Deaths caused by hepatitis C has declined by 35 per cent in England between 2015 and 2020, latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) revealed.
It showed that estimated prevalence of chronic hepatitis C in England has continued to fall to around 81,000 in 2020 from 129,000 in 2015, showing a considerable progress has been made towards eliminating the virus as a public health problem by 2030 in England.
Commenting on the data release, health and social care secretary Sajid Javid, said: "It is fantastic to see the significant progress that has been made in eliminating hepatitis C in England. Deaths and prevalence of the virus have fallen consistently thanks to improvements in diagnosis, access to treatments and the hard work of the NHS.
"This is another example of the UK being at the forefront of tackling serious diseases. We are on track to eliminate this virus by 2030 and I urge anyone who may be at risk to get tested as soon as possible."
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England (RPS) and Community Pharmacy England (CPE) have raised alarm over the impending increase in NHS prescription
charges, slated to take effect from May 1, 2024.
The RPS, represented by Chair Tase Oputu, condemned the rise, labeling it a "dark day for patients" who will now face nearly £10 per prescription item.
Oputu emphasised the disproportionate impact on individuals with low incomes, citing the "relentless annual increases in prescription charges" as exacerbating
the affordability crisis in healthcare.
" Every day pharmacists are asked by patients who are unable to afford all the items in their prescription which ones they can 'do without'" she said.
She further added that the financial barriers to get vital medicines should not be faced by any one and advocated for "the abolition of prescription charges in
England, as has been implemented in other parts of the UK".
Local pharmacists in England can now evaluate and provide treatment for patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women under the age
of 65, without the need for a GP appointment.
The 'ByeByeUTI' scheme has been expanded across the country, following a successful pilot across North East and North Cumbria.
More than 30,000 women have been treated for uncomplicated urinary tract infections at local pharmacies since the pilot scheme was launched in July 2022 as part
of the NHS and government's primary care access recovery plan, according to NHS England.
The expansion of pharmacy services not only enhances patients' access to care but also frees up tens of thousands of GP appointments at the same time.
Dr Faisel Baig, Medical Director for Primary Care, NHS England North East and Yorkshire, said that the rollout of this service across the whole region will enable
many more women to receive "faster and easier" access to advice and treatment.
With 118 new cases confirmed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the total number of measles cases reported in England since 1 October 2023 has gone
up to 465.
According to the latest data published by the agency, West Midlands continues to see a disproportionately high rate of infections, with a sharp rise in case
numbers over the last six weeks, mainly driven by cases in Birmingham.
In England, there were 17 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in October, 42 in November, 161 in December, 240 in January 2024.
Five more cases were confirmed last week, according to the measles statistics updated by UKHSA on 8 February.
More than 70 per cent (329 of 465) of total confirmed cases were reported from the West Midlands, 13 per cent (62 of 465) from London, seven per cent (32 of 465)
in Yorkshire and The Humber, and the remaining cases from other regions of England.
Cervical screening is one of the best ways to protect women from cervical cancer, which claims nearly two lives daily in England, according to NHS England.
Therefore, all women and those with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 are encouraged to attend cervical screening when invited.
Sadly, 3 in 10 of those eligible for cervical screening do not take up the potentially life-saving offer, as revealed by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme,
England 2022-2023 annual report.
Pharmacist Thorrun Govind, also a Healthcare Lawyer (Brabners LLP), underscores the significant role pharmacists and pharmacy teams can play in promoting cervical
cancer screening.
The former Chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England told Pharmacy Business: "Pharmacists and pharmacy teams are a trusted part of the local
community. They therefore have a key part in promoting cervical cancer screening."
Even as the UK agrees deals for 14 million additional vaccine doses from Moderna and Pfizer, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society has renewed its calls for community pharmacies in England to play an increased role in delivering booster jabs for Covid-19.
"Pharmacists and pharmacy teams across the health service in England have been crucial to the success of the flu and Covids-19 vaccination programmes from the outset," said Thorrun Govind, chair of the RPS in England, who has been making a case on national television for an increased role of the profession.
She added: "They continue to go above and beyond to support patient care, engaging with local communities and helping to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
"They've already done so much this year to look after patients in really difficult circumstances, but many will be ready to rise to the challenge of this new national effort."
NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard joined over 17 million people in England by taking her Covid-19 booster dose on Monday (December 6) whilst encouraging people to take their top-up jab.
The NHS boss got a dose in each arm as she also received her flu vaccine from pharmacist Bhaveen Patel at the Junction Pharmacy in Brixton.
Pritchard later posted a video on Twitter, thanking the team in the south London community pharmacy.
Ahead of the first anniversary of the NHS delivering the first Covid-19 vaccine in the world on Wednesday (December 8), Pritchard thanked the "incredible efforts" of NHS staff and volunteers who worked hard to protect millions of people.
Almost 100 million jabs have been delivered in England since December 8, 2020, including over 17 million booster vaccines.
Expressing her delight after taking the booster dose, Pritchard said: "The booster jab was quick, easy and I now have extra protection against the virus."
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'.
Community Pharmacy England has submitted a full and detailed written response to the Health and Social Care Select Committee's pharmacy inquiry.
The Committee is expected to hold oral evidence sessions when Parliament returns in the Autumn. The commencement of this inquiry follows on from those held on
other primary care sectors, including Dentistry and General Practice.
According to the Committee website this inquiry 'will explore issues impacting different types of pharmacy, with a particular focus on community, primary care and
hospital pharmacy services'.
Key themes of CPE's submission include- Suggestions on future service provision; Challenges with the pharmacy workforce; Longstanding underfunding of the sector;
and Current pressures.
Janet Morrison OBE, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy England, said: "This is an extremely important opportunity for all who work with and in the Pharmacy
sector, to highlight not only the extreme challenges we face, but also ideas and suggestions for what more we can do to help patients and the public in the future.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory (MHRA) and Genomics England to launch a brand-new genetic research resource, known as a 'biobank' on Thursday
(June 01) to tackle the issue of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs).
Biobank will help to better understand how a patient's genetic makeup can impact the safety of their medicines.
"The Yellow Card biobank, which will contain genetic data and patient samples, will operate alongside the MHRA's Yellow Card reporting site for suspected side
effects and adverse incidents involving medicines and medical devices," said MHRA.
The biobank pilot will officially begin on 1 June 2023 with participant recruitment commencing later this year, on 1 September. The sequencing of participants'
genetic material will begin in Spring 2024, with initial research findings from the pilot due to be published in 2025. Genomics England will be supporting the
MHRA with sequencing and storage of genetic material through use of their well-established and secure infrastructure.
Achieving the community pharmacy vision necessitates legal adjustments and additional funding beyond recent boosts, the pharmacy vision document published
by Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund has revealed. It says community pharmacies in England must adapt to changing population needs amidst unprecedented health
and care challenges.
Commissioned by Community Pharmacy England, the report titled 'A Vision for Community Pharmacy', published on Sept. 19, is a result of almost a year of research
and extensive consultation with the sector and wider stakeholders, advocating for community pharmacy. The think tanks detail a shift in the community pharmacy
sector, highlighting how pharmacies can contribute to crucial policy objectives regarding population health, prevention, and the increasing demand in primary care.
"The health and care needs of the population are evolving, and pharmacies in England, like all components of the health and care system, must adjust to address
these changes," said Helen Buckingham, Director of Strategy at Nuffield Trust.
The new data from NHS England has revealed that more than 100,000 patients were treated for minor illness by their high street pharmacist in just one month.
According to new NHS figures, in June, 118,123 people with minor illnesses such as a sore throat or constipation, or those in need of medicine urgently, received
a same-day consultation with their local pharmacist after calling NHS 111 or their GP practice - an increase of more than four-fifths (83%) on the number in the same
month last year (64,512).
The data comes alongside expanded roles for community pharmacies ahead of winter, announced at the NHS England board meeting today.
"From this week, NHS 111 online can directly refer people to their high street pharmacist for a same-day consultation, rather than patients needing to call the
phone line," said NHS England.
Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: "Our local pharmacies ensure hundreds of thousands of people every week get the support and medication they need and
today's figures show that in just one month, over 100,000 patients have also had consultations with their local pharmacist for minor illnesses - this means patients
are getting the care they need quickly but also in a convenient way that can fit in with their busy lives.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has invited views of healthcare professionals and others to tackle the six major health conditions which
drive-ill health and contribute to the burden of disease in England.
The six major health conditions - cancer; cardiovascular diseases including stroke and diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases; dementia; mental ill-health and
musculoskeletal disorders - affect millions of people in England with data showing that one in four suffer from two or more of these major long-term conditions.
Recognising the pressure these conditions are putting on the NHS, the government is seeking views on a new strategy to tackle them that will focus not only on
treatment but also on prevention.
Government is particularly interested in hearing from those who suffer from, care for or provide treatment to people who suffer from multiple long-term conditions.
This is to ensure the Major Conditions Strategy is one that will better prevent, diagnose, manage and treat these conditions.
Contributions are also encouraged from those working in NHS bodies, local government, the voluntary and community sector, and wider industry, on how best to tackle
suffering from one or more of these major conditions. Particularly, it is seeking perspectives on how government and the NHS can work better together with different
organisations and sectors to improve the nation's health.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has implemented a process to roll over certain concessionary prices to the following month.
From May 2023, the roll over process will apply to any products where agreement is reached on the final prices granted by DHSC for any price concession requests
submitted late in the month (on or after the 23rd of the month) by Community Pharmacy England.
Community Pharmacy England said: "As part of the Year 4 & 5 funding settlement for community pharmacy, it was agreed that an urgent review of the price concession
setting system would take place."
It has been working with DHSC to determine improvements to the price concession system.
Community Pharmacy England said: "Pharmacy owners (members) will be able to see the lines that have rolled over on our price concessions page here. Please note
any rolled over prices can be adjusted upwards if we receive reports from our members to indicate suppliers' selling prices have increased. The review can be
requested at any point during the month."
Almost nine in ten community pharmacists in England say they have patients who sometimes go without prescription medicines because they cannot afford the
prescription charge levied by the government.
Sixty-eight per cent of pharmacists in a National Pharmacy Association (NPA) survey, conducted via email in June 2022, said this has become more frequent in the
past year - suggesting that the rising cost of living could be leading more people to miss out on vital medicines.
While prescription charge does not apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in England an NHS patients needs to pay £9.35 per item. For patients who need
multiples medicines the cost could be exponential and virtually unaffordable amid rising inflation and higher cost of living.
The survey found that 89 per cent of pharmacies in England have patients who sometimes go without prescription medicines due to cost.
For most pharmacists (74 per cent) this happens one to five times a week. Fifteen per cent said they see such patients from six to 20 times a week.
NHS England has launched a prescription savings campaign, particularly for those living with long-term conditions.
The campaign is specifically for individuals residing in deprived areas as they receive more prescriptions than people in affluent areas.
It is also known that people with low income could be entitled to help with costs or free prescriptions depending on their circumstances.
The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA), an active member of the Prescription Charges Coalition, is actively striving to eliminate prescription charges in
England as well.
They are focussing on "NHS England's current efforts to minimise charges so that members practising in England can alert patients to this possibility".
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has updated the final price concessions for June 2023, following a discussion by Community Pharmacy England
regarding medicine pricing issues reported by pharmacy owners (its members).
A price concession only applies for the month it is granted; any prices agreed for concessions requested late in the month will roll over into the following month.
Community Pharmacy England encouraged pharmacies to report any problems obtaining a Part VIII product at or below the stated Drug Tariff price, using the online
feedback form on the Community Pharmacy England website along with full details of the supplier and price paid for any products sourced above the Drug Tariff price.
The association will investigate the extent of the problem and, if appropriate, discuss the issue with DHSC.
Dr Amanda Doyle has been appointed as NHS England as director of primary and community care.
Prior to her new role, Amanda had joined NHS England and NHS Improvement as North West Regional Director on 2 August 2021 and previously she was the Chief
Clinical Officer for West Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Blackpool CCG and Fylde and Wyre CCG.
Amanda was also the Integrated Care System Lead for Lancashire and South Cumbria, leading a large health and care transformation programme across the patch.
She has been a GP for more than 20 years, practising in a large practice in a deprived area of Blackpool, which, in addition to primary medical services, provides a range of urgent care services for patients across the Fylde Coast.
Amanda was the Co-Chair of NHS Clinical Commissioners from 2013 to 2018.
She was Senior Responsible Officer for the primary care component of the Long Term Plan and was involved in the leadership of the health inequalities, prevention and personalisation elements.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has backed a new framework from NHS England to reduce inappropriate prescribing of addiction-causing medicines.
It believes that the new framework is a positive step towards improving patient care by supporting medicine reviews and shared decision making to help people reduce
their use of medicines that are no longer providing much clinical benefit.
The society has also welcomed investment in innovative approaches to supporting patients and urged all pharmacists to refer people to such schemes.
Director for England at RPS, James Davies said: "Pharmacists are well-placed to help reduce inappropriate prescribing of high strength painkillers such as opioids
and other addictive medicines.
"Pharmacy teams can also often spot repeat purchases of over the counter medicines by patients so are well placed to intervene and give advice on the management of
chronic pain. Whilst opioids can play an important part in helping people with chronic pain there has long been a need for alternative approaches that are safer and
more effective for patients.
Community pharmacists in England have slammed the government's latest decision to reduce the number of people who get a free winter flu jab in the 2022-23 flu season, as concerns related to Covid-19 still exist.
This follows a letter from the NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) to clinicians, which stated that the flu vaccination service in 2022-23 will be offered to
patient groups eligible in line with pre-pandemic recommendations. The eligibility was widened significantly after the pandemic struck in 2020 to help reduce the death toll from the Covid-19.
With the change in place people aged 50-64 and schoolchildren aged 11-15 will not be eligible to receive the free jabs on the NHS next winter, pushing millions of people to pay for their jabs privately.
It further recommended that vaccination for frontline healthcare workers and social care workers should be provided by employers as part of the organisation's policy to prevent the transmission of infection.
