The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has been unable to reveal how many pharmacists renewed their membership by the 1st March deadline due to IT problems. The RPS has said that over half of registered pharmacists had renewed but it needed to clear the backlog of applicants online before it could provide an accurate figure. The society […]

The Scottish Government has won the approval of Holyrood’s health committee to remove the current £3 NHS prescription charge. Labour supports this plan however the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats believe the cash could be better spent in other areas. Wales and Northern Ireland have already removed NHS prescription charges, which cost £7.10 per item in […]

The GPHC is seeking views on its proposed fees for 2012, which include a plan to raise pharmacists’ renewal fees to £272. A consultation on the proposals has now been launched and will run until 12th May. As a pharmacist, do you feel these renewal fees are acceptable? The GPHC said the 4% fee rise […]

The NHS Modernising Pharmacy Careers programme has proposed a 5 year course with employers taking more responsibility for pharmacy training and the pre reg year being replaced by 2 six month placements worked in years 4 and 5. A pharmacy degree allows a student to understand the technical knowledge to be a pharmacist, only by […]

Industry leaders have commented that the community pharmacy sector should have a bigger role in helping to deliver NHS flu vaccinations following reports of shortages this year. Pharmacies do have the commercial experience and expertise required, this could the free up GP’s to focus on the delivery of the vaccination programme. A Boots spokeswoman says: […]

According to the latest NHS stop smoking figures, pharmacies continue to have the lowest stop smoking rates among NHS providers in England. From April to September 2010 there was a 44% successful quit rate among pharmacy patients. Quit rates were higher among other providers such as hospitals wards and prisons, with military bases coming out […]

The Pharmacists’ Defence Association (PDA) has said that Pharmacists should make individual decisions on whether they want to join the RPS. John Murphy, general manager of the PDA stated that the RPS ought to be a professional body with people who have made a personal decision about whether they join or not. Employers signing pharmacists […]

Our Flame Health Pharmacy Page has had a makeover! We have redesigned this page for easier access to jobs and new and exclusive opportunities within the Pharmacy sector. Flame Health Pharmacy provide professional recruitment solutions to the Pharmacy sector, specialising in jobs for Pharmacists, Pharmacy Managers, Community Pharmacists, 2nd Pharmacists, Senior Pharmacy Management, Pre-Registration Pharmacists, […]

Community Pharmacy Wales has estimated that community pharmacies in Wales could save the NHS £95 million a year if services such as a national minor aliments scheme were rolled out effectively. It urged the Welsh Assembly Government to make the commitment needed to deliver the changes.  Savings could come from 4 key areas: better medicine […]

The GPHC has urged pharmacists to respond to their consultation on CPD, with just a few weeks to go before the closing date (7th February). The consultation includes the proposal to set a pass mark for CPD standard at 50% and to require one third of CPD entries to start the ‘reflection stage’. It is […]

After comments from the Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail regarding pharmacists turning away parents who wanted their children vaccinated, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have defended accused pharmacists, stressing the need for extra training. The NPA said that pharmacists were naturally reluctant to turn people away but had […]

1,500 pharmacists miss the GPHC Registration Deadline Almost 1,500 pharmacists will leave the register in January after failing to renew their membership with the GPHC. 42,612 pharmacists had re registered by the November 30th deadline (around 97%). This means over 3% are set to leave the register. pharmacists who did not renew by the deadline will […]

The GPHC has stated that almost 98% of pharmacists have met or exceeded the expected standards when submitting their CPD for review. The Council said that of the 8,000 records reviewed in the first year of the process, 82% achieved an ‘excellent’ score, and a further 16% were rated as ‘good’. 65% of registrants removed […]

The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union has stated that community pharmacists in Europe should be granted access to electronic health records. The group has said that while there is wide acceptance of pharmacists’ involvement in e -prescribing systems, the same cannot be said for sharing information contained in patients’ electronic records. The group believes […]

With the cold snap of weather around the UK, pharmacists have been battling the snow and ice to stay open. Alliance Healthcare admitted some disruption to services but praised staff and their commitments to delivering medicines and prescriptions. Some pharmacists were reported walking several miles to work, as well as making deliveries on foot. Flame […]