PJ July 2020, Vol 305, No 7939

Richard Hobbs: ‘This trial has been a monumental task’

A principal investigator in one of the UK-based COVID-19 treatment trials speaks about his hopes for the study and the controversy surrounding hydroxychloroquine.…

Statins linked to lower risk of death from COVID-19, study suggests

Patients hospitalised with COVID-19 who take statins are less likely to die than those who do not, a retrospective study published in Cell Metabolism suggests.…

Pharmacy Schools Council to ensure BAME patient communities are ‘properly reflected’ in MPharm curriculum

The Pharmacy Schools’ Council has said it will conduct an “examination of teaching practices and materials” in the MPharm curriculum to ensure that it properly reflects black, Asian and minority ethnic patient communities.…

No going back: how the pandemic is changing hospital pharmacy

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge challenge, but it has revolutionised pharmacy practice in some positive ways. In the first of a three-part series, we ask hospital pharmacists which changes they want to retain.…

Savory & Moore’s patent medicated gelatine lamels, 1915–1919

Packets of lamels like this one, made by Savory & Moore in the late 1910s, would have been used to treat influenza during the 1918 pandemic.…

Deaths: John Romilly Fowler

On 2 June 2020, John Romilly Fowler MBE FRPharmS, aged 91 years, of Egham, Surrey. Mr Fowler registered with the Society in 1951. He was formerly the editor of the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, retiring in 1990.  In 1985, Mr Fowler was conferred with the title of MBE in the Q…

Nearly a quarter of PCNs did not claim NHS funding to hire extra pharmacists

Almost a quarter of primary care networks (PCNs) had either not hired or not claimed NHS funding for hiring a pharmacist — which was made available as part of a new GP contract — by the end of March 2020, responses to Freedom of Information requests by The Pharmaceutical Journal&nbs…

Remote consultations: how pharmacy teams can practise them successfully

As remote consultations become more common, pharmacists must consider best practice and how they can get the most out of these interactions.…

A quarter of medicines deliveries booked through Welsh volunteer scheme have not been completed

More than 3,300 medicines deliveries have been scheduled since the launch of the National Volunteer Prescription Delivery Scheme in Wales, although, to date, only 2,473 deliveries have been completed.…

Deaths: Patrick George O’Neill

On 29 April 2020, Patrick George O’Neill, aged 89 years, of Middlesex. Mr O’Neill was a former member of The Royal Pharmaceutical Society. …