Healthcare provision

High-risk cosmetic procedures restricted to prescribers only

Under government proposals, independent prescribing pharmacists, nurses and midwives, as well as doctors as dentists, will be the only healthcare professionals that can perform high-risk non-surgical cosmetic procedures.…

Give private providers secure access to patient records for weight-loss jabs, MPs urge

The Health and Social Care Committee said that the discrepancy in GLP-1 prescriptions each month provided privately compared to on the NHS has created a “two-tier system” that is determined by ability to pay.…

One in ten patients went without medicine because of prescription charge worries, poll finds

Nearly half of respondents to the National Pharmacy Association poll reported that they were worried about being able to afford their NHS prescriptions.…

MP calls for non-digital ways to order repeat prescriptions

North Norfolk MP Steff Aquarone said he had found a “troubling gap between national NHS guidance and the rules governing GP practices” on requesting repeat prescriptions.…

Coroner raises concerns about ambulance triage of drug overdose

A patient had taken a significant overdose, but emergency services didn’t initially prioritise the call because the drug he had taken was not on NHS Pathway’s “high risk” list.…

A forgotten supplement: why fewer women are taking folic acid before pregnancy

There has been a sharp drop in the proportion of women in England taking folic acid supplements before pregnancy, but what is responsible for the decline?…

Highest increase in distance-selling pharmacies for five years, as overall pharmacy number falls

NHS Business Services Authority data show that although there were 19 fewer pharmacies operating in England in 2025/2026 compared with the previous year, 36 more distance-selling pharmacies operated in that time period.…

Fewer than half of GPhC registrants say they find revalidation helpful, survey suggests

Survey results also showed that three in ten respondents felt the General Pharmaceutical Council did not listen to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians when developing policies, standards and guidance.…

Is our medicines supply chain stretched to breaking point?

Amid growing geopolitical turbulence, have the realities of the NHS’s medicine supply resilience been overlooked?…

Pharmacy owners may have 28 days to appoint new superintendent pharmacist, under revised GPhC proposals

Following a consultation on the proposals, which revealed conflicting views on how soon a new superintendent pharmacist should be appointed, the General Pharmaceutical Council said it would clarify the timeframe in the final standards.…