Urgent and emergency care

Community pharmacists should be able to substitute cheaper drugs, says PSNC in proposals to counter government cuts

Giving community pharmacists more power to dispense cheaper generic alternatives to branded medicines could save the NHS millions of pounds and prevent the need for planned government cuts of £170m from the community pharmacy budget in England, according to national negotiators.…

Scottish Government launches out-of-hours pilot projects

The Scottish Government has announced it is funding a £10m programme to improve out-of-hours care.…

The Carter review through the eyes of a hospital pharmacist

Lord Carter’s review of efficiency in hospitals shows how savings can be made by the NHS. Aamer Safdar, a member of the RPS English Pharmacy board and principal pharmacist lead for education at Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospital, shares his views.…

Right medicine, better health, fitter future: a closer look at the RPS Scotland manifesto

RPS Scotland has launched its 2016 manifesto ‘Right medicine – better health – fitter future’ ahead of the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections. Here chair of the RPS Scottish pharmacy board, John McAnaw, talks to Julia Robinson about what the RPS is doing to promote t…

Keith Ridge supports role of pharmacists in care homes

Chief pharmaceutical officer expresses his support for the role of pharmacists in care homes following a report released by the RPS.…

Public reports more dissatisfaction with NHS

Public dissatisfaction with the NHS has risen because of long waits to see a GP or be given a hospital appointment and lack of staff and funding, according to a report by the King’s Fund.…

Pharmacy emergency supply service has potential to reduce workload of other out-of-hours providers

Providing out-of-hours access to emergency repeat medicines through community pharmacies has the potential to reduce the workload of other NHS service providers, according to a study published in BMJ Open.…

Miniaturised drug production has role to play in emergencies, conference hears

Methods for small scale, point-of-use manufacture of drugs have now reached an advanced stage, delegates heard at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists ‘midyear clinical meeting’ in New Orleans, Louisiana.…

Every stage of the UK government’s response to Ebola epidemic was delayed, MPs report

Every stage of the UK’s response to the Ebola epidemic was undermined by systemic delays, according to a report written by MPs, following an inquiry into the country’s ability to deal with disease emergencies.…

Pharmacists need to collaborate with pharmacy technicians and support staff to enable safe and effective delegation

To realise new ways of working means moving away from traditional professional boundaries and enabling the pharmacy workforce to take on different roles if it benefits patients.…