opinion

Long read: Why does the NHS need all these extra staff?

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets out a huge expansion in personnel – up from 1.4 million to 2.4 million by 2036, making it roughly the size of the population of Birmingham, says Keith Ridge, former chief pharmaceutical officer for England.

Opinion: Pharmacy needs to clear the decks

Back in the 17th century, sailors would remove from the deck of their ship anything that could hinder success in a forthcoming battle. For pharmacy, clearing the decks is definitely just as pertinent, says Keith Ridge, former chief pharmaceutical officer for England.

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.

Insight: I feel like toast but better times ahead?

With the Government having imposed a new set of utterly reckless regulatory requirements on the sector, morale has never been lower. The announcement of new investment in community pharmacy will do well to redress this sorry state of affairs...

NAPC view: Fund care, not just supply

It is time to recognise that all pharmacists in all settings are clinicians, who apply their knowledge in different ways, says National Association of Primary Care president Ash Soni.

Opinion: Professional revolution or damp squib?

In a recent blog for the King’s Fund, Keith Ridge, former chief pharmaceutical officer for England, outlines how pharmacist prescribing could revolutionise patient care but fears that the move may fail without proper strategic planning by the NHS.

Opinion: Four pharmacies and a load of hassle

What image do we portray to the public and policy-makers? The pharmacy PR machine describes the many great things that the sector has to offer, but is this the experience that people walking into pharmacies actually have?

Opinion: Stop complaining, these ads are a bonus

NHS adverts are encouraging people to visit their local community pharmacy for common ailments. They certainly have an impact so why have some in the sector been complaining about them, wonders our columnist Liam Stapleton

Insight: Questions about multiples' choices

You don’t need me to tell you that finances are dire across the whole of community pharmacy, writes our columnist Alexander Humphries. You only need to walk into a branch of a national multiple (if it is open) to see bare shelves and too few staff, and sense the cloud of gloom hanging over the place...

Viewpoint: A call to action – enough is enough

Pharmacy in England is running out of road. It is time to rally the public to protect a vital national asset. By Pharmacy Magazine editor Richard Thomas.

Analysis: Duty of care and the supply of opioids

Could pharmacy owners in the UK end up in court for fuelling the opioid abuse crisis?

Items or services: Make your mind up time for sector

The sector needs to ask tough existential questions of itself, says our columnist.

Opinion: Tensions rising on the Covid frontline

Community pharmacy has an important role in boosting vaccine uptake amid reports of abuse and intimidation.

Opinion: Time to take integration seriously

Integration is one of those words used so often that we sometimes fail to register its significance, says the NPA's Michael Lennox.

It is a privilege to serve the community pharmacy sector

The NPA’s 100th anniversary this year coincides with a period of time that may well be seen as pharmacy’s proudest hour, says chairman Andrew Lane.

Let's all wish for a new and happier chapter in 2021

By NPA chairman, Andrew Lane.

This has been a year most of us would like to forget but there are some rays of hope for community pharmacy as the news came through that the first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been administered to 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in Coventry. So in the spirit of optimism that seems appropriate on this ‘V Day’, I have identified some rays of hope for community pharmacy too.