UK healthcare

Pharmacy minister resigns to vote against Conservative whip on Brexit

Pharmacy minister Steve Brine resigned from the government to support a move that gives MPs the chance to consider which form of Brexit they would support.…

Drug rehabilitation charities spent millions on generics price concessions in 2018

Non-NHS organisations, including charities and local authorities, have had to pay £5.6m for drugs under the generics price concessions scheme in 2018, data analysts have found.…

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.…

NHS England extends NUMSAS pilot for third time to September 2019

NHS England has told pharmacy providers that the NHS Urgent Medicine Supply Advanced Service (NUMSAS) pilot is to be extended for another six months, until 30 September 2019.…

NHS medical cannabis prescribing data unlikely to be published soon

It is unlikely that figures on NHS England prescriptions for medical cannabis will be published by the end of March 2019, despite ministerial assurances that they would, The Pharmaceutical Journal has been told.…

Suppliers opt to stockpile 16 weeks’ worth of insulin in UK ahead of Brexit

Insulin suppliers have increased their UK stocks to include 16 weeks’ worth of extra supplies as part of their no-deal Brexit planning.…

New GPhC education standards could affect recruitment of pharmacy students, warns CPS

New standards for pharmacy education and training could have a “negative impact” on recruitment of pharmacy students, Community Pharmacy Scotland has said.…

Pharmacy drug-switching protocols a ministerial ‘power grab’, says shadow health secretary

Amendments to legislation allowing pharmacists to switch patients’ medicine without consulting their GP is “an extraordinary power grab” by health ministers, the shadow health secretary has said.…

Government slashes annual spend on generic price concessions by half in just one year

The Department of Health and Social Care has halved its expenditure on price concessions in the past year, according to a recent analysis.…

Social media use linked to poor mental health in young people, APPG finds

Over a quarter of young people who spend three or more hours per day on social media have symptoms of mental illness, according to a parliamentary report.…