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NHS England is set to roll out a new test this week that will help doctors to spot a rare form of eye cancer in babies in the womb. The NHS test developed at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, identifies the risk of developing retinoblastoma in babies that can be monitored and treated sooner - increasing the chance of saving their eyesight and potentially their lives. The new non-invasive test can detect changes in the genes in DNA and is likely to identify around 50 infants with retinoblastoma each year, in the latest example of the NHS harnessing the power of genomics to diagnose and treat patients faster and more effectively. Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis (NIPD) also means parents can be informed early in pregnancy if their child is at risk. "The blood sample test is taken from the mother before birth and tested and analysed for mutations, which can determine with almost 100 per cent accuracy if the baby will develop retinoblastoma," the NHS said.

ITV on Tuesday (Aug 15) said it had agreed to invest in pain relief brand Flarin Holdings Ltd, making it the British broadcaster's first consumer healthcare investment. The company has agreed to subscribe for £2 million worth of shares in Flarin, with an option to subscribe for two more tranches of 1.5 million pounds each. In return, Flarin would get advertising space across ITV's channels and ITVX. ITV said its investment will "help Flarin build mass market brand awareness by bringing the brand to millions of consumers via ITV platforms. This will be a step change in the size of the campaign and the approach to scaling the Flarin brand to date." Director of ITV AdVentures, Sheena Amin, said: "It's fantastic to be announcing our latest Media for Equity investment into Flarin. With its innovative and patented lipid technology, Flarin offers many unique benefits to those suffering from joint and muscular pain compared to any other product on the market. Flarin is already one of the fastest growing analgesics in the market and I am confident that we will see the company grow to new heights following a brand building campaign across ITV."

The Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has called the recent announcement of six per cent pay rise for the public sector workforce as 'unfair' for the community pharmacy sector. On Thursday (13 June), the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced that pay scales for most doctors and dentists will increase by at least a six per cent this year after the government accepted the recommendations from the independent pay review bodies in full. Responding to the recent announcement Chief Executive Janet Morrison, said: "The public sector workforce pay rise will be welcome news for its recipients given the huge inflationary pressures and the ongoing impact of the cost-of-living crisis. But for community pharmacy owners - who have faced 30% funding cuts in recent years and who are struggling to meet their rising wage costs - this feels unfair, and very far from good news. At Community Pharmacy England we are fully focused on the current financial and operational pressures and fighting hard for a sustainable long-term funding arrangement.

Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund are seeking feedback from community pharmacy on their proposals for the future of community pharmacy and they are seeking feedback from community pharmacy stakeholders. The online survey is the latest opportunity for pharmacy owners, LPCs and others in the sector to engage with the project to develop a Vision for Community Pharmacy. Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund want to hear their views on their proposals, ahead of the publication of the final report later this year. The vision is critically important, as it will be used to develop the future strategy for the sector and lay the groundwork for the next Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) negotiations. The survey is asking for thoughts on key aspects of the vision and its recommendations. The vision has been developed by Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund following an extensive programme of research, interviews and meetings of the vision Steering Group, Advisory Panel, and Working Groups, all of which have contractors, LPCs and other representatives of the sector at their heart. The vision project team are looking forward to hearing views from across the sector on their proposals and what will need to happen to make them a reality.

Wockhardt UK managing director Ravindra Limaye has been chosen for honorary British awards given to foreign nationals. Limaye gets the Order of the British Empire (OBE) honour for his contribution to health, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. The honours were announced on Thursday (13). Limaye has been the chief executive of the UK arm of the Mumbai-based pharma and biotech company Wockhardt since 2019. He previously worked for another Indian pharma company Biocon, overseeing its global commercial operations. He led the company's entry into global biosimilar markets and spearheaded its operations in the US.

Adults who are overweight or obese and have type 2 diabetes or prediabetes are at a higher risk of developing severe health issues, according to authors of a recent study. Experts. however, disagree on the best dietary regimens and supportive measures to suggest. The latest study was published in the journal 'The Annals of Family Medicine'. In the findings, researchers used a 2×2 diet-by-support factorial design to randomise 94 adults with the aforementioned conditions, contrasting a very low-carbohydrate (VLC) or ketogenic diet with a Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. They also determined the outcomes of interventions that included and excluded additional support practices like mindful eating, effective emotion regulation, social support, and cooking instruction. Using intent-to-treat analyses, the VLC diet led to greater improvement in estimated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP; -9.8 mmHg vs. -5.2 mmHg, P =.046), greater improvement in glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c; -.4 per cent vs. -.1 per cent, P = 0.034), and greater improvement in weight (-19.14 lbs vs. -10.33 lbs, P = 0.0003), compared to the DASH diet. The addition of extra support did not have a statistically significant effect on outcomes.

The latest inspection report of the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) revealed that nine pharmacies did not meet their standards out of 52 pharmacies that were inspected between January 2023 and May 2023. Pharmacies are inspected on five principles - Governance, Staff, Premises, Services including medicines management and Equipment and facilities. Out of nine, eight pharmacies did not meet GPhC standard of governance which is defined to safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of patients and the public. Six pharmacies did not meet the GPhC standard of principle four which defines the way in which pharmacy services, including the management of medicines and medical devices, are delivered safeguards the health, safety and wellbeing of patients and the public. The purpose of these standards is to create and maintain the right environment, both organisational and physical, for the safe and effective practice of pharmacy. The standards apply to all pharmacies registered with GPhC.

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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."

Bristol-based Titan PMR, a technology firm specialising in PMR systems for community pharmacies, is set to roll out an innovative platform named 'Titanverse,' that it claims will redefine pharmacy management, offering comprehensive solutions extending beyond prescription management. This new platform takes a versatile approach, efficiently managing all facets of pharmacy operations, from high-level management down to daily tasks, according to top company officials. "Our aim is to reshape pharmacies into genuine health hubs, providing advanced services and harnessing state-of-the-art technologies," said Tariq Muhammad, CEO of Titan PMR. "Titanverse, our latest offering, is positioned to ignite this transformation, revolutionising clinical services in the same way its predecessor revolutionised dispensing. With Titanverse, we have the vehicle to drive this vision forward, placing pharmacies at the forefront of primary care in the future." Titanverse adopts a Teams approach, catering to pharmacies with multiple locations or specific focuses. It furnishes real-time analytics and employs a color-coded rating system for swift performance evaluation. Moreover, the platform eases operations by enabling task delegation, encompassing clinical checks and dispensing, all while backing private services with adaptable templates and workflows.

AAH Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday (November 15) announced the promotion of its commercial director David Bound to chief executive officer of the company. In his 10 years in the company, Mr Bound has helped to drive growth across the AAH business, implementing new digital channels for customers, and developing strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical manufacturers - drawing on from his vast experience in the healthcare industry, as well as in supply chain, operations, and trading. Commenting on his promotion, he said: "I'm delighted to be taking on this role at such a critical time for healthcare. There are many challenges affecting the industry right now - from inflationary pressures to workforce issues - and I'm looking forward to tackling them head-on alongside my excellent team."

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The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has welcomed the Chancellor's commitment to increase the NHS budget, hoping that 'community pharmacies benefit from this investment'. The association is urging the government to address years of underfunding so that community pharmacies can avoid staff lay-offs to cover the increasing costs of the national living wage. The government's uplift of the National Living Wage was confirmed in its latest budget announcement to tackle the cost of living crisis. The NHS budget will also be increased in each of the next two years by £3.3bn. A recent NPA commissioned report by Professor David Taylor from University College London predicted that wage inflation and other cost pressures could combine with funding cuts to lead to cut-backs and pharmacy closures.

Talk of hub and spoke models has been rumbling on for as long as I can remember. The topic has once again hit the headlines as the government announced a fresh consultation for its proposed changes, calling on all interested parties to submit their views by 8th June. The argument for hub and spoke is to allow independents to have the same level playing field as the larger groups who have been operating this model for some time. The government also sees significant efficiency gains in centralisation, arguing this will free pharmacists time away from dispensing to focus on clinical services. The latest consultation advocates two models being created. In the first model, the dispensed medication is sent back to the spoke. In the second model, the completed medication can be sent out directly to the patient. The latter is a new concept which could open up new opportunities in how services are delivered. Pharmacies could effectively outsource the entire dispensing and delivery to housebound patients and care homes allowing pharmacies to take on new business without having to worry about logistics and geography.

Pharmacy bodies are "bitterly disappointed" that the latest deal on the national contract makes no commitment to "fresh funding", with one organisation calling it "the biggest dis-service ever done" to community pharmacy. The only commitment made in monetary terms was one in which NHS England agreed to write off a sum of £100m in excess margin earned by contractors in previous years. This allowance, which can't be seen as new cash injection, was said to have been made in recognition of the pressures facing the sector. The figure - reached after what the the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee called "a tense period of negotiations" with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England - will cover the final two years of the current five-year Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. The deal was announced by PSNC chief executive Janet Morrison at an annual LPC Conference in Manchester on Thursday (22 September). Welcoming the attendees, she assured everyone that the committee was well aware of the pressures the sector was facing. "I heard how contractors are feeling and their frustrations over growing pressure and lack of financial support from the government. They confirmed that many now are unable to deliver the full range of services, and others are struggling to maintain core levels of services. And the ongoing impact of capacity and workforce crisis is critical, leading to temporary closures.

If the eyes feel tired and strained by looking at any digital screen for very long duration, one may be a victim of the digital onslaught. This condition is increasingly been noticed among people working long hours on a computer and in school-age children who spend a significant time on devices. It is called the "Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)or Digital Eye Strain (DES). This can be treated with the latest and sophisticated computerized technique (Bynocs - The Computer Vision syndrome treatment software), which can be done at the doctor's clinic or at home

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has extended the Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) for Fluoxetine 10mg tablets (SSP005) and Lipitor 10mg chewable tablets (SSP032) to Wednesday, 7 December 2022. SSP005 for Fluoxetine 10mg tablets was due to expire on 12 August 2022. DHSC has also updated that SSP032 for Lipitor 10mg chewable tablets was due to expire on 12 August 2022 but the end date has been further extended to Friday 26 August 2022. SSP005 provides that for every Fluoxetine 10mg tablet originally prescribed, one Fluoxetine 10mg capsule must be supplied: "Expiry dates of an SSP may be brought forward or extended, and the content may be amended at any time during the life of an SSP. Pharmacists should ensure they are using the latest version of an SSP before considering the supply of an alternative product," said DHSC.

Thousands of people in Britain infected with HIV and hepatitis C through contaminated blood transfusions will receive a compensation payment decades after the scandal, the government announced on Wednesday (August 17). The payment of £100,000 ($121,000) to each victim is an interim one after Brian Langstaff, the chairman of a public inquiry into the long-running scandal, last month recommended making immediate payouts before waiting for an ongoing inquiry to conclude. The former High Court judge said that the "moral case for compensation is beyond doubt". The government said the tax-free payments, to survivors of the scandal and bereaved partners of the thousands estimated to have died from the contaminated blood, would be made by the end of October. Thousands of people with haemophilia contracted hepatitis C and HIV after receiving blood transfusions, mainly from the United States, through the NHS in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Due to a shortage of blood products in Britain, the NHS bought much of its stock from US suppliers whose donors, including prisoners and other groups at high risk of infection, had been paid for their blood.

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Locate a Locum's analysis has found that there has been around 14 per cent rise in rate of locum pharmacists in a year. The report said: "Post-covid locum pharmacist rates remain at an all-time high because of a variety of internal and external factors, including continued strong local and regional demand for pharmacist services, which is more acute in some areas, and some persistent last-minute or unplanned booking activity among pharmacies." The study is based on an analysis of more than 30,000 locum pharmacist shifts booked on the Locate a Locum platform between April 1 and June 30 this year and compared with the same period in 2021. "Locum pharmacy rates are a hot topic within the industry and this interest looks likely to continue, particularly given our latest analysis of rising prices and our assessment that if current market conditions persist, they will continue to increase into 2023," said Locate a Locum founder and chief executive Jonathan Clarke.