UK healthcare

Jhoots: isolated issues or the sign of a community pharmacy sector in trouble?

As the dust settles on Jhoots’ descent into administration at the end of 2025, Joanna Robertson looks at the reasons behind the collapse, shedding light on what the team behind Allied Pharmacies plans to do differently.…

RPS calls for mandatory 2D barcodes on medicines packs

Since the UK left the EU in 2020, the Falsified Medicines Directive has not applied, meaning manufacturers have not been required to list certain information on medicines packaging.…

Regulator sets acceptance criteria for fitness-to-practise complaints

The General Pharmaceutical Council said the new criteria have been developed to reduce the number of avoidable concerns it receives and progresses.…

Over-the-counter medicines are being purchased by children as young as 13 years, reveals survey

Overall, more than half of the survey respondent had used over-the-counter medicines in a six-month period.…

Building a confident and ambitious future for pharmacy

I am writing as a fellow pharmacy professional with over 30 years of experience who has spent the past 16 years working to strengthen our profession and support the evolution of community pharmacy. Through my experience — including my most recent role as superintendent pharmacist at Boots — I ha…

A royal college is only as strong as its membership

As the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) moves toward its transition into a royal college, I believe our profession stands at one of the most important turning points in its modern history. This is why I have chosen to stand for election to the National Pharmacy Advisory Council for England. My dec…

Inclusive and integrated — opportunity beckons

As the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) enters its latest elections and moves to become a royal college, pharmacists continue to expand their horizons, and we continue to see new and emerging roles. However, I am very concerned at the continuing theme that some current roles — particularly that …

For those who come after

What an exciting time for pharmacy. The Royal College of Pharmacy. It has a great ring to it and the work that has got us to this point has been fundamental in embedding the foundations for the future of pharmacy. There is a risk however, that when you get elections for professional leadership…

An exciting but challenging time for pharmacy 

Throughout my first term on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) English Pharmacy Board (EPB), I made a conscious decision to share my experiences openly on LinkedIn. Not just the highlights — but the honest reality of what it's like to serve, to learn and to navigate a profession in the mid…

Royal College of Pharmacy and a registered charity: a new beginning

With all things going according to plan, come April 2026, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) will transform to become the brand new Royal College of Pharmacy (RCPharm), which will be a registered charity. For pharmacy in Great Britain, this is indeed a new beginning after 185 years of the exi…