England

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.…

NHS campaign aims to encourage patients to check free prescription eligibility

A nationwide campaign to help crack down on patients claiming free prescriptions when they are not eligible is to be launched on 10 September 2018.…

Women in England will be able to complete medical abortions at home by end of 2018

From the end of 2018, women in England will be able to complete medical abortion procedures at home, the government has announced.…

Pharmacists in care homes could save NHS £135m, says RPS’s Robbie Turner

Robbie Turner, director of pharmacy and member experience at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, wrote to all 44 sustainability and transformation partnership leads to reiterate how the pharmacy sector should be embedded in STP implementation plans and working groups.…

Charity steps in to fund PrEP access in England and NI

A leading HIV and sexual health charity has announced that it will launch a pre-exposure prophylaxis access fund in autumn 2018 to support people in England and Northern Ireland who cannot access or afford the drug.…

RPS ambassador scheme to champion the Society across England

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society in England has appointed ten ambassadors to champion the benefits of being a member.…

Every GP surgery in London now using the Electronic Prescription Service

The Electronic Prescription Service is now live in all 1,311 eligible GP practices in London, NHS Digital has announced.…