PJ July 2020, Vol 305, No 7939

Tribute: Michael Peter Ruxton

Mike attended De La Salle Grammar School in Liverpool. His interest in pharmacy commenced when he undertook a pre-graduate apprenticeship at Boots in 1961, after which he decided to study pharmacy at the Liverpool School of Pharmacy. Mike first registered with the then Pharmaceutical Society in 1966…

Boots pharmacists to be unaffected by company-wide proposals to cut 4,000 jobs

Boots has announced proposals for “a significant restructuring” owing to the impact of COVID-19.…

Drugs in space: the pharmacy orbiting the Earth

Researchers are busy developing pharmaceutical solutions for astronauts, but that extraterrestrial research could also have implications for how medicines are delivered on Earth.…

Half of pharmacists are not discussing risks of valproate with patients

Just under half of pharmacists are not discussing the risks of taking sodium valproate when dispensing the drug to women, and just over half of pharmacists are not providing a patient card warning of the risks, a survey by three epilepsy charities has found.…

Pharmacy regulator proposes speeding up fitness-to-practise decisions by making more enquiries earlier

More enquiries could be made earlier in the fitness-to-practise process to ensure some concerns are dealt with more quickly, under a new strategy proposed by the pharmacy regulator.…

For community pharmacists to be treated as equals after the COVID-19 pandemic, they must become paid employees of the NHS

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerabilities of having separate health and social care systems, but pharmacy can only help fill this gap if it is more embedded within the NHS.…

Insomnia disorder: management strategies

As sleep disturbances are common, understanding their management and how to best counsel and appropriately treat patients is essential.…

Pharmacists should make themselves familiar with the Antifungal Drug Interactions Database

In this time of growing antimicrobial resistance, we do not have unlimited ways to effectively treat a systemic infection. We must be antimicrobial stewards and use antimicrobials responsibly to preserve their effectiveness[1] . This applies to antifungals too — not just antibiotics[2…

Flu vaccines could be delivered in sports stadiums, town halls and mosques to mitigate COVID-19 risk, says pharmacy negotiator

Pharmacy negotiators have suggested contractors consider providing flu vaccinations off-premises during the 2020/2021 flu season to manage infection control during the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Inhaler recycling scheme that cut carbon emissions equivalent to more than 8,500 cars is scrapped

A scheme to recycle respiratory inhalers, which has cut carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to taking around 8,600 cars off UK roads, is ending.…