England NHS structures

PCNs forced to recruit pharmacists with less experience owing to shortages, says NHS England director

Some primary care networks have been forced to hire pharmacists with less experience than they wanted because there are not enough working at a senior level, NHS England has confirmed.…

RPS urges new approach for training pharmacists, following reports of pharmacist-to-doctor conversion courses

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has said that it would like to see “a new approach to training early careers pharmacists at foundation level, so that they can take up new roles across the NHS”, following press reports that pharmacists could be given the chance t…

The community pharmacy referral scheme is a new way to make the most of pharmacists’ skills

In response to the editorial ‘ Community pharmacy referral scheme is not a new concept’ — which suggested that the NHS community pharmacist consultation service (CPCS) is ‘recycled’ from previous minor ailment schemes — it may be helpful to clarify wha…

NHS England could expand number of minor illnesses covered by pharmacist consultations

NHS England is considering expanding the number of minor illnesses covered by the community pharmacist consultation service, if it is successful, a senior NHS England official has said.…

Medicines reconciliation to be an essential service from 2020/2021, says NHS England

Medicines reconciliation could be made an essential service in 2020/2021, following negotiations over the community pharmacy contract, an NHS England official has revealed.…

NHS launches movie-inspired campaign to encourage public to visit their pharmacist

Patients are being encouraged to “take the drama out of minor illnesses” by visiting their pharmacist, as part of a movie poster-inspired campaign to encourage greater use of community pharmacies.…

Pharmacist-led atrial fibrillation screening service cuts stroke numbers by 20%

Clinical pharmacists have helped reduce the number of strokes by 22% following an atrial fibrillation pilot in Tameside and Glossop.…

Pharmacy sector criticises ‘unrealistic’ NHS England primary care proposals

Proposals on how pharmacists can work to review the medication of millions of patients have been described as creating an “unrealistic” workload by pharmacy leaders.…

Everything you need to know about the NHS genomic medicine service

A closer look at the progress made so far on NHS England’s new national genomic medicine service.…

Opioids linked to more than half of hospital admissions for drug misuse poisoning

More than half of all hospital admissions for drug misuse poisoning in England are related to opioids other than heroin, figures from NHS Digital have shown.…