NHS reforms

Free pharmacy advice saves 38 million GP appointments a year, CPE audit finds

Just over half of patients given unfunded pharmacy consultations said they would otherwise have contacted their GP.…

RPS to survey members before responding to government consultation on NHS ten-year plan

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said it wants the government to place supporting patient access to community pharmacies at the heart of any increase in neighbourhood health services.…

State of pharmacy: what’s in store for the profession under Labour?

Labour’s plans for pharmacy have only been roughly sketched out, but the party’s track record — alongside demands from the sector — can provide some insight into how the planned NHS reform may affect pharmacy.…

PJ view: An evidence-based approach to policy reform is needed from Streeting

With another NHS reform on the cards from new health secretary Wes Streeting, now is the time for an evidence-based approach to strategic planning to counter ideological policies of the past.…

Collaboration not competition: the NHS masterplan to keep patients out of hospital

Health challenges and inequalities have been exacerbated by COVID-19, meaning providing joined up health and social care that keeps people out of hospital is more important than ever, and is central to the government’s blueprint for the NHS in England. Pharmacy teams are already playing an integra…

A trigger for change? Two years on from the Carter review

In Lord Carter’s 2016 review, he advised acute hospitals to deploy more clinical pharmacists and use them to drive value from the £6.7bn that hospitals spend on medicines every year. Two years on, The Pharmaceutical Journal investigates whether trusts are on track to meet these ambitious…

Bevan Commission calls for prevention-first model for healthcare in Wales

Great niece of NHS architect Aneurin Bevan has called for an “urgent revolution” in the NHS in Wales…

Perception of pharmacists as prescription checkers is a ‘scandal’: RPS English Pharmacy Board chair

Pharmacists are expensively trained healthcare professionals with five years’ education who can do much more than just check prescriptions, Sandra Gidley, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) English Pharmacy Board told a major health conference.…

Pharmacists influence latest NHS reform

NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens has announced the creation of eight ‘accountable care systems’, which will see local NHS organisations work more closely together, often with social care services and the voluntary sector, in different parts of the country.…

Change law and raise taxes to enable STPs to improve NHS, report urges

A lack of statutory power and severe underfunding are creating barriers to promising NHS reforms set out in sustainability and transformation plans (STPs), a think tank has warned. …