Thursday 28th November 2024                   

Due to popular demand, we at Community Pharmacy Devon have decided to review our communications and bring you a weekly newsletter that will provide a brief overview of important activity.

As always, if you have any feedback or comments, please contact us by email at admin@cpdevon.org.uk.

The December edition of the Deadline Tracker is now available on our website.

An Acne Care Online study is being run by the University of Southampton. It is aiming to create and test a new digital programme to support 13-25 year olds with acne to effectively manage their acne using evidence-based treatments. It's a web-app that can be accessed from any internet-connected device, and has been developed in close collaboration with young people with acne.

Acne Care Online is now being tested in a randomised controlled trial, aiming to recruit approximately 600 13-25 year olds from a range of routes. One of these is via community pharmacy and the university is looking for community pharmacies who would be keen to support the study with recruitment.

This would involve distributing study advert flyers to appropriate customers and patients - i.e those coming in for advice or treatment for acne, or collecting acne-relevant medications. There is a payment of £150 per pharmacy, and all study materials are provided. The university will be able to notify pharmacies of their pharmacy-specific contribution to recruitment.

For further information and the flyer click here.

Please contact Rosie: R.A.Essery@soton.ac.uk for assistance.

The team at Devon and Torbay have announced that it is no longer mandatory to attend locally commissioned training for EHC. They would, however, like to assure pharmacies that they will continue to support them and their teams and will be offering linking support for any pharmacists who would like to visit the sexual health clinics.

Here is link to the local training requirements.

NHS England has launched the latest ‘Act FAST’ campaign to increase knowledge of the signs of a stroke and encourage people to dial 999 immediately in response to any sign – even if it doesn’t seem like much. The new campaign lets the public know that: ‘Face or Arm or Speech, at the first sign, it’s Time to call 999’.

Please use Act FAST campaign resources in primary care premises to increase patient awareness of the signs of a stroke and the importance of acting immediately in response to a single symptom.

A new report has been published by the RPS urging the government to create a national strategy to tackle medicines shortages and to change legislation to allow community pharmacists across the country to amend prescriptions when medicines are in short supply.

The report explains how supply chain vulnerabilities combined with unplanned spikes in demand, such as shifts in prescribing practice or increased diagnosis of some conditions, have created an unstable supply of medicines. This has made it harder for patients to access treatment and caused frustration for pharmacists and their teams who want to focus on patient care rather than spend hours chasing down supplies.

RPS suggest that better collaboration across the whole medicines supply chain is needed. They emphasise that prompt notice of a supply problem allows time to act, find solutions and produce clear guidance, meaning pharmacists are fully informed and patients are saved from delays and confusion that can cause distress and harm to health. 

Read the report here.

16 Days of Action is an annual campaign which takes place between 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women) and 10 December (World Human Rights Day). It’s a global call from organisations and individuals for an end to gender-based violence, and for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

Throughout the 16 days this year, organisations in Devon are hosting a range of events and activities. Find out more about what’s happening here.

If you have a positive news story to share with us please send it to admin@cpdevon.org.uk and it will be featured in an upcoming edition of the review. If featured, you will also win a surprise gift for you and your team up to the value of £25!

Click the name you need to email them directly: