News | England

Community pharmacy COVID-19 test distribution service extended

Exclusive: The Pharmacy Collect service has been extended until the end of July 2021.…

Monoclonal antibody treatment may be administered to vulnerable patients at home

Exclusive: A draft NHS England document, seen by The Pharmaceutical Journal, has set out possible patient pathways for the use of neutralising monoclonal antibodies in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.…

Pharmacy-led COVID-19 vaccination sites offered part of £20m fund for extra staff

To access the ring-fenced funding, pharmacy-led vaccination sites will need to administer all vaccines delivered to them within a week.…

Consultation service refers 350,000 patients to pharmacists since launch, says NHS England

There have been 340,000 referrals from NHS 111 and 13,000 referrals from GP practices to community pharmacies since the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service began in 2019.…

Community pharmacy referral service to be rolled out to a third of GP networks in north west England by autumn 2021

The expansion of the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service means GPs will be able to refer to community pharmacies in 50 of the region's 166 primary care networks.…

Nearly one in five pharmacist roles vacant in parts of England, report finds

Exclusive: A survey has found a 9% full-time equivalent vacancy rate in community pharmacy across England.…

Pharmacy staff conduct 58 million informal patient consultations each year, say negotiators

The audit of nearly 6,000 pharmacies also showed that informal patient consultations could be saving up to 24 million GP appointments each year.…

Sore throat testing and contraception monitoring services under development for pharmacies in England

Exclusive: The services have been added to the updated data standards for community pharmacy, which will allow pharmacy staff to digitally update GP records with advice given or medication prescribed.…

More than 75% of pharmacies can digitally check patients’ eligibility for free NHS prescriptions

The 'Real Time Exemption Checking' scheme allows pharmacies to check if patients are exempt from prescription charges.…

Pharmacies sent 1.6 million electronic flu vaccine notifications to GPs in 2020/2021

Exclusive: During the 2020/2021 flu season, community pharmacies sent 1.6 million electronic notifications of flu vaccinations, which were added directly to patients' GP records.…