News | Respiratory tract diseases

Opinion

Bringing high-quality diagnostics for COPD and asthma to north Wales

As a pharmacist prescriber at a community diagnostic respiratory hub in South Denbighshire, North Wales, Kevin Parvin explains why the hub is needed and how it is benefiting patients.…

Published: 12 August 2024

News

NHS to commission 50 pharmacies to offer RSV vaccinations from September 2024

NHS England will commission 25 pharmacy contractors in NHS Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board (ICB) and a further 25 in NHS North East Essex ICB to provide the RSV community pharmacy pathfinder service.…

Published: 5 August 2024

News

More than 20,000 inhalers returned since November 2023 through recycling pilot

Exclusive: Since its launch in November 2023, 20,400 inhalers have been returned through the ‘Re-Hale’ scheme, which operates across 78 locations in East Kent.…

Published: 29 July 2024

News

NICE approves three cystic fibrosis drugs for NHS use

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has approved three drugs used to treat cystic fibrosis, after its initial decision not to recommend them caused “disappointment, anxiety and concern”.…

Published: 29 July 2024

Opinion

How we recycled over 20,000 inhalers so far in East Kent 

NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board explains how an inhaler recycling scheme was set up as a collaborative working project with biopharmaceutical company Chiesi.…

Published: 29 July 2024

News

Over-the-counter nasal sprays reduce symptom duration in at-risk patients, study results suggest

Antibiotic use was also reduced in all intervention groups.…

Published: 15 July 2024

Letter

The narrow age range chosen for the RSV vaccination programme is disappointing

I am a retired pharmacist and friends are asking me why there is such a narrow age range for older adults chosen for the NHS vaccination programme against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is due to begin in September 2024. Fortunately, I fall within the chosen age cohort but many of…

Published: 4 July 2024

Feature

‘Beyond weight loss’: what is the future of semaglutide?

As warnings mount around the dangerous accessibility of semaglutide products Wegovy and Ozempic as quick weight loss hacks, researchers are questioning whether the drug has wider implications for other conditions.…

Published: 27 June 2024

News

Community pharmacies to be commissioned to provide RSV vaccination programme

The programme was announced following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.…

Published: 26 June 2024

News

Joint guidance for asthma recommends replacing SABA with corticosteroid inhalers

The draft guidance proposes the use of combined inhaled corticosteroid/formoterol inhalers over previously preferred short-acting beta agonists.…

Published: 26 June 2024