England NHS structures

Quarter of pharmacists yet to be offered a COVID-19 risk assessment

Almost a quarter of pharmacists have said they have still not been offered a COVID-19 risk assessment, more than three months after NHS England said employers should risk assess all staff.…

Chief pharmacists advised to store specialist antidotes separately to avoid mis-selection errors

New rules for storage of antidotes will come into effect in November 2020 in response to a series of incidents, including two with fatal outcomes.…

Government to train 50 mental health community pharmacists as part of NHS workforce plan for 2020/2021

Health Education England (HEE) has committed to training 50 community-based specialist mental health pharmacists as part of the NHS’s workforce plan for 2020/2021.…

Foundation training programme could replace preregistration year from the summer of 2021

A year of foundation training could replace the pharmacist preregistration year across the UK from summer 2021, Health Education England and NHS England have suggested.…

Government asked to produce plans for ‘predictable supply’ of PPE ahead of second COVID-19 wave

MPs have asked the government to produce a plan of how it will procure “a predictable supply” of personal protective equipment by September 2020, ahead of any second COVID-19 wave.…

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.…

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…

Pandemic medicines delivery service expected to end on 31 July 2020, says pharmacy representative body

The NHS Medicines Delivery Service, which earned pharmacies in England at least £6m in its first two months, is expected to end on 31 July 2020.…

Pharmacy staff required to self-isolate as part of NHS Test and Trace, NHS England confirms

Pharmacy staff “must self-isolate” if advised to by the NHS Test and Trace service, NHS England has said.…

Wellbeing service for pharmacists under discussion to address “glaring” gap in support, says minister

In an exclusive interview with The Pharmaceutical Journal, Jo Churchill, the minister responsible for public health, primary care and prevention in England, said that the gap in the wellbeing support offered to pharmacists, compared with other healthcare professions, was "quite glaring" and she…