Sophie Willis

Investigations editor

Public backs pharmacy access to weight-loss jabs as Starmer confirms NHS rollout plans

Around 44% of UK adults would support NHS weight-loss services being delivered through community pharmacies, rising to 55% among those aged 16–34 years, according to a poll from the National Pharmacy Association.…

Three-quarters of pharmacists say patient safety is at risk from medicine delays

Responding to Community Pharmacy England’s pharmacy pressures survey, 87% of pharmacy staff also reported daily problems arising from supply issues, up from 67% in 2022.…

Pharmacy First uptake ‘not what we would like it to be’, says minister

Pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock said that the government will work to reform the financial arrangements for Pharmacy First to incentivise pharmacists to embrace the scheme.…

GPhC highlights need to improve performance in five-year strategy

To meet its goals under its strategic plan for 2025–2030, the regulator said it must improve its fitness-to-practise processes, streamline investigations and ensure financial stability.…

UK issues first guideline on post-exposure prophylaxis for syphilis

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV has highlighted research that shows how doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis reduces syphilis cases by 80%.…

UK government says it does not support safe drug consumption rooms

Speaking at a House of Commons Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry into the Glasgow safe drug consumption facility, the minister for policing and crime prevention said the Westminster government would “not be amending the Misuse of Drugs Act”.…

Immunotherapy doubles amount of time head and neck cancer patients are disease free, study results suggest

Researchers found that in some patients with head and neck cancers, pembrolizumab stopped the cancer from getting worse or returning for an average of 60 months.…

Only one-third of pharmacies will meet new Pharmacy First monthly payment requirements, warns CCA

A report published by the Company Chemists' Association said new Pharmacy First bundling requirements may leave the service “financially unviable”.…

Pharmacy flu vaccine delivery to over-65s increased by 20 percentage points in five years

Data from the UK Health Security Agency show that since 2019/2020, the proportion of vaccines administered to at-risk patients via community pharmacies rose from 11.4% to 26.7%.…

Government commits to introducing pharmacy supervision legislation later in 2025

According to a parliamentary answer from pharmacy minister Stephen Kinnock, the government will publish its response to its own consultation over supervision changes “later this year”.…