Professions

Expanding NHS student banks: my experience as one of the 10,000 black interns in 2024

During my internship with NHS England, Midlands region, I joined the chief operating officer directorate to undertake a scoping exercise on innovation within student bank programmes. The incentive behind this project was the planned elimination of Band 2 and Band 3 agency staff, highlighting the nec…

Jeremy Miles praises ‘incredible’ work of pharmacists and announces review of general practice pharmacy

Exclusive: The Welsh cabinet secretary for health and social care said “there is a huge role which pharmacists are playing in a range of settings, and I want to see that grow”.…

Health news round-up: Huntington’s disease breakthrough and how to tackle medicines misinformation

Senior clinical reporter Joanna Robertson summarises some important developments in health news.…

NHS online pharmacy applications increase by more than 3,300% in month before market closure

Exclusive: The increase in distance-selling applications observed by NHS England is based on data from June 2025 compared with May 2025.…

Regulator fails on timeliness standard for fitness-to-practise cases for seventh year in a row

The Professional Standards Authority said that while the General Pharmaceutical Council is reducing its aged fitness-to-practise cases, the end-to-end median time from referral to final decision has increased.…

Is a lack of protected learning time holding back hospital pharmacists’ career development?

Analysis of exclusive data by The Pharmaceutical Journal has revealed that one in four NHS trusts and health boards does not offer protected time as part of job plans for pharmacists. Are trusts preventing pharmacists from progressing in their careers?…

GPhC reveals draft criteria to cut record number of fitness-to-practise concerns

The General Pharmaceutical Council said that concerns raised have doubled over the past five years, from 2,989 in 2020/2021 to 6,202 in 2024/2025.…

Putting the spotlight back on haemoglobinopathies: the emergence of specialist pharmacists

Haemoglobinopathies, including sickle cell disorder (SCD) and thalassaemia, are inherited blood disorders that affect the function of haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. Individuals with SCD can experience acute complications — most notably painful vaso-occlusive cris…

Pharmacy technician apprenticeship training provider ceases trading

Department for Education data revealed that 17 people completed Woodspeen Training’s pharmacy technician course in 2025.…

The new royal college is a once in a lifetime reset opportunity

Ewan Maule has made a persuasive case for a new approach to pharmacy leadership once the transition to a royal college structure has been implemented.  It is axiomatic that the role and influence that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society enjoyed through most of the 20th century diminished substanti…