Care of older people

Community pharmacies have administered more than 8,000 RSV vaccines in east of England

Exclusive: NHS England has said that 8,187 respiratory syncytial virus vaccinations have been delivered between October and November 2024 across 37 community pharmacies in Essex and Suffolk.…

Management of overprescribing of oral nutritional supplements in a community hospital

Malnutrition costs the UK an astounding £23.5bn annually​1​, an increase from £19.5bn reported by the British Association for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (BAPEN) in 2015, with half of this amount spent on its treatment in older people aged over 65 years​2​. Dehydration and malnutritio…

Statins offer cost-effective benefit for older people, study results suggest

The researchers found that lifetime use of a standard statin therapy increased quality-adjusted life years by 0.24–0.70 per person.…

Test your knowledge of diabetes

This CPD and learning quiz can help you assess your knowledge of a range of diabetes topics, from insulin initiation to complications such as diabetic ketoacidosis.…

NICE approves osteoporosis treatment that could benefit 14,000 people at high risk of fracture

Abaloparatide will provide an alternative for women after menopause who have not responded to, or cannot tolerate, usual treatment options.…

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.…

Managing and reducing polypharmacy when prescribing

An overview of the challenges that multiple medicines management may present for prescribers, with advice on approaches prescribing pharmacists can adopt to best support patients.…

Community falls pharmacists ‘effective and cost-efficient’ in optimising medicines for older patients, study suggests

Data from 92 people referred to a community falls pharmacist show an 8% mean reduction in the number of medicines prescribed per patient and anticholinergic burden score per patient reduced by 33%.…

Pharmacists in primary care should be ‘enabled to prioritise’ structured medication reviews, says RPS

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society policy statement says primary care networks must recognise that they are accountable for delivering structured medication reviews.…

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…