News | Medicines safety

Letter

Transforming the pharmaceutical supply chain: a call to action for UK pharmacy

Medicine shortages, fragile sourcing and last‑minute firefighting are now routine features of practice across community and hospital pharmacy in Great Britain. Pharmacists are left managing the consequences at the sharp end, often with limited visibility of how and why supply has failed. My book, …

Published: 15 July 2026

News

‘Stark lack of government response’ on valproate redress, patient safety commissioner says

In her annual report for 2025/2026, Henrietta Hughes said the government was “yet to announce a redress scheme or a timeline for providing a substantive response to the recommendations” made in her previous report on patients harmed by sodium valproate.…

Published: 14 July 2026

News

GPhC launches campaign on risk of fake online pharmacies following launch of oral semaglutide

The General Pharmaceutical Council has created posters and videos to educate patients on how to spot a fake online pharmacy.…

Published: 10 July 2026

Feature

Short-term savings, long-term costs: what cuts to medicines optimisation teams could mean for the NHS

Integrated care boards have confirmed to The Pharmaceutical Journal that they are reducing headcount in their medicines optimisation teams, which are primarily formed of pharmacists. What will this mean for the future NHS?…

Published: 9 July 2026

News

Regulator takes action against Tesco weight-loss advertising

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said that the supermarket pharmacy had amended its advertising to ensure that prescription-only medicines for weight loss were not promoted to the public.…

Published: 8 July 2026

Feature

Everything you need to know about GLP-1s for weight loss

From semaglutide to tirzepatide, this article collates the latest information on pharmacological weight-loss treatments, including evidence and best practice for their use.…

Published: 2 July 2026

Opinion

Medicines storage needs to change with the climate

Pharmacy staff should make patients aware of the importance of safe medicine storage to optimise the stability and efficacy of their medicines.…

Published: 24 June 2026

News

Pharmacy regulator warns against promotion of prescription weight-loss medicines

A notice has reminded businesses that they cannot advertise prescription-only medicines or prescription-only medical treatments to the public.…

Published: 19 June 2026

News

Health news round-up: endocrine research, binge eating on the pill and AI in the NHS

The Pharmaceutical Journal’s weekly summary of the important developments in pharmacy and health news you may have missed.…

Published: 19 June 2026

News

Asda Pharmacy launches ‘judgement-free’ disposal scheme as access to unregulated medication rises

One-quarter of GPs said they have encountered patients who require hospital care following complications associated with unregulated medicines.…

Published: 18 June 2026