Opinion

25 years of PM: One hell of a ride

It is 25 years since the first issue of Pharmacy Magazine was published. Much has changed, but some things are timeless, says editor Richard Thomas

Can I recommend the flu jab?

Nigel Chivers compares the newly announced fee for community pharmacy flu vaccinations with the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme and questions whether the Government has got its priorities right.

Hub and spoke being introduced by the back door?

The Medicines and Medical Devices Bill is needed to return to UK ministers the powers they need once we leave the EU… but why did the Government pick hub and spoke as an example of a future legislative change, wonders contractor Steve Mosley

The GPhC must answer difficult questions

The GPhC is suddenly in the spotlight. After displaying flexibility and responsiveness with many of its actions during the Covid crisis, it now finds itself facing difficult questions on several fronts. 

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.

Opinion: Lions led by donkeys

One thing the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted is that if ever there was an organisation that is failing with a leadership that is flailing, it is NHS England. By Alexander Humphries*.

Opinion: What are the risks of using volunteers to deliver medicines?

Solicitor Noel Wardle considers the concerns raised by community pharmacists about liabilities when using volunteers to deliver medicines.

Opinion: Abandoned on the NHS front line

Community pharmacy was already running on empty before a virus from China turned our lives upside down, says pharmacy owner Graham Phillips.

Insight: Keep calm and carry on during COVID-19

A contractor shares their experiences of dealing with the unpredictable coronavirus outbreak, from a run on hand sanitiser to wholesaler price hikes.

Is the Government serious about expanding pharmacy's role?

By Richard Thomas, editor, Pharmacy Magazine Regulation is an expensive business these days, it would appear, if the GPhC’s proposal to raise the annual premises fee by nearly 40 per cent is anything to go by. What caught our eye was a finding buried in the accompanying impact assessment, which suggested that over half the pharmacies in the research sample are operating at a deficit. Confirmation, if any were needed, that the pharmacy sector is “demonstrating a notable fragility” (in the words of Ernst & Young) was provided by a slew of headlines in recent weeks concerning the financial tribulations of Boots, LloydsPharmacy and Pharmacy2U.