Government

HRT prescription charges could be scrapped if parliamentary bill becomes law

The Menopause (Support and Services) Bill would allow patients to receive hormone replacement therapy prescriptions for free in England, and would also make provisions for menopause support and services.…

Government proposes raising qualifying age for free NHS prescriptions to 66 years

The government has proposed raising the upper age exemption for prescriptions in England to generate additional revenue for the NHS.…

Pharmacists added to government’s list of occupations facing national shortage

The inclusion of pharmacists in the shortage occupation list means staff from abroad can apply for a skilled worker visa through the UK’s immigration system more easily.…

Prime minister vows to reimburse community pharmacy’s COVID-19 costs ‘as soon as possible’

Boris Johnson told The Pharmaceutical Journal that community pharmacies “play a vital role in helping us to fight the pandemic” and that he does not want to see any closures.…

Government ‘miscommunicated’ PPE stock levels to pharmacies during first COVID-19 wave, MPs told

The Healthcare Distribution Association told the Public Accounts Committee that the centralised personal protective equipment stock for community pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic “faced considerable challenges”.…

Government to fund COVID-19 clinical trial using different vaccines for first and second doses

The COVID-19 Heterologous Prime Boost study will seek to establish the effects of using different vaccines for the first and second dose.…

Home Office to consult this year on adding DNP to list of regulated poisons

Following advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs that the diet pill 2,4-Dinitrophenol is a poison, the UK government will consult on whether to add the compound to the list of regulated poisons.…

Government should use community pharmacies to deliver 24/7 COVID-19 vaccination service, says Labour leader

Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, has said he wants “to see every possible pharmacy deployed to help” in the COVID-19 vaccination programme.…

Ten things pharmacists should know about COVID-19 vaccines

Work towards a COVID-19 vaccine is progressing rapidly and new information is emerging every day. Here we aim to summarise the most important details of COVID-19 vaccine development from a pharmacy perspective.…

The man and his ‘illegal’ van trying to fix Glasgow’s drug problem

A van providing a safe space for drug users to inject is being piloted in Glasgow but, despite backing for the idea of such a facility from the Scottish government, Westminster says that it is illegal.…