England

Third biological treatment for severe asthma approved by NICE

An injectable drug for patients who struggle to control their asthma with inhalers has been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.…

NHS England to fund flash glucose monitoring devices for all eligible diabetes patients

All patients with diabetes who qualify for a flash glucose monitoring device will be able to receive it on prescription from April 2019, NHS England has announced.…

Ending gluten-free prescribing entirely would have more health benefits and save more money, government assessment finds

Ending the prescribing of all gluten-free foods would save the NHS more money and generate more health benefits rather than restricting prescribing of gluten-free foods to breads and mixes — the option preferred by the government — an impact assessment has f…

New care home roles for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will not be filled until March 2019

NHS England has said that 240 pharmacy roles in care homes supported by the Pharmacy Integration Fund will not be fully deployed until March 2019, despite expectations that they would be filled five months earlier.…

English Pharmacy Board meeting: 4 October 2018

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board’s autumn meeting was held on 4 October 2018 at the Society’s London headquarters.…

Community pharmacy funding for 2018/2019 to be maintained at £2.59bn, PSNC announces

Community pharmacy funding will not be cut by £33m for the 2018/2019 financial year as expected and will instead be maintained at £2.59bn, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has announced.…

MMR vaccine coverage in England falls for fourth year in a row

Childhood vaccination coverage declined in 9 of the 12 routine vaccinations measured at ages one, two or five years in 2017/2018, compared with the previous year, according to statistics released by Public Health England.…

Charity launches petition calling for NICE to rethink MS drug decision

The MS Society has launched a petition calling for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NHS England and drug manufacturer Roche to rethink the decision to reject the first treatment to be licensed for the treatment of primary progressive multiple sclerosis.…

Asthma care in England needs to be more proactive, researchers say

An audit of data from Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group in England has found inconsistencies in asthma care that could leave high-risk patients unidentified and at risk of death.…

Children with cancer set to benefit from personalised treatment within weeks, announces NHS England chief

Children and young people in England with a specific form of leukaemia could benefit from personalised cancer treatment within weeks, in the form of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, according to Simon Stevens, chief executive at NHS England.…