Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

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."

Boris Johnson has picked Steve Barclay as the new health secretary following the resignation of Sajid Javid, who stepped down on July 5 after saying he had lost faith in prime minister's leadership. Barclay - who had served as chief of staff of the prime minister since February 2022 - was previously a junior health minister in 2018, responsible for NHS workforce and finance, before serving as Brexit secretary, chief secretary to the Treasury, and chancellor of the duchy. He is the fourth health secretary after Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid in the past five years. In a statement on his appointment, Barclay said it was "an honour" to be take up the position, adding: "Our NHS and social care staff have showed us time and again - throughout the pandemic and beyond - what it means to work with compassion and dedication to transform lives. "This government is investing more than ever before in our NHS and care services to beat the Covid-19 backlogs, recruit 50,000 more nurses, reform social care and ensure patients across the country can access the care they need."

Homecare.co.uk's famed Top 20 UK awards have turned out a multiple winner, with Blue Angel Care a highlight. Blue Angel Care took two prestigious gongs , Top 20 Homecare Group Provider in the UK and Top 20 Home Care Providers in South East England. Finding innovative ways to circumnavigate the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic, the homecare specialists have grown to a nationwide team of more than 200 care givers. Dariusz Motka, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Blue Angel Care, said in a statement: "We are eternally grateful to the readers and reviewers of Homecare.co.uk for honouring us with, not one, but two awards." Praising his staff, Dariusz added : "More so, we are all grateful to the incredibly hardworking and professional staff that help to train so many capable carers every single week."

The fusion of the unique in-depth understanding of medicines by pharmacists together with the competence to prescribe offers will improve access to care and increase capacity in the health system, said the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Director for England Ravi Sharma to Parliament at the Health and Social Care Select Committee's inquiry on workforce on Monday (May 23). However, he also stated that a new workforce strategy must support and harness the skills of pharmacist independent prescribers in clinical care with investment in training, both for new and existing workforce; access to supervisors; protected learning and development time; and commissioning of services to make best use of independent prescribers across care settings, supported by appropriate prescribing budgets in community pharmacy. "We're about to see new generation of pharmacists independent prescribers that will make a huge difference to the clinical role of pharmacists to support patient care, but this must be underpinned by protected learning time and a more ambitious approach to commissioning new services to use their skills," Ravi said. He spoke to MPs in Parliament at the Health and Social Care Select Committee's inquiry on workforce, highlighting the vital contribution of pharmacy teams during the pandemic and called for action to support the current and future workforce. Some of the key issues highlighted in the parliament included, the risk of burnout and the need to help boost staff retention; staff wellbeing, including a zero tolerance of abuse from the public; the importance of professional development and protected learning time to enhance patient care and support rewarding careers; the potential of new pharmacist independent prescribers and the need for investment in the current workforce and the need for better workforce data and a pharmacy workforce strategy.

Violent and abusive behaviour against pharmacists is impacting on recruitment and retention of staff in the sector, according to the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA). The trade union for pharmacists told BBC Breakfast TV on Wednesday (May 8) that its members have continuously raised workplace safety concerns due to an alarming rise in the incidents of abuse and violence against pharmacy staff. The PDA union has been calling for adequate risk assessments and preventative safety measures to be put in place in pharmacies whist adopting a zero-tolerance approach to violence and abuse. With several significant and worrying incidents involving PDA members, including a pharmacist being threatened with a knife recently, further research was conducted in April 2022 to establish the extent and impact of such behaviour on pharmacists. Forty-four per cent of the respondents in the survey reported that they or someone that they worked with had experienced physical or violent abuse in the last month.

Titan PMR, a pioneer of cutting pharmacy technology has set up additional new team of 12 staff to cater for a deluge of independent pharmacists investing in new businesses. The company is utilising the opportunity that is underway as large chains look to sell off or close their community pharmacies, offering an opportunity for pharmacists looking to provide efficient dispensing and additional services. In January this year Lloyds Pharmacy, which was bought by a private equity firm in 2022, announced plans to close all its 237 branches inside Sainsbury's stores over the course of 2023. Currently, more than 5,500 of around 14,000 registered pharmacy premises across the UK are owned by corporates and supermarkets. Titan PMR - an innovative, cloud-based system which manages end-to-end pharmacy workflow - has become the preferred software platform especially amongst first time buyers who are keen to offer new services to patients. The new team at the Bristol-based company, hired to support this sector, sees its total workforce growing to more than 50 staff.

Britain is looking at the possibility of changing rules on mandatory vaccination for healthcare staff, chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said on Monday (January 31). "We do recognise those realities and that does open a space where we can look at this again," Clarke said. Sky News reported Clarke as saying that the policy of mandatory jabs was something that ministers had "always kept under review".

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has welcomed the new research guidance published by NHS England for the integrated care systems. The guidance is said to reflect the benefits of delivering research, for patients, staff and healthcare system performance, including the economic benefits for the NHS. Jennifer Harris, ABPI's Director of Research Policy, said: "This guidance is clear on what good research practice looks like and it's great to see it out and available for the NHS to use. "A research-active NHS delivers huge value to patients, staff and the system itself. We hope that putting this guidance into action will help Integrated Care Systems realise the huge benefits that research can offer, and help make the UK once again a destination of choice for developing the medical breakthroughs people need."

The 2-Day Skills and Procedure Workshop is organized by Provider Practice Essentials (PPE), LLC, and will be held from Jun 14 - 15, 2024 in Florida, USA. We don't go above 30 students, and we staff to a 6:1 ratio. Our staff auditions, orients, and goes through extensive training to give you the best experience possible.

A recent UNISON survey has unearthed disturbing findings regarding the prevalence of sexual harassment among NHS staff across the UK. With data collected from over 12,000 healthcare workers, the survey sheds light on the challenges faced by frontline workers in their workplace environments. Approximately 10 per cent of healthcare professionals reported instances of sexual harassment during their tenure, with nearly 29 per cent of those experiencing harassment also reporting incidents of sexual assault. Shockingly, 50 per cent of respondents reported being leered at or subjected to suggestive gestures, while a quarter faced unwelcome sexual advances or demands for favors. The most common complaint, voiced by 61 per cent of those affected, was the experience of unwanted crude banter or jokes in the workplace.

The General Pharmaceutical Council's Investigating Committee took decisive action on March 25, 2024, by issuing a warning to Dilsha Kiran Shah, registration number: 2049787, for her conduct as Superintendent Pharmacist of Jhoots Healthcare Ltd. Miss Shah's failure to uphold the Medicines Act 1968, specifically in ensuring the proper management of medicinal products, triggered this warning. The Act mandates supervision in "keeping, preparing, and dispensing medicinal products other than those on a general sale list." Moreover, pharmacies are inspected on five principles - Governance, Staff, Premises, Services including medicines management, and Equipment and facilities to meet the right standards. The alarm was initially raised in August 2021 when a Jhoots Healthcare Ltd pharmacy branch under Miss Shah's supervision operated without a responsible pharmacist. Despite explicit instructions, pharmacy Staff were allegedly instructed to proceed without proper supervision, raising grave concerns regarding patient safety.

Seven NHS trusts in England are set to begin trials of new wireless technologies to help improve patient care and strengthen connectivity in A&Es and ambulance bays. They have been awarded around £1 million as part of NHS England's Wireless Trials programme, which aims to leverage advanced wireless technologies to enhance patient care and experiences while freeing up more staff time. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust will introduce an innovative approach of combining satellite and cloud-based wireless solutions to enhance connectivity across its 10 hospital sites and wider community services. At Mid Cheshire and Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS trusts, wireless trackers will be installed on medical equipment and hospital beds. This will allow real-time monitoring and location tracking, enabling easy accessibility for staff to locate necessary items promptly.

Hundreds of people rush to the ER every year due to injuries sustained in accidents and other misfortunes. While you may think that each person in the room is given the same priority for immediate treatment, it is not so. There are many factors that emergency staff members consider before they treat a patient.

Staff shortage has begun to bite the community pharmacy sector with several high street pharmacies closing doors due to workforce crisis triggered by the NHS poaching. More than 200 pharmacies closed last year and several are reducing their hours, posing a significant risk to patients' access to care, medicines and advice. Many in the industry have raised concerns related to workforce crisis and warned that plans for community pharmacies to help ease pressure on GP surgeries could also take a hit. The NHS plans to recruit a total of 6,000 pharmacists in England by 2024, equivalent to nearly three full years of new pharmacists. Since 2019, 3,000 pharmacists have been recruited into NHS primary care networks, which accounts for around 10 per cent of the community pharmacist workforce.

The NHS plans to train hundreds of pharmacy staff, expanding their ability to provide advanced clinical services and assume wider roles in dispensing medicines. With a targeted launch in September, up to 840 pharmacy technicians can join in the training programme. The online modules will cover consultation skills, therapeutics, clinical decision-making, assessment skills, and service improvement. "Community pharmacies are pivotal in local communities, and this novel training scheme empowers them to extend their service offerings to a wider patient base," said Health Minister Neil O'Brien. "Through our investment in the workforce, we're bolstering the implementation of the Pharmacy First initiative with £645 million, ensuring patients have access to expert assistance for various common ailments, including urinary tract infections and earaches." NHS said the training will offer flexibility to align with the working schedules and prior experience of community pharmacy technicians. It will combine independent online e-course study, educational supervision, and clinical skills training. Facilitated workshops will concentrate on enhancing clinical assessment skills and applying knowledge and skills through case studies, practice activities, and group discussions.

As 19th September has been declared a bank holiday for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has advised that there is a need for some pharmacies to remain open for public interest. NHS England has discussed with PSNC how this will impact community pharmacy and is in the process of sending a letter to all contractors, setting out the above and requesting that they work with their local NHS England team to help plan arrangements for pharmaceutical provision in the area on the 19th of September. In considering arrangements for the 19th, contractors are encouraged to: Consider the needs of their patients, including any specific clinical needs, since patients have little time to prepare. In particular, patients who collect controlled drugs in instalments should be considered, noting the use of approved Home Office wording on prescriptions (see further information on our Controlled Drug prescription forms webpage). Consider staff availability. It is likely that many schools and childcare settings will close, affecting childcare arrangements.

The employees from large drugstore chains staged an additional walkout at stores this week from 1 Nov to 3 Nov. Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid pharmacists launched a three-day walkout to push companies to hire more staff and improve working conditions. The majority of pharmacy workers in Kansas City called in sick or walked off the job as they felt it was harder to work with "minimal" help. Licenced pharmacist, Amanda Applegate, who is also a Director of practise development with the Kansas Pharmacists Association spoke on the plight of the pharmacists. "This is a nationwide problem that pharmacists have been internally yelling about for years."

Healthcare staff across England are facing increasing winter pressures amid junior doctor's strikes, as thousands of hospital beds are being occupied by patients with flu, norovirus and Covid-19. The number of flu patients in hospital has increased by almost two thirds in a week, according to the latest weekly update from the National health Service (NHS). New NHS figures published on Thursday showed an average of 648 patients were hospitalised with flu per day this week before the industrial action, up from 402 last week. This lasts number is four times the figure reported at the end of last month (160 per in the week ending 26 November).

At the practices of Dr. Richard Jackson it is the mission of our staff to provide you with the best service at an affordable price.

When you make an appointment with our experts you can have peace of mind knowing that our friendly, capable staff, our state-of-the-art surgical and rehabilitation facility, and our team of thoroughly experienced and proven orthopedic experts will be addressing your concerns.