PJ, June 2022, Vol 308, No 7962

Some pharmacy NHS rents increase by more than 200%

A change in how rent is calculated for NHS pharmacy premises, from a charge per square metre to a charge based on the number of patients registered at the associated GP practice, has led to soaring rent prices.…

Long COVID: the NHS staff forced back to work too soon

As tens of thousands of NHS staff suffer with the effects of long COVID, most employers are sympathetic, but there are reports of some being threatened with disciplinary action.…

Long COVID is exacerbating NHS staff shortages, with more than 10,000 long-term absences since 2020

Exclusive: At least 10,370 staff members were absent from work for at least 12 weeks owing to illness from COVID-19 between 30 January 2020 and 11 March 2022.…

Help wanted: mentor shortage for potential prescribers

As the drive to train many more independent prescribing pharmacists continues, there is an urgent need to increase the number of designated prescribing practitioners to supervise those undertaking a course.…

First two antimicrobial drugs funded by NHS subscription payment scheme to be given to patients

The NHS England payment scheme is aimed to incentivise antimicrobial drug innovation.…

Pharmacies to trial directly referring patients for cancer screening

The pilot will enable community pharmacy staff to spot signs of cancer in patients that they may not have noticed.…

DPYD genetic testing and the future of pharmacogenomic testing in routine care

Genetic testing can identify which drugs and doses are best for individual patients, personalising care and optimising outcomes.…

MHRA reviewing impact of warning labels on sales and prescribing of codeine linctus

Exclusive: A review of the benefits and risks of codeine linctus will consider sales, prescribing and misuse before and after labelling changes.…

Deprivation and ethnicity linked with lower anticoagulation prescribing for atrial fibrillation, study reveals

Researchers found that, compared with white people, black people were 22% less likely to be prescribed an oral anticoagulant and those from other ethnic minorities were 24% less likely.…

No new funding for supervisors to support 3,000 pharmacist independent prescribing trainees

Exclusive: Health Education England has confirmed it will not provide backfill payments to support designated prescribing practitioner roles, despite a planned expansion in training places…