Opinions

Opinion

Warm words cannot mask the true picture of pharmacy neglect

The Pharmaceutical Journal's health policy columnist looks at why ministers keep talking about Pharmacy First in England, but there is a lack of progress when it comes to its implementation.…

Published: 22 March 2023

Opinion

‘Pandemic of tragedy’: how the availability of drugs online led to the death of a 24-year-old

A father recounts how the death of his son Jason Houghton could have been prevented with tighter controls around the availability of drugs online.…

Published: 20 March 2023

Opinion

PJ view: Low morale among pharmacists is damaging the future of pharmacy

Pharmacy staff are experiencing severe stress in their day jobs — to the point that some are considering leaving the profession. Without enough time and support for learning, development and recovery, the future of pharmacy will be bleak.…

Published: 15 March 2023

Opinion

Taiwo Owatemi: ‘Pharmacists should be able to refer patients straight to secondary care’

Labour MP and locum pharmacist Taiwo Owatemi shares her views on how to handle pressures on the NHS and why the government is dragging its feet with England’s ‘Pharmacy First’ scheme.…

Published: 8 March 2023

Opinion

Tackling pharmacy’s reliance on single-use plastic

A project that began in 2019 has resulted in annual savings of 300,000 pieces of single-use plastic across two large acute NHS trusts.…

Published: 6 March 2023

Opinion

PJ view: Pharmacy’s professional leadership body deserves an independent voice

Those appointing the new Pharmacy Leadership Council should carefully consider how best to empower pharmacy to develop standards and leadership that are fit for the future.…

Published: 3 March 2023

Opinion

Nitrous oxide could be harming people as much as the planet

Why healthcare workers have a duty to act now to prevent nitrous oxide waste.…

Published: 1 March 2023

Opinion

A focus on the cure rather than the cause

The pick of the month’s academic papers from Parastou Donyai, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.…

Published: 27 February 2023

Opinion

How COVID-19 affected pharmacy supply of antibiotics for uncomplicated urinary tract infections

Learnings from a community pharmacy patient group direction service for the management of suspected urinary tract infections, which identified prescribing patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Published: 20 February 2023

Opinion

The ‘Care homes independent prescriber study’: lessons learned for practitioners and researchers

A summary of the learnings from CHIPPS, a study in which pharmacist independent prescribers were placed into care homes to improve medicines management.…

Published: 15 February 2023