Health & NHS news

NICE Weight loss Scotland Medicines supply Diabetes UK Pharmacies Pharmacy services

Prescribing

Use effective contraception, MHRA tells male valproate patients

MHRA issues new precautionary advice in wake of Scandinavian study

05 Sep 2024 , 1 Min Article

pharmacist-with-patient-summary

Clinical services

CPE: NHS failing to publicise Pharmacy First as it raises payment threshold

Morrison calls on NHS to support the service as activity threshold doubles.

02 Sep 2024 , 3 Min Article

sunscreen-female-hiker-summaryjpg

Cancer & palliative care

Removing VAT from sunscreens could cut cancer costs and save lives

Charity calls for VAT to be removed from sunscreen products to prevent rising deaths from melanoma.

29 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

Patient record 1280.jpg

Digital & technology

CCA: Government must ‘closely examine’ Blair Institute patient record plans

The Blair Institute’s proposal of a digital health record would give community pharmacies wider access to patient records.

20 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

Gonorrhoea 1280.jpg

Public health

Gonorrhoea diagnoses in England hits highest number in 105 years

The UK Health Security Agency said over 85,000 diagnoses were reported in 2023, the highest since records began in 1918.

20 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

plaster-summary

Services

NHS confirms staggered launch dates for 2024-25 pharmacy flu campaign

Jabs to start for pregnant women from September 1 and other groups in October.

19 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

gp-consultation-summary

People

GP strike action impacting Pharmacy First communications

Doctors are switching off Update Record functionality as part of their collective action.

19 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

inhalers-summary

Sustainability

Pharmacy inhaler disposal pilot boosts return rates by 300pc

Reminder stickers encouraged patients to return unwanted and expired inhalers.

13 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

diabetic-new-1280

Medicines

Diabetes items prescribed in England rose by 21 million between 2016 and 2024

The NHS Business Services Authority said 71 million items were prescribed in 2023-24.

08 Aug 2024 , 1 Min Article

vaccination-plaster-summary

Vaccinations

NHS to select 50 pharmacies for early pilot of RSV jab enhanced service

Pharmacies in the east of England will be selected for an 'early phase' of RSV enhanced service.

06 Aug 2024 , 1 Min Article

vaccination-seqirus-summary

Vaccinations

All adult vaccinations should be advanced pharmacy services, says think-tank

Report from Reform says vaccination uptake could be greatly improved by making better use of community pharmacies.

01 Aug 2024 , 3 Min Article

pharmacist-stressed-new-1280

Financial

Pressure on pharmacies will increase because of GPs’ industrial action

Warnings that patients will flood pharmacies after GPs voted to stage industrial action for first time in 60 years.

01 Aug 2024 , 2 Min Article

munira-wilson-summary

Regulations

Lib Dem MP blasts ‘perverse’ NHS decisions on pharmacy market entry

“Impenetrable” bureaucratic processes blocking new pharmacy applications from independents.

29 Jul 2024 , 3 Min Article

medicine-packs-summary

Child & teen health

Labour: ‘Simply not possible’ for pharmacists to police puberty blocker prescriptions

Health minister defends Labour decision to uphold ban enforced by former government.

29 Jul 2024 , 2 Min Article

westminster-summary

Digital & technology

Labour to take pharmacy IT resilience ‘seriously’ after CrowdStrike outage

DCMS junior minister grilled on health sector IT resilience after CrowdStrike chaos

26 Jul 2024 , 1 Min Article

ozempic-summary

Cardiovascular diseases

MHRA approves stroke prevention indication for Wegovy

Semaglutide approved to prevent cardiac events following multi-country study.

25 Jul 2024 , 1 Min Article

Change privacy settings