Practice pharmacists lack support from GPs, study finds Pharmacists working in GP surgeries increase their scope of practice but some had problems with their working environment and lack of support from GPs, a study in the British Journal of General Practice has found.…
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.…
Chief pharmaceutical officer expresses ‘regret’ for painful community pharmacy cuts Exclusive: NHS England’s chief pharmaceutical officer has expressed his regret for the difficulty cuts to the community pharmacy budget have caused the profession, but insisted they should be regarded as a “watershed” moment for pharmacy.…
Keith Ridge: ‘I regret the pain, but this is a watershed moment for pharmacy’ England’s chief pharmaceutical officer speaks to Nigel Praities about his plans for the future of pharmacy.…
Government launches follow-up consultation on gluten-free prescribing The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a public consultation seeking views on its decision to restrict gluten-free prescribing to bread and mixes.…
CCG commissions new minor ailments scheme Dudley clinical commissioning group has commissioned a minor ailments scheme to improve patient care and make cost savings for the NHS, bucking the trend of the schemes being wound down elsewhere.…
NHS failing to address ‘giant’ risks to patients, claims former head of medication safety The national health service has forgotten to ensure that it has an adequate system to tackle “giant risks” that cause harm to patients, says the former head of medication safety at NHS England.…
A failure to learn from our mistakes puts patients at risk Collective amnesia in the NHS means that major issues affecting patient safety, such as medication errors, are not being adequately addressed, writes David Cousins.…
Chief pharmaceutical officer ‘hopeful’ urgent medicines service will be renewed Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer, has said it would be “difficult to justify” not renewing the NHS Urgent Medicine Supply Advanced Service in community pharmacies as it has become an important part of the services they offer patients.…
Pharmacists told to report packages containing unidentified substance The chief medical officer has issued a ‘class one’ alert to all hospital and community pharmacists regarding unsolicited packages being sent to health-related organisations over the past 24 hours.…