Public health England

PHE urges commissioners to see ‘the value of pharmacy’ in providing improved sexual health services

Commissioners must recognise “the value of pharmacy” in order to provide better sexual health services to patients, Public Health England has said.…

Government investigation finds crack cocaine use increases by 8.5% in five years

The number of people using crack cocaine has increased by 8.5% in the past five years, according to the latest data from a Home Office and Public Health England investigation.…

Regular e-cigarette use remains low in young people and stable in adults, PHE report finds

Regular use of e-cigarettes remains low among young people, with just 1.7% of those aged 11 to 18 years in England reporting at least weekly use in 2018, according to a report commissioned by Public Health England.…

More than 1 million days of antibiotics could be cut if guidelines were followed

A large proportion of antibiotics given for common infections in primary care are prescribed for longer than guideline recommendations, research published in the BMJ has found.…

Pharmacists can play role in national cardiovascular disease campaign

Community pharmacists are expected to play an essential role in a new campaign to help identify and treat people in England with undetected atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure or high cholesterol, the major causes of cardiovascular disease.…

NHS England to encourage patients to visit their pharmacist through ‘Pharmacy Advice’ campaign

NHS England is set to launch a campaign to build the public’s trust and confidence in community pharmacists and the pharmacy team.…

Pharmacies warned of fake tablets containing fentanyl

Counterfeit tablets that contain the opioid fentanyl have been found in the UK for the first time.…

Flu vaccine uptake lower than 2017 for GPs while vaccination numbers surge for pharmacists

The percentage of patients vaccinated against the flu in GP surgeries has fallen behind schedule when compared with the rate of flu vaccine uptake in 2017, Public Health England has said.…

Flu vaccinations in community pharmacies approach 850,000

Community pharmacists in England have administered the flu vaccine to at least 840,472 people so far this this season, according to figures collated from electronic registers by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee.…

Antibiotic consumption in England has fallen by 6% in past five years, report shows

Between 2014/2015 and 2017/2018, there were 3.7 million fewer antibiotic prescriptions dispensed from community pharmacies in England, according to the fifth annual report of the English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance.…