Healthcare provision

NHS England plans new five-year strategy

The NHS Five Year Forward View is a five-year strategy for the NHS that is being developed by NHS England.…

Student fitness to practise procedures should be more consistent, RPS conference told

Inconsistency in the way fitness to practise cases are dealt with between different universities may be cause for concern, Mark Pitt of the Pharmacists’ Defence Association told conference audience.…

Where professional advancement and professionalism align

New opportunities for professional advancement continue to be made available to pharmacists but when it comes to professionalism, individuals must reflect on their own appetite for development.…

Ensuring relevance across the breadth of pharmacy

Newly elected RPS President Ash Soni looks at some of the challenges ahead, including gaining his own Faculty accreditation.…

Public would expect pharmacists to join professional body, says chairman of GPhC

The chairman of the General Pharmaceutical Council has said it is “quite wrong” that there are pharmacists who think they do not need to join their professional body.…

Counterfeits designed to deceive pharmacists, RPS conference hears

Counterfeit medicines are being designed specifically to deceive pharmacists, the annual Royal Pharmaceutical Society conference heard.…

Earl Howe acknowledges delays for dispensing error and education reforms

The UK government minister addressed the delay in two key documents for pharmacy in his speech to the annual Royal Pharmaceutical Society conference.…

Stop demonising a potentially useful product for smokers

Compulsory regulation of electronic cigarettes could spoil a safe substitute for smoking.…

Chief medical officer’s annual report focuses on mental health

CMO Sally Davies has called for an end to healthcare providers’ focus on “wellbeing”, saying there is little evidence to support this approach for tackling mental ill-health.…

World Health Organization expedites trials for potential Ebola vaccines

The World Health Organization has announced that two vaccines will be expedited to clinical trials and could be available as soon as November 2014 for priority use in healthcare workers.…