PJ August 2026, Vol 317, No 8012

NHS trust to recirculate out-of-hours medicines access process following prisoner death

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust also confirmed that training sessions will continue to reinforce staff understanding in response to a coroner's prevention of future deaths report.…

NICE includes children in updated guidance for allergy medicine

Itulazax and acarizax are both sublingual immunotherapies in tablet form, which are taken once daily and dissolve under the tongue.…

Moving from conversation to action on women’s health

‘Menopause, unmissed’ takes a holistic approach to improving women’s health outcomes, demonstrating the potential of effective cross-sector collaboration.…

Early antiviral flu treatment linked with lower ICU admissions in children, study suggests

Children who were given early antiviral treatment were 31% less likely to be admitted to an ICU and had shorter hospital stays compared with the participants who were not given antivirals, researchers found.…

Trust commissions benzodiazepine review following patient death

A patient died by suicide after being permanently prescribed diazepam without a required medical review while awaiting a re-titration of her clozapine prescription.…

Developing England’s first 13-week foundation trainee pharmacist rotation in substance-use services

As pharmacy training evolves toward a clinical, patient-centred model of care, meaningful learning opportunities across healthcare sectors have become increasingly important. Those completing foundation trainee pharmacist training in 2026 will become the first cohort to qualify as pharmacist indepen…

Pharmacies pilot test for prevention of oesophageal cancer

A total of 12 pharmacies across the East Midlands and London are offering the EndoSign capsule sponge test to patients with persistent heartburn or acid reflux in order to screen for oesophageal cancer.…

Maternal RSV vaccine halves newborn ICU admissions, says UKHSA

There were 63 infants admitted to intensive care or higher dependency hospital units with RSV chest infection in winter 2025/2026, down from 131 the year prior.…

A faster route to rare disease treatments: the MHRA’s proposals 

Could a shake-up of the UK’s medicines approval process make a meaningful difference for people living with rare diseases? Here, we explore the government’s proposals and the role pharmacy could play in improving patient care.…

UKHSA launches toolkit for tackling AMR inequalities

The toolkit compiles existing resources to assist healthcare providers address antimicrobial resistance-related health inequalities in populations such as care leavers, migrants, minority communities and people experiencing homelessness.…