Community Pharmacy Devon Weekly Dose 💊
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Thursday 5th February 2026
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Welcome to your weekly injection of local and national pharmacy news. As always, if you have any feedback or comments, please contact us by email at admin@cpdevon.org.uk.
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Winter Emollient Safety Warning
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MHRA and National Fire Chiefs Council issue winter emollient safety warning The MHRA and the National Fire Chiefs Council are urging the public to be aware of fire risks linked to emollient skin creams, highlighting three simple precautions: 1) keep away from flames; 2) keep warm safely; 3) wash bedding and clothing regularly.
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Community pharmacy England Webinar Category H
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Community Pharmacy England will be holding a webinar about Drug Tariff Category H on Monday 16th February at 7.30pm. During the webinar, our funding and Drug Tariff experts will explain how entry to and price-setting arrangements for Category H will operate, as well as the background to these changes. There will also be plenty of time to answer your questions. Register for the Category H webinar (note, booking will close at 12 noon on the day of the event) Community Pharmacy England has objected to the introduction of Category H at this time because of the wider challenges pharmacies are facing and the risk that further changes could disrupt the already turbulent medicines supply chain. A comprehensive FAQ guide and accompanying webpage with further information are due to be published shortly.
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The Recognition of Excellence Awards 2026
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The RoE Awards 2026 are now open for entries. These awards showcase the very best of community pharmacy support staff and the hard work being done across the UK. You may enter as many of the individual categories as you wish and you can also nominate other members of your pharmacy support team or your entire pharmacy team.
As the only UK awards exclusively for community pharmacy support staff, the RoE Awards honour dedicated employees who go the extra mile to support their customers, colleagues and communities. They could be medicines counter assistants, delivery drivers, dispensing assistants, health champions, pharmacy technicians, ACPTs, team leaders, pharmacy managers or hold any other patient-facing role within the community pharmacy support team. Finalists in all categories will be invited to enjoy a lunch and ceremony where prizes will be awarded at the House of Commonss in London on 19 June 2026.
You can view all the categories and enter and/or nominate here. Note that all entries close on 6 April.
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Community Pharmacy Devon Anti Depressant NMS Mental Health Update
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Despite a very soggy day last week, our local mental health training event was very positively received by the pharmacists who managed to wade their way through the rain! Both of our speakers, Tom Kallis and Chris Todd, Lead Pharmacist from the Devon Partnership Trust, received highly positive feedback, provided useful resources, signposting and handouts; and everyone engaged in some valuable case study scenarios and of course the all important networking over a lasagne! We are planning to repeat this workshop later in the Spring in Plymouth so watch out for dates.
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NHS Contraception Service
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We have been made aware that some patients have been unable to access the Community Pharmacy NHS contraception service, including Emergency Hormonal Contraception, due to a lack of a formal referral from other services. It is important to remember that patients can access this service either via referral or as a walk-in to the pharmacy.
Some hints and tips include:
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Register the patient using the registration form through your digital platform (e.g. PharmOutcomes)
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Select the Service you are going to deliver
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Follow the prompts in the relevant form
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When offering the service, make sure you have enough stock as patients can take up to six months supply at one time
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If you are unable to support patients please ensure that they are signposted to another community pharmacy or provider who can support them in accessing the provision they require
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CPE Webinar on Media Training
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Community Pharmacy England hosted the first of a series of media training sessions for pharmacy owners, team members and LPCs this week.
Run in collaboration with communications consultancy Luther Pendragon, the training provided attendees with advice on giving media interviews, tips and tools for speaking with journalists, and a chance to try things out for themselves.
Media coverage is important as we continue to underline the need for a sustainable future for community pharmacy and we're delighted that so many people wanted to join this training session – we hope this will empower them to talk to journalists about both the brilliant work that pharmacies do and the challenges that they face.
Sign up now for our upcoming session:
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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!
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COMMUNITY PHARMACY DEVON SECRETARIAT TEAM
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