The Department of Heath and Social Care has said there will be a ‘reduced’ Pharmacy Quality Scheme for 2023-2024 than previously planned with much fewer elements to the scheme than originally anticipated.
The Department of Health and Social Care has decided upon some regulatory changes which will allow 100-hour pharmacies to reduce their opening ours by more than a quarter. This decision has not been rolled out to all pharmacy contractors i.e., ones with fewer contracted hours.
At the recent MHRA GDP Symposium held in February the inspectorate announced a change to the MHRA inspection process.
The Government has rejected the workforce plan for pharmacy in response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report. It claims they do not agree with the recommendations for a workforce plan specific to pharmacy however they do want to improve the pharmacy workforce overall.
The Windsor Framework was published in late February, and was hoped to be the long awaited resolution to problems that existed with the Northern Ireland Protocol, particularly in relation to movement of goods.
Pholcodine containing cough and cold medication is being taken off the shelves in UK pharmacies amidst safety fears.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has officially re-joined the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP).
The GPhC has made comments that ‘Pharmacists working in Online settings have forgotten what they learned in community’. This comment has come on the back of a huge rise in the number of online pharmacies opening over the last few years and the risk of patient safety from these pharmacies rising.
A lot of people have been affected by the Norovirus this winter but in particular there has been a 66% rise in confirmed cases which is higher than the five-year average prior to the pandemic.
The Company Chemists Association (CCA) has urged that the NHS should immediately commission services which allow prescribing pharmacists to develop a more clinical role in community pharmacy, utilising their prescribing skills more.
