The blog

Experts say patients should stop taking antibiotics when they feel better, not when the course finishes. Telling patients to stop taking antibiotics when they feel better may be a preferable instruction, according to a group of experts who argue that the rule is wrong and should be overturned. Patients have been told that they must […]

Homeopathy prescriptions: Homeopathy and herbal remedies are amongst the 18 products and treatments NHS may scrap from prescriptions, NHS England has launched a public consultation on whether this should happen. Homeopathy prescriptions The commissioner estimates the 18 “ineffective, over-priced and low-value” treatments cost taxpayers £141 million a year and “should generally not be prescribed”, said […]

Vacant NHS posts in England. Between January 2017 and March 2017 reaches 86,000. Vacant NHS Posts: Statistics from NHS Digital – which collates data – shows the number of vacancies climbed by almost 8,000 compared to the same period in 2016. Nurses and midwives accounted for the highest proportion of shortages, with 11,400 vacant posts in […]

Two thirds of respondents to a National Pharmacy Association (NPA) survey are against online retailers providing NHS medicines in place of local pharmacies. Online medicine sales are on the rise, however their popularity some think is not. NPA survey 69% of over 1,000 “consumers” polled last month oppose “a shift away from local pharmacies supplying […]

Trade body applies for judicial review of decision taken by NHS England and Nice, holding back funding for new drugs which is set to cost more than £20m a year in their first three years of use. NHS England :The UK drug industry is taking legal action over new limits on the price of medicines which […]

Antidepressants : The NHS prescribed a record number of antidepressants last year, fuelling the upward trend that has seen the number of pills given to patients more than double over the last 10 years. However, this rise in figures raised many questions whether the rise is due to doctors handing out the drugs too freely, […]

Pharmaceutical news: Despite debates about the impacts of Brexit, the pharmaceutical industry is less eye-catching than other sectors. The pharmaceutical sector in the EU has increased from €125 billion to €225 billion over the last 15 years. Employment in the sector has risen from 535.000 to 725.000.  Pharmaceuticals are very advantageous for the EU. Exports […]

The government has moved to dampen fears in the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry that Brexit will mean patients and the NHS will wait longer and pay more for drugs and treatment. The health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, and the business secretary, Greg Clark, have said they want to continue to “work closely” with the European […]

NHS spending medicines: Following the recent general election, the pressing topic of NHS spending is ever pressing. But putting a figure on its medicines spending is far from straightforward. NHS spending medicines – Nobody is able to answer the simple question of ‘how much the NHS across the UK spends on medicines?’. This reflects a […]

Continued overprescribing and abuse could lead to more people dying of resistant infections than cancer. Only global cooperation can solve the problem. Four years ago Professor Sally Davies, England’s chief medical officer, published ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’, this gave the world a sombre warning of the growing threat posed by bacteria evolving resistance to life-saving […]

NHS Trusts are failing to limit overspending to £580m but make inroads into previous year’s £2.45bn figure. NHS trusts overspent by £770m last year in the latest sign that hospitals are finding it impossible to meet fast-rising demand for care while their finances are facing an unprecedented squeeze. That total is £190m more than the […]

NHS drug rationing: More than 30 charities have written to the three UK party leaders urging them to commit to reversing NHS measures to increase rationing of medicines. Health officials last month brought in new thresholds which mean access to one in five treatments could be delayed or restricted. NHS drug rationing: Under the rules, […]

NHS Cyber attack: The NHS has been declared “open for business” after a crippling ransomware attack left large swathes of its services paralysed over the weekend. NHS England said that, as of 3pm on Monday, two hospitals remained on divert following the cyber attack that started on Friday, down from seven on Sunday. However, some […]

Access to medicines: Nearly 2 billion people have no access to basic medicines, causing a cascade of preventable misery and suffering. Since the landmark agreement on the Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property, WHO and its partners have launched a number of initiatives that are making market forces […]

Obesity, smoking and binge drinking are pushing the health service to ‘breaking point. Doctors are warning Theresa May the NHS faces a “ticking time bomb” unless the Government drastically increases funding for public health. A report from the the British Medical Association (BMA) claims the health service is at “breaking point” due to a combination […]

NHS Hospital Waiting Lists: The backlog of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for elective care procedures is expected to more than double by 2019 if nothing is done to improve current services, according to a document leaked to HSJ. Total hospital waiting lists are expected to rise by nearly 50 per cent from 3.7 […]

Pharmacy Voice to cease operations end of April 2017. The NPA gave notice in December 2016, to leave Pharmacy Voice at the end of 2017. This triggered a clause in Pharmacy Voice’s governing documents which prevents the organisation continuing without all three of its founding members. As a result, the Pharmacy Voice Board has since […]

New rules mean health bosses in England can delay roll-out of expensive treatments after approval by NICE. NICE has imposed a £20m-a-year cap on the cost of new drugs, to be introduced in the NHS in a move to ease some of the financial pressure it’s under. The new measure will be introduced next month, […]

The King’s Fund Report says Rationing of NHS services ‘leaving patients in pain and distress’. The rationing of NHS services: The enforced rationing of overstretched NHS services is leaving patients in pain and distress, a new report has said. A combination of financial strain, staff shortages and unprecedented demand has led to shortfallings in care […]

Warnings have been given regarding purchasing medications on the internet after an investigation found “widespread failings” with some online providers, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The watchdog inspected 11 internet prescription services in England, finding some “potentially presenting a significant risk to patients”. Risks buying medicines online: The regulator said while some providers […]