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Amid the ongoing furore over shortages of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test kits that led pharmacy staff to bear customers' wrath, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Company Chemists Association (CCA) have jointly appealed the public to be "patient and courteous to pharmacy teams". In an open letter, the two organisations have urged patients and customers to be patient, courteous and safe while visiting their local pharmacies. Highlighting the efforts put in by healthcare workers to keep everyone safe through this tough winter, the two organisations said the pressure of Covid-19 and shortage of LFD kits have sometimes led to verbal abuse of pharmacy staff. Mark Lyonette, NPA chief executive said: "The vast majority of pharmacy customers and patients are polite and understanding. The supply situation with Lateral Flow Tests is stretching people's patience, but that's no excuse for abusive behaviour and people need to understand the constraints on pharmacy teams at this time." Alongside their routine job of providing medicines, health advice and a range of NHS services, pharmacies have put in extra effort to protect people during the pandemic.

Pharmacy Business will be hosting their annual awards event in the pharmacy calendar with a glittering ceremony to celebrate the very best of community pharmacy. The 23rd edition of the Pharmacy Business Awards will be on Wednesday 4 October 2023 in central London. The awards attract the biggest names in pharmacy, with heads of pharmacy organisations, CEOs of leading manufacturers and wholesalers, health officials and government ministers in attendance. We look forward to bringing together the shining lights of community pharmacy, who show the nation the unique services they continue to provide. All entries must be made on the official online entry form. Please select from the award categories by expanding the drop-down boxes below then click 'Enter now' by selecting the category you would like to enter. You can enter three categories. To complete your entry, agree to the terms and conditions then click the 'COMPLETE' button at the bottom of the page. All submissions must be made by Monday 7th July 2023. Please note only submitted entries will proceed to the judging stage. Nomination date 7th july 2023

Community pharmacies played a central role in the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic, delivering more than 22 million jabs in the past 12 months. Besides delivering millions of jabs, latest figures from NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) revealed a 50 per cent increase in the number of pharmacies delivering Covid boosters compared from October 2021 to January 2022. NHSE&I released the data on Friday (January 14) to thank community pharmacy teams for their work during the crisis time. Lauding the efforts made by community pharmacy teams during the pandemic, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) director of NHS Services Alastair Buxton said: "Just over a year ago we were fighting for Government recognition of the part community pharmacy could play in administering Covid vaccines, so a year later it is great to see the efforts of the pharmacy vaccination sites being praised by NHSE&I, with recognition of the significant role they have played in the overall programme.

Boots has welcomed job applications from LloydsPharmacy staff impacted by the news of closure of all its branches located in Sainsbury's before the end of 2023. The company is recruiting for more than 1,500 pharmacy roles nationwide. Vacancies span pharmacy roles at all levels - from Pharmacy Advisors (Dispensers) and Trainee Pharmacists to experienced Pharmacists looking to develop their careers. Sebastian James, Managing Director of Boots UK & ROI, said: "Pharmacies deliver vital healthcare in the heart of communities. News of the closure of LloydsPharmacy branches within Sainsbury's stores will no doubt have an impact on many talented pharmacists as well as their patients. "We have many roles available at Boots and welcome applications from LloydsPharmacy employees affected by the closures. Patients who are worried about their future pharmacy provision can check our store locator online to find out where their nearest Boots store is - our pharmacy team members are ready to help." There are over 2,200 Boots stores across the UK and 85% of the population live within 10 minutes of a Boots store.

Increased demand and shortages of lateral flow tests are pushing staff at pharmacies to bear the brunt from frustrated customers who are unable to get their free lateral flow tests, Daily Mail reported. Some Britons claimed that they have been unable to get lateral flow tests at their local pharmacies for up to a fortnight while some pharmacies were forced to put up sign warning stating they have run out of free tests. Given the patchy supply of test kits, pharmacy bosses warned that staff are facing 'unfair' and 'abusive' behaviour by customers, the newspaper reported.Dr Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP), told the newspaper: "Up until yesterday the supply to pharmacies was still patchy. The past few days the situation has not improved. "Pharmacies are having to put up with a lot of abuse and aggressive behaviours by members of the public because of this situation which is unfair. "The demand is still very high now because the governments guidelines put a lot of emphasis on testing as a key out of self isolation, so naturally as Omicron cases are high people are reliant on tests to get on with daily life."

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has expressed concerns over Boots UK's decision to reduce supplemental opening hours at some pharmacies. The association stated: "Some pharmacists and other staff at Boots are being notified this week of changes to opening hours at their place of work, with local briefings taking place. The PDA are supporting their members to deal with any potential impact on their employment." It said that reducing pharmacy opening hours would affect patients' access to a trusted healthcare professional, especially if it is being done by the largest community pharmacy multiple. It even called upon the NHS to adequately fund community pharmacies to ensure they remain open when patients and local communities need their services. Meanwhile, Boots management has informed PDA that most of its employees are not pharmacists, and "less pharmacists are expected to be directly impacted by these changes than other colleagues," PDA said.

Community pharmacies saved nearly 20,000 lives up to autumn 2021 by vaccinating people against the Covid-19, the National Pharmacy Association said based on a National Audit Office (NAO) report released on Friday (February 25). The report, having taken evidence from the NPA, highlighted that community pharmacies and GPs performed far beyond expectations in delivering the Covid-19 vaccine, as 71 per cent of jabs were administered by both healthcare providers till October-end, against an initial assumption of 56 per cent. The report cited UK Health Security Agency figures, which estimated that the programme overall prevented up to 128,000 deaths and 262,000 hospitalisations by September 24 and September 19, respectively. The estimated number is considerably higher, given the pivotal role played by pharmacies in this winter's phase of the vaccination programme, the NPA stated.

Nearly 9,000 pharmacy contractors benefitted from earlier advance payment in January, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update. Contractors who declared their December FP34C submission figures (for the dispensed prescriptions) through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by January 6, would have received earlier advance payments on January 12. Meanwhile, all contractors who made submissions after January 6 or used the FP34C paper document, will receive payments as per the normal payment schedule i.e. on February 1, 2022. PSNC encouraged contractors to submit their monthly declaration through the MYS portal by the 5th of the month to avail early payments.

As an unprecedented demand for Lateral Flow Device (LFD) test kits continues through the Pharmacy Collect service, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is planning to distribute 10.5 million tests per week via Alliance Healthcare this month. By the end of this week (January 8), the UKHSA aims to distribute more than 8 million tests to Alliance Healthcare - sole distributor to pharmacies. The announcement comes after many in the pharmacy sector voiced concerns over shortage of test kits. Earlier this week, it emerged that Alliance Healthcare closed for four days shortly after receiving around 2.5 million tests on Christmas Eve. Meanwhile, the UKHSA indicated that Alliance Healthcare has been delivering 86 per cent of its orders within 24 hours of the pharmacy order, nearly half of that on the same day. Besides, a plan to switch on a Parcel Force delivery contingency is being finalised by UKHSA, which would enable supply of a further 3.5 million test kits.

Ahead of the launch of UK's first state-of-the-art automated hub for independent community pharmacists, HubRx has announced the appointment of Karl Wooldridge as operations director and Matthew Tollefson as chief financial officer. Karl brings more than 14 years of sector experience to his new role with HubRx. Having begun his career as an independent community pharmacist, Karl has gone on to hold key roles within pharmacy automation, including managing Phoenix Medical Supplies' offsite dispensing service. Commenting on his appointment, Karl said: "I'm delighted to have joined the team. The pandemic has further highlighted the important role pharmacists can play in keeping the nation healthy, not least in the delivery of the latest vaccination programme. The focus is now on pharmacists offering more clinical services, but to be able to achieve that the dispensing burden needs to be reduced. "HubRx is pioneering, our approach will transform community pharmacy. We're investing in cutting-edge technology to create an automated dispensing hub that will create capacity for pharmacists, allow them to grow and expand their skills." Matthew joins from Leeds-based corporate finance firm, Sentio Partners having also held positions with Mazars and Ernst & Young.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, the parent company of Boots UK, has begun a strategic review of its business in the United Kingdom, chief executive officer Rosalind Brewer said on Tuesday (January 11) - as the pharmacy chain tries to renew its focus on US healthcare. Boots has over 2,200 stores across the UK, which include pharmacies, health and beauty stores, among others, according to the chain's website. "This review is very much in line with our renewed priorities and strategic direction. In particular, our increased focus on US healthcare. While the process is at an exploratory stage, we do expect to move quickly," Brewer said at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference. The review comes at a time when the company, which was formed in 2014 after the acquisition of stake in Alliance Boots by Walgreens, moves beyond its drugstores with its investments in two smaller healthcare providers, CareCentrix and VillageMD.

David Webb has been appointed as the new chief pharmaceutical officer (CPO) for England. He will take over from Dr Keith Ridge who steps down next month after serving the role for sixteen year. Webb is currently chief pharmacist and clinical director for pharmacy and medicines optimisation at Guy's and Thomas's NHS Foundation Trust, London. Sharing the news of his appointment on Twitter on Friday afternoon (January 7), he said he was "really delighted and honoured" to be named the CPO for NHS England and that he was as the appointed Chief Pharmaceutical officer for "looking forward to working with pharmacy leaders, colleagues & teams across all sectors from February." He also extended his gratitude to the outgoing CPO for his "outstanding contribution" who, in turn, congratulated Webb and said it was "an honour to be handing over to him". In the same message, Dr Ridge thanked "all the great people I've worked with over the last 16 years for your support, friendship, good humour, great ideas & challenge. I wish you all well for the future."

Department of Health of Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed that the Dexcom One Transmitter will be added to Part IXA of the March 2023 Drug Tariff. "Previously, patients were advised to obtain the free-of-charge Dexcom One transmitters directly from the pharmacies, without a prescription, as the original Drug Tariff application for the transmitter was unsuccessful," said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) It has raised concerns with DHSC and Dexcom that these distribution arrangements for transmitters are unacceptable because they result in extra unfunded activity for community pharmacies. Both, DHSC and Dexcom acted upon these concerns by agreeing to add the Dexcom One transmitter to the Drug Tariff from March 2023. At the same time, Dexcom One CGM System (containing 1 sensor, 1 sensor applicator, 1 transmitter) will also be added to the March Drug Tariff.

Diamorphine 5mg and 10mg powder used for solution for injection ampoules will remain unavailable until February 2022, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said in an update. These injection ampoules are used to treat severe pain associated with surgical procedures, pain in the terminally ill, and to provide relief in acute pulmonary oedema. Diamorphine 30mg and 100mg ampoules are available, however, the stock is not enough to support an uplift in demand. Separately, the DHSC has extended the Medicine Supply Notification for Kolanticon gel, which is expected to remain unavailable until October 2022.

Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals and the Randal Charitable Foundation, has won the Distinguished Alumni Award at Imperial College London's Alumni Awards 2022. The annual awards honour outstanding alumni who have demonstrated sustained excellence in their personal and professional achievements and have made a substantial impact on society. Dr Kotecha, who founded Morningside in 1991, which manufactures and supplies generic and branded medicines to the UK and globally, said: "I'm thrilled to be honoured by the university in this way. "As a child growing up in Leicester my family had very little, but I was fortunate to be given opportunities to gain a good education. After finishing my degree in Newcastle; Professor Steve Ley FRS at Imperial College took a chance in accepting me into his eminent group and this really was the opportunity I needed to forge a career.

The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme has administered more than 40 million second doses following a bumper week that saw over 200,000 people coming forward for their second jab. Last week, more than 65,000 people aged 18 and over also stepped up to get their first dose of the Covid-19 jab. The NHS continued to encourage people to come forward for their first, second or third doses. Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that two doses of the vaccine are not enough to avoid the Omicron infection, but a booster significantly increases protection against the variant. Since the start of vaccination programme, NHS England has administered more than 113 million jabs in total. However, more than 1.1 million people aged 18 and over have still not come forward for their second dose.

England is set to reopen temporary field hospitals to contain a possible overspill of inpatients due to a surge in coronavirus cases, the national health service said Thursday. Fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, daily cases have ballooned, standing at more than 183,000 on Wednesday. NHS England said it would start building the structures in the grounds of eight hospitals in cities including London, Bristol and Leeds from this week, with each designed to house around 100 extra patients. "Given the high level of Covid-19 infections and increasing hospital admissions, the NHS is now on a war footing," National medical director Stephen Powis said. The extra beds are designed for patients who are recovering from illnesses, including those who no longer have Covid, to free up space and staff to treat large numbers of virus cases.

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The government has launched a new campaign over social media and radio today (January 10) to encourage pregnant women to take their first, second and third dose of Covid-19 vaccine. Joined by experts at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the campaign highlights the risks of the infection and benefits of vaccination. According to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Covid-19 vaccinations are safe for pregnant women. Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) chief scientific adviser professor Lucy Chappell, said: "We have extensive evidence now to show that the vaccines are safe and that the risks posed by Covid-19 are far greater," calling upon pregnant women who have yet to have their jabs. The campaign will also run testimonies of pregnant women who have had their jabs.

Britain's biotech firm Avacta Group on Monday (January 10) announced halting sales of its Covid-19 rapid antigen lateral flow test AffiDX to replace antibodies in the device and increase its ability to diagnose the Omicron variant. The company stated that AffiDX is capable of detecting Omicron when the virus is present in high numbers in samples, but the sensitivity of the test reduces at lower viral loads. The performance of all rapid antigen tests came under scanner in wake of a large number of mutations in the Omicron variant. AffiDX contains both a proprietary Affimer reagent and a commercially available antibody. The Affimer reagent detects the Omicron variant with the same sensitivity as the Delta variant, and performance of the antibody is paired with the Affimer reagent in the test. This has been affected by the additional Omicron mutations, the firm said. Alastair Smith, chief executive of Avacta Group, said: "Our determination to only provide high quality, high performance diagnostic tests has led us to the correct decision to pause all marketing of the AffiDX® lateral flow antigen test. We have, of course, been unable to market the product in the UK since October 2021, as the product continues to await approval under the new CTDA regulatory process.