Government

Taiwo Owatemi: ‘Pharmacists should be able to refer patients straight to secondary care’

Labour MP and locum pharmacist Taiwo Owatemi shares her views on how to handle pressures on the NHS and why the government is dragging its feet with England’s ‘Pharmacy First’ scheme.…

Hormone replacement therapy pre-payment scheme is too ‘complex’, say pharmacy leaders

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said the new system is "complex" and will not work well with current prescription and pricing systems, creating more work for pharmacy contractors.…

Rising number of drug price concessions imposed on pharmacies by the government

Exclusive: Pharmacy bodies say the concession system is "broken" and warrants an "urgent short-term solution and more fundamental long-term reform".…

Community pharmacies made 89p in profit per item dispensed in past year, claims government

The government has reported pharmacies made 89p in profit per item dispensed in 2021/2022, despite pharmacy contractors reporting "huge losses".…

Government advisers warn of ‘negative impact’ of two-clinician sign-off on valproate patients

Exclusive: Meeting minutes of the Valproate Safety Implementation Group say the new measure could have a “negative impact” on patients, and that “their perspective should be taken into account”.…

Tax rate hike risks ‘slicing off’ access to new medicines for UK patients

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said the proposed tax increase under the statutory scheme for branded medicine pricing would pose "a real risk that companies will not invest in or bring new innovations to the UK".…

Government advisers recommend autumn COVID-19 boosters for people at most risk

An extra booster dose may also be offered in the spring for smaller groups, such as people who are immunocompromised or of older age.…

UK government rejects proposals for a national formulary for HRT

Other rejected recommendations include the introduction of a menopause leave policy as well as making menopause a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.…

Transitional payments worth £2.5m per month for community pharmacy to end from February 2023

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said in a statement that the government had decided to end transitional payments “based on the latest monitoring and analysis of funding delivery”.…

Community pharmacies lose £1.6bn in eight years owing to inflation, government figures show

Health minister Will Quince has published figures showing a cumulative loss of £1.6bn for community pharmacies since 2015/2016.…