The NHS Discharge Medicines Service is a new essential service for community pharmacies that commenced on 15 February 2021. All community pharmacy contractors must ensure that relevant staff, including pharmacists including Locums and pharmacy technicians, have the necessary knowledge and competence to undertake it safely.
In October last year, the government implemented a new NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service following a successful pilot programme in several areas across the UK. Now, after the September 2020 meeting, there have been a few changes. The PSNC agreed to proposals to implement the general practice referrals service into the CPCS this autumn and… Read more »
A few weeks ago we covered the first part of the 2020/2021 Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) which they announced on 13 July 2020. Whilst the primary focus of part one was preparing for and protection against Covid-19, the Pharmacy Quality Scheme part two also looks at the response and recovery from the pandemic.
Vaccines have been around long enough now to validate their undeniable benefits to the world’s population. Vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to prevent and protect against more than 25 debilitating diseases. These include measles, polio, mumps, hepatitis A and B, rubella, diphtheria, meningitis, influenza and cervical cancer among others. Understanding vaccines comes… Read more »
Meningitis is a rare, but serious illness that affects the membranes, also known as meninges, which cover the brain and spinal cord. You or your children can be infected as it can spread from person to person. Those most at risk are babies, elderly people and anyone with a compromised immune system. It’s not easy… Read more »
The NHS Long term plan was published in January 2019 and included the formation of Primary Care Networks (PCN’s). This is GP Practices joining together and forming primary care networks. Such groups of neighbouring practices will typically consist of 30,000 to 50,000 people. Since July 1st there are already 1,259 PCNs covering all the patients… Read more »
Lung cancer is one of the most common types and approximately 47,000 people in the UK are diagnosed every year. Lung cancer mainly affects older people and it is rare for anyone younger than 40 to be diagnosed with the dreaded disease. Fact is, more than 4 out of 10 people with lung cancer… Read more »
The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in all age groups and thus it it is important to ensure that this group of people take care of themselves to prevent further complications from happening. The Pharmacy Quality Scheme, PQS that was recently announced as part of the new 5 year Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework includes an… Read more »
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition and can be fatal if not detected early on. Identifying sepsis can be difficult as there are several possible symptoms to look out for. It becomes even harder to spot in babies, children, dementia sufferers, people with learning disabilities and those who generally struggle to communicate. While it is treatable,… Read more »
With the five-year community pharmacy funding deal being announced, a new NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) will be implemented on October 2019. This advanced service will connect patients suffering from minor illness with a community pharmacist as their first point of contact. The NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS), previously called the Digital… Read more »