector.
Commenting on the announcement, he said: "It's not just Lloyds - an independent analysis by Ernst & Young estimated that 75% of community pharmacies will be in
financial distress in the coming years. £750 million has been taken out of the English contract due to inflation since it began."
National pharmacy bodies have welcomed two VAT changes related to community pharmacy services announced in the Spring budget on Wednesday (15 March) but were
disappointed that the budget brought no further relief for the sector in a crippling funding crisis.
It was announced that from 1 May 2023, VAT exemption on healthcare would be extended to include medical services carried out by staff directly supervised by
registered pharmacists.
The government will also extend zero rate on prescriptions to medicines supplied through Patient Group Directions. This measure will be introduced in autumn 2023.
HM Treasury said these measures were being introduced to ensure that the VAT system keeps up with changes to how the NHS operates and how healthcare is delivered
across the country.
More widely, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt promised to halve inflation and said that the NHS would soon publish its long-term workforce plan.
Superdrug has announced a pay increase for newly qualified pharmacists, in a move that will see wages rise to £50,000 - ensuring that Superdrug Pharmacists
continue to receive the strongest renumeration package on the high street today.
Superdrug is also enhancing its patient experience and operational structure, with the introduction of a new role of Pharmacy Team Leader to selected pharmacy stores.
Pharmacy Team Leaders will be dispenser trained and provide a clear line of accountability for day-to-day dispensary activity including adhering to legal and
clinical frameworks whilst supporting, coaching, and developing a high-performing pharmacy team.
The role also allows Superdrug to offer a clear line of progression for talented Pharmacy Dispensers and Technicians who want to do more in their career and recognises
the valuable contribution Pharmacy Dispensers & Technicians play in community pharmacy.
In addition, the appointment of two new Heads of Pharmacy Operations sees the high street retailer driving and improving Superdrug's pharmacy performance to offer the
best possible care for patients. Craig Watt, Pharmacist and previously Area Manager, has been appointed to Head of Pharmacy Operations North and will be responsible
for the operation of Superdrug's central distribution hub serving its e-pharmacy and Online Dr team.
