Group items tagged

The Company Chemists Association (CCA) has published a report highlighting the key findings of a roundtable it hosted earlier this month. The CCA convened the virtual roundtable to examine the best practice undertaken by a cross-section of LPCs to promote the delivery of the Pharmacy First service. Key recommendations for how LPCs can help support pharmacy contractors to deliver the Pharmacy First service include: Direct engagement with NHS regions who can supply funding to drive Pharmacy First engagement and promotional activity. Engagement with a variety of staff within GP surgeries, ranging from reception staff to GP partners, to drive referrals, as well as build understanding and awareness of the benefits to General Practice. Harnessing data to inform GP surgeries how they are performing locally Using data to ensure pharmacies close any open referrals promptly. Using multiple channels to promote the service, including the sharing of best practice, myth busting, use of data and creating tools which can be readily used by pharmacies and GPs. Encouraging pharmacy staff to highlight the Pharmacy First service to customers - with specific emphasis on the provision of NHS-funded care, timely access and convenience the service provides. The CCA said the report is intended to support all LPCs and pharmacy contractors as they work together to care for patients requiring urgent NHS care in their community.

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has voiced strong support for a recent report from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), which advocates for the establishment of a 'Digital Health Record' (DHR) for every individual in the UK. The CCA, which was interviewed as part of the report's development, believes that the creation of a DHR could significantly enhance the NHS's efficiency, improve preventative healthcare, and help the health service harness the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI). The TBI report highlights that the current health and care system suffers from fragmented data, with individual records scattered across various providers, including community pharmacies. This siloed approach often hampers the delivery of seamless and effective care. A unified DHR, the report argues, would consolidate all relevant health data into a single, accessible record, ensuring that patients receive timely and appropriate care across the entire healthcare system.

Access to pharmacy care has significantly declined over the past two years, particularly in the most deprived communities, due to a rising number of pharmacy closures and reduced opening hours. A new report released by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) indicates a net loss of almost 64,000 pharmacy weekly opening hours between September 2022 and June 2024, equivalent to 3.4 million hours of pharmacy access per year. Of the total hours lost, nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) were due to pharmacy closures, while 38 per cent resulted from reduced opening hours. According to the CCA report, England has lost over 1,200 pharmacies since 2015, largely attributed to NHS funding cuts. Years of flat funding have also forced many businesses to reduce opening hours to 'balance the books.' Out of the 10,487 pharmacies that were trading in June 2024, over a quarter had reduced their opening hours in the previous 18 months.

Marking Pharmacy First's first anniversary in England, the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has called on policymakers to expand the service, highlighting that there's still "significant room for growth." In a report released today, the association estimates that expanding the service could free up 40 million general practice (GP) appointments every year - more than four times the current potential - and around a tenth of all GP appointments. In its current form, the service is expected to free up more than 9 million GP appointments annually. The CCA has recommended expanding the criteria and treatments available for the existing seven conditions and introducing new conditions. According to the report, community pharmacies provided nearly 1.5 million consultations for the seven covered conditions -earaches, urinary tract infections, sore throats

The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has urged NHS England to expand the Pharmacy First service by increasing treatment options, adding more conditions, and integrating Independent Prescribing into the service. This would further promote pharmacists as antimicrobial stewards while enhancing patient access to urgent care, it said. Managing patient demand for antibiotics remains a challenge for healthcare professionals, including pharmacists. However, a new report by CCA confirms that pharmacists are acting as responsible providers of antibiotics, in line with Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) guidelines. The service allows pharmacies to provide advice and treatment, including prescription-only medication, for seven common conditions: earache, uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs) in women, sore throat, sinusitis, infected insect bites, impetigo, and shingles. Patients can access the service via GP referrals or by visiting or contacting a pharmacy directly.

In a recent report released by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA), data from the NHS Pharmacy First service indicates a substantial uptake and positive impact on patient care just two months after its launch. The CCA's findings shed light on the service's efficacy in meeting patient needs and its potential to alleviate pressure on General Practices (GPs) within the NHS. According to the report, over 90,000 Pharmacy First consultations were conducted solely by CCA members within the initial two-month period. Impressively, 88 per cent of these consultations, totaling 81,627, were deemed eligible for NHS-funded care indicating a significant demand for the service among patients. In the first month, the data revealed that more than 90 per cent of eligible patients received necessary care directly through Pharmacy First, bypassing the need for further referral.

A new report from the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) is calling on NHS England to commission a community pharmacy-based national Type 2 diabetes screening service, which could save the NHS £50m each year. The CCA report, titled 'Increasing Access to Diabetes Screening and Prevention Through Community Pharmacy', highlights the urgent need for a national patient pathway for diabetes detection and management. It outlines how NHS-commissioned diabetes screening in community pharmacies across England could deliver numerous health benefits each year, including: Screening 1.5 million adults and identifying 180,000 prediabetics; Detecting 45,000 undiagnosed cases of diabetes and preventing them from developing serious complications Preventing nearly 7,000 heart attacks and strokes, and thus improving patients' quality of life Avoiding severe sight loss in around 15,000 people over their lifetime Saving the NHS £50 million annually by reducing diabetes-related costs. Type 2 diabetes and its complications are currently estimated to account for 10 per cent of the NHS annual budget, and this figure is projected to rise to 17 per cent by 2035/36.

A call to action has been issued by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) in its submission to the Darzi Review, highlighting the critical need for recognition and revitalization of the community pharmacy sector. The CCA warns that chronic underfunding and a flawed Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) have resulted in a reduction of over 1,200 pharmacies since 2015. This reduction, coupled with increasing workforce pressures, is exacerbating health inequalities, particularly in deprived communities. The CCA's submission stresses that the government must address these longstanding funding issues to fully unlock the potential of community pharmacies in addressing the nation's health challenges. The report argues that while initiatives like Pharmacy First have been positive, they only scratch the surface of the sector's capabilities.

A recent report by the Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has revealed a significant disparity in patient engagement with the Pharmacy First service across the UK. In response, Santosh Sahu, Founder and CEO at Charac, has emphasised the need for technological reform to address "the interoperability gap between pharmacists and GPs". Sahu identified the lack of GP referrals for Pharmacy First consultations as a key issue, attributing it to inadequate IT infrastructure. He urged the sector to "implement technological reforms to enhance interoperability between pharmacists and GPs, enabling them to share patient records, identify care pathways, and address health needs more effectively".

The government has decided to refresh the NHS workforce plan, prioritising on shifting care from hospitals and into the community. The revised plan, expected to be unveiled in the summer 2025, aims to ensure the workforce is used effectively to support the delivery of the upcoming 10-Year Health Plan. Health secretary Wes Streeting explained the need to revise the plan citing Lord Darzi's report, which highlighted the dire state of the NHS, including that "too many people end up in hospital because there aren't the resources in the community to reach patients earlier." "Our 10 Year Health Plan will deliver 3 big shifts in the focus of healthcare: from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. "We will refresh the NHS workforce plan to fit the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, so the NHS has the staff it needs to treat patients on time again," Streeting said.