David Lipanovic

NHS England has confirmed that the publication of an evaluation report on community pharmacy advanced clinical services, which was nationally commissioned through the ‘Community pharmacy contractual framework’ (CPCF), has been delayed until spring 2025. The qualitative analysis report, which was tendered for £250,000 to research institute RAND Europe, was originally planned for publication by 31 […]

An estimated 66,730 serious antibiotic-resistant infections were reported in 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels of 62,314 infections in 2019, a report published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said. The ‘English surveillance of antibiotic prescribing and utilisation report‘ (ESPAUR), published on 14 November 2024, shows that in England, there has been an 3.5% increase […]

Over 40% of people with cystic fibrosis have experienced significant health problems resulting from PERT shortage

Smoking cessation drug varenicline will be made available again for NHS patients, three years after it was withdrawn owing to fears over a probable carcinogen, NHS England has announced. In a statement published on 12 November 2024, NHS England said that generic varenicline will be available in England following a deal with Teva UK, its […]

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended “menopause-specific cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)” for the management of vasomotor symptoms — such as hot flushes and night sweats — and sleeping problems associated with menopause. In updated guidance published on 7 November 2024, NICE recommended menopause-specific CBT as a management option for menopause […]

Robert Twycross, described as an “outstanding pioneer” in the field of palliative care, has died aged 83 years.  Widely known and respected as co-founder of Palliativedrugs.com — which published Palliative Care Formulary (PCF) and Introducing Palliative Care (IPC), both co-edited by Twycross — his career changed the course of palliative care in the UK and beyond.  Twycross graduated from […]

The development of access to GP patient records from community pharmacies is still in progress, despite initial plans for it to be available by the end of January 2024, NHS England has said. Speaking at The Pharmacy Show in Birmingham on 13 October 2024, Ursa Alad, head of delivery, community pharmacy commissioning and digital strategy […]

“I was covered in my own blood, the operating suite was covered in my own blood, because my arm had managed to free itself from the restraints and was pouring blood everywhere,” said Barrie, a patient describing his experience of going through heart surgery without being given his Parkinson’s disease (PD) medicines, which provoked “erratic […]

The average length of a pharmacist consultation is 28.4 minutes, according to the findings of the Independent Prescribing in Community Pharmacy Pathfinder Programme, a senior NHS England pharmacist has confirmed. Speaking at The Pharmacy Show in Birmingham on 14 October 2024, Wasim Baqir, senior pharmacist for the Pharmacy Integration Fund at NHS England, said that […]

More than 1.5 million people could be given tirzepatide for weight loss under NHS proposals

Nearly 14,000 temporary pharmacy closures, resulting in 46,823 hours lost in pharmacy services, were reported across England in 2023, research has revealed. The research was carried out by Healthwatch England, a patient advocacy committee within the Care Quality Commission, which collected data from integrated care boards (ICBs) on temporary community pharmacy closures. The figures showed […]

NHS England has requested pharmacy teams to consider producing ready-to-administer oxytocin infusions in a clearly labelled bag, following reports of women receiving pre-prepared postpartum oxytocin infusions instead of intravenous (IV) fluids during labour. The NHS England Patient Safety team issued a national patient safety alert on 24 September 2024, which advised that oxytocin infusions should not be pre-prepared […]

Online pharmacies will be required to have a “two-way communication” with patients before prescribing medicines used for weight loss, new draft guidance from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has said. The ‘Draft guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet’, published on 18 September 2024, proposes new measures to […]

Mpox: how is the UK preparing for the latest variant?

The Medicines and Healthcare products Agency (MHRA) has authorised the use of a new drug for the treatment of uncontrolled COPD. Dupilumab (Dupixent; Sanofi) is a monoclonal antibody that inhibits the signalling of the interleukin-4 (IL4) and interleukin-13 (IL13) pathway, reducing type 2 inflammation observed in 30–40% of patients with COPD. In a statement issued […]

With “too few resources in the places where it is needed most”, community pharmacy is on a “current trajectory” that will mean the sector may face similar access problems to general practice, a government-commissioned review of the NHS has found. The ‘Independent Investigation of the NHS in England‘ — published on 12 September 2024 — […]

A once-weekly injection of insulin is as effective as daily injections for blood sugar management in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM/T2DM), studies have suggested. In a phase III, non-inferior study, published in The Lancet on 10 September 2024, 692 adults with T1DM were randomly assigned to receive either once-weekly insulin efsitora […]

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are not linked to suicidal and self-injurious thoughts and actions, a review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has concluded. In an announcement published on 4 September 2024, the UK regulator concluded that available data do not support a causal association between GLP-1 RAs and psychiatric […]

The electronic prescribing system for the Independent Prescribing in Community Pharmacy Pathfinder Programme is set to be launched in all ‘pathfinder’ sites across England, NHS England has said. In a letter to chief pharmacists at integrated care boards (ICBs), dated 29 August 2024, NHS England confirmed that the CLEO SOLO system from Cleo Systems “can […]

Suicidal ideation more commonly reported as reaction to semaglutide than for all other drugs, study finds