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Opinion

Hear the opinions and comment from some of the top names in pharmacy. Make sure you get in touch and share your opinions with us too.
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Opinion: Now it’s time for action

If last year was dominated by planning and reform, then the year ahead is all about delivery for community pharmacy, says NPA chair Nick Kaye.

29 Jan 2024

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Opinion: VPAG can only lead to further medicines shortages

Targeting older medicines for punitive rebates will disproportionally impact smaller to medium sized pharmaceutical companies and undermine the Government’s ambition for the UK to be a life sciences superpower, says Jeremy Thorpe, managing director of Tillotts Pharma UK.

22 Jan 2024

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A remarkable feat of resilience and commitment

Wherever you practise in the UK, winter means more work. Pharmacies have a lot on their plate – and I don’t just mean Christmas dinner, says NPA chair Nick Kaye.

14 Dec 2023

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Opinion: To charge or not to charge...

I find it so upsetting that we have had to stop offering free home deliveries – but we can no longer bear the cost, says NPA vice chair Jay Badenhorst.

05 Nov 2023

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Editor’s view: Stirrings from Sheffield

Pharmacy’s reimbursement system is finished. Urgent reform is needed or more businesses will bite the dust, says PM editor Richard Thomas.

01 Nov 2023

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Our IT systems need to focus on the patient

A coroner recently criticised a pharmacy IT system, suggesting that it could have contributed to the death of a child. Could this be the time to pause and ask whether our pharmacy systems are fit for purpose for the future, asks Liam Stapleton

05 Oct 2023

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We must develop a mental health support role

Why do we continue to think of our role solely in terms of medicines optimisation? Post-pandemic demand for mental health support means pharmacy has the ideal opportunity to offer solutions and make a difference, says Ade Williams

05 Oct 2023

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Final word: Supervision ship may have sailed

Has pharmacy managed to miss the boat when it comes to changes to supervision, asks David Reissner

18 Sep 2023

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We have a responsibility to be sustainable

Everyone has a role to play in reducing the impact of modern life on our planet and pharmacy is not exempt from this. We all have a responsibility to practise our profession in the most sustainable way possible, says Liam Stapleton

13 Sep 2023

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Insight: Jabs fiasco should be no surprise

With only weeks to go before the seasonal vaccination campaign was due to start, we were first told to hold fire for a month as the date was pushed back – only for it then to be brought forward. It was pharmacy’s twisted version of the hokey cokey

13 Sep 2023

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Our role is evolving to be providers and educators

A global survey carried out by PR firm Edelman reveals a high level of public trust in pharmacists and pharmacies, says NPA board member, Sukhi Basra.

13 Sep 2023

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Opinion: We need one vision and one voice

The lack of a single voice in pharmacy continues to hold the sector back, says Mike Holden, associate director, Pharmacy Complete.

16 Aug 2023

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Partnership approach works well in Scotland

There is plenty of activity north of the border, says NPA Scotland manager Janice Oman, including a financial settlement for 2023/24 for community pharmacy contractors

16 Aug 2023

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Throwing numbers at a problem won't work

The Government’s NHS workforce plan is looking to increase the number of pharmacists but there are some fundamental questions that need to be answered first – including why so many are leaving community pharmacy, says Liam Stapleton

16 Aug 2023

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Commentary: The RPS needs to be replaced

Pharmacy’s professional leadership body is not in a good place, mired in controversies of its own making. It should consider the bold step of dissolution, argues former president Steve Churton.

31 Jul 2023

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