Sophie Willis

Investigations editor

TB treatment can be resumed following ‘significant improvement’ in antimicrobial supply

The Scottish government said that available licensed stock and unlicensed imports of antimicrobial medicines “should be optimised to ensure continuity of patient treatment”.…

Coroner raises concerns following opioid overdose after hospital discharge letter was lost

A patient was given both his new and previously prescribed opioid medication, leading to an overdose, a report from the coroner for the City of Sunderland found.…

NHS England tells care boards to ‘maximise’ Pharmacy First in planning guidance

Under NHS England’s multi-year planning framework, integrated care boards must also introduce prescribing-based services into community pharmacies in 2026/2027.…

NICE approves treatment for advanced prostate cancer that could ‘benefit 6,000 patients’

Guidance says darolutamide blocks hormones that fuel cancer growth by removing testosterone from cancer cells in patients living with advanced prostate cancer.…

HRT prescribing increases by 370% in past decade

Data from the NHS Business Services Authority also show that in 2024/2025, the number of patients who were prescribed hormone replacement therapy almost tripled compared to 2015/2016.…

First street drug-checking service approved in Scotland

Users of the service — to open at the site where ‘The Thistle’ drug consumption room is located — will be able to submit drugs for testing and receive harm-reduction advice alongside the results.…

Almost half of pharmacists do not access career support or training

Exclusive: Results from The Pharmaceutical Journal’s latest salary and job satisfaction survey show that those working in the pharmaceutical industry were least likely to have accessed any support, followed by hospital pharmacists.…

Cell and gene therapies could save NHS billions

A joint report by the Office of Health Economics and Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult concluded that cell and gene therapies could offer increased productivity and quality of life for patients.…

‘Record number’ of prescriptions dispensed in England in 2024/2025 despite reduction in number of pharmacies

Data from the NHS Business Services Authority show that 2024/2025 was the fourth consecutive year that the number of prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies in England has risen.…

Community pharmacy independent prescribing consultations triple in two years

Digital Health and Care Wales data show that there were more than 75,000 independent prescribing consultations carried out in the first five months of 2025.…