News

Returned medicines 'could put staff at Covid-19 risk'

The NPA says pharmacists should consider the safety of pharmacy teams when deciding whether to accept unwanted medicines.

Pre-reg delays 'could lead to crisis in NI pharmacies'

Failure to allow Northern Ireland pre-reg students to join the workforce this summer could 'lead to another crisis' says CPNI.

Pharmacy teams included in death in service in Scotland

Community Pharmacy Scotland says the government has agreed to include pharmacy colleagues in its death in service scheme.

 

Welsh Government rolls out medicines delivery app

App rolled out to pharmacies in Wales to help them identify shielding patients and use volunteers to deliver medicines. 

Pharmacies receive £250 per hour to open on Friday bank holiday

NHSE&I announce the terms for opening on the May 8 bank holiday is the same as Good Friday and Easter Monday.

EDF to deliver medicines to LloydsPharmacy patients

LloydsPharmacy strikes an agreement with EDF that will see volunteer engineers deliver medicines to patients in England.

NPA announces board election results

The National Pharmacy Association has announced that Andrew Lane has been re-elected as chair for two more years.

Covid-19: Convalescent plasma trial underway

Can plasma donated by patients who have recovered from Covid-19 help those battling the illness?

Life assurance: Growing calls to include support staff

APTUK is calling for the new Covid-19 life assurance scheme to apply to all community pharmacy staff.

NHS Covid-19 app to be tested in Isle of Wight

App offers automated rapid symptom reporting, ordering of swab tests, and sending alerts to other app users.

Paracetamol and hand sanitiser top price complaints

The CMA’s Covid-19 Taskforce received almost 21,000 complaints between 10 March and 19 April.

Boots offers safe spaces for victims of domestic abuse

GPhC and RPS give support to initiative and encourage other pharmacies to offer a safe space.

Weekend reflections: Why are we so shocked by death?

By Nigel Chivers.

The daily reporting of deaths caused by Covid-19 has become the leading news item across the media – but are they telling the whole story? 

A regular statistical news diet of hundreds of daily Covid-19 victims, and thousands cumulatively, have brought us all face-to-face with the process of dying and fuelled considerable anxiety. People are shocked at the numbers and fearful for themselves and their loved ones. An impending sense of doom and catastrophe is spreading across large swathes of the population.

Such anxiety is understandable, and every death is a tragedy for family and friends. But I wonder if we did not have daily mortality updates beamed into our sitting rooms each evening how the broader population would react?

For death is a daily business. And before Covid-19 death wasn’t news.

Antimalarials 'no magic bullet' for Covid-19

University of Huddersfield researchers urge caution over claims that antimalarial drugs can tackle Covid-19.

Home Office confirms pre-reg visa extension

The Home Office has agreed to offer overseas pre-registration pharmacists a one-year extension to their UK visas.

Care homes medicine re-use scheme introduced

Measures allowing care homes to re-use medicines introduced in light of Covid-19 supply chain worries.