News | England

RPS calls on government to do more to tackle health inequalities

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has co-signed a letter to prime minister Boris Johnson outlining why a cross-government strategy would strengthen the new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, due to launch on 1 October 2021.…

Pharmacy should be represented in new NHS structures, say primary care bodies

A letter written to the parliamentary committee scrutinising the Health and Care Bill calls on new 'integrated care boards' to include formalised roles for all types of primary care professions, not just GPs.…

Boots flu vaccination appointment bookings increase almost 70% year-on-year

Bookings for flu vaccinations at Boots stores increased by 67% between 1 July 2021 and 6 September 2021, when compared with the same time period in 2020.…

Monoclonal antibody treatment service to begin for hospitalised COVID-19 patients in October 2021

Exclusive: Patients in hospital in England with COVID-19, and later in the community, could start receiving neutralising monoclonal antibodies as a treatment for the disease by early October 2021.…

Lack of diversity among senior NHS pharmacists, data show

Exclusive: Data has revealed that of 41 senior pharmacy staff employed by NHS England and Improvement at Band 8a and above, 30 are of white ethnicity.…

NHS patients will be first in Europe to receive mutation-targeting lung cancer treatment

The tumour-agnostic drug sotorasib has been approved for the treatment of patients in England with non-small cell lung cancer.…

Pharmacists working in hospitals and general practice may face mandatory COVID-19 vaccination

The government has opened a consultation on making COVID-19 and flu vaccinations compulsory for frontline staff in general practice and hospitals, unless they are medically exempt.…

Trusts send more than 4,500 electronic prescriptions as part of NHS pilot

Exclusive: In response to a freedom of information request, NHS Digital said the three hospital trusts involved in the pilot had sent 4,504 prescriptions through the electronic prescription service…

Pharmacy technicians can administer flu vaccine under national protocol for England

Exclusive: Public Health England has confirmed that, under the national protocol for administration of inactivated influenza vaccine, pharmacy technicians will be able to prepare and administer the vaccine.…

Number of young children prescribed antidepressants has risen by 41% since 2015

Exclusive: NHS data also reveal that the majority of those patients aged 5–12 years prescribed antidepressants between 2015 and 2021 were males.…