Carolyn Wickware

Executive Editor

Carolyn Wickware is Executive Editor at The Pharmaceutical Journal

Scaling back: the pharmacies cutting opening hours to avoid closure

More than a fifth of community pharmacies have scaled back their opening hours since 2022, worsening fears over patient access to pharmaceutical services.…

Medicines shortages reported to government increase by almost 70% since 2021

Exclusive: The government logged 137 reports of medicines shortages on average each month in 2023, compared with an average of 82 each month in 2021.…

Pharmacy technicians could supply naloxone without prescription under government proposals

The government has expanded on a previous consultation proposing to enable pharmacists to supply naloxone without a prescription.…

Burnout among pharmacy professionals needs to be addressed at ‘systemic level’, RPS report finds

The report stated that individuals should seek to prioritise their wellbeing, but highlighted that many factors affecting staff wellbeing have been created by the healthcare system.…

Uncompassionate use: the inconsistent offering of life-saving unlicensed medicines

Compassionate use schemes offered by pharmaceutical companies are struggling to live up to their name, as data from a third of acute trusts reveal an inequitable provision of medicines through schemes across England.…

Negotiators agree uplift in funding worth £12.3m for pharmacies in Scotland

Community Pharmacy Scotland has accepted an offer from the government for 2023/2024 that also includes a guaranteed minimum of £100m and £80m in mapped money.…

Pharmacist training places to increase by 50% in eight years under NHS workforce plan

NHS England has committed to increasing pharmacist training places to around 5,000 by 2031/2032.…

Boots to close 300 pharmacies as part of cost-cutting plan

The plans were announced during a presentation to investors on Walgreen Boots Alliance's latest quarterly financial results.…

Third of community pharmacies could offer independent prescribing service by 2024, say Scottish negotiators

Harry McQuillan, chief executive of Community Pharmacy Scotland, said he expects one in three pharmacies to be offering the NHS Pharmacy First Plus service by the end of 2024.…

Community pharmacies in Scotland receive £20m cash injection

Additional funding is being given to ease pressures on community pharmacies that have been created by price increases in medicines.…