Community Pharmacy Devon Weekly Dose 💊

Thursday 5th March 2026

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.

Deadline Tracker

Please view the March Deadline Tracker here.

Annual Pharmacy Pressures Survey

Community Pharmacy England has launched its fourth annual Pressures Survey, and Community Pharmacy Devon is asking pharmacy owners and staff to share their views.

This important annual survey provides crucial evidence to monitor and quantify the intolerable challenges facing the community pharmacy sector. Results from the survey are used to raise awareness in the national media and Parliament, and to demonstrate the impact of the crisis in community pharmacy. The data may also be used by Community Pharmacy Devon to respond to media queries and in conversations with local MPs.

The survey consists of two separate surveys: one for pharmacy business owners/head office representatives and the other specifically for pharmacy teams. Expected to take around 10–15 minutes to complete, both surveys are open until 23:59 on 16th March 2026.

We hope you will share your views by completing the survey here.

Focus on Methadone Video Resource

The sector wide Community Pharmacy Patient Safety Group have recently produced a Focus on Methadone video resource.

The video covers key points including ‘handout’, ‘client attendance’ and ‘take home doses’ to help improve the care of clients accessing methadone through a treatment programme. The video is a resource that can be shared with community pharmacy teams locally.

Stop Smoking Free Online Training - Very Brief Advice (VBA)

We have been made aware of a free online training course that may be beneficial for all members of the pharmacy team, particularly counter staff. The Very Brief Advice on Smoking (VBA) training is a 30-minute online module provided by the National Centre for Smoking Cessation and Training (NCSCT). It can be accessed via the NCSCT e-learning website here. The training aims to increase staff confidence in delivering VBA, an evidence-based approach designed to encourage smoking cessation. VBA can be delivered in under 30 seconds and is suitable for use in almost any interaction with someone who smokes. Although the module is presented in a general practice context, the principles and skills involved in delivering VBA are transferable to a wide range of clinical and community settings, including community pharmacy

NHS BSA Online Training Session with Top Tips

Join the NHS BSA for an Overview of NHS Prescription Services where they will fully explain what happens to your prescriptions once they have left you and how accounts are received and prepared for the scanning process. They will then explain prescription processing and include some important hints and tips on endorsing, fee claiming, wrong group movements and referred backs.

This is also a great opportunity for you to ask any questions you may have to the Head of Pharmaceutical Services and Business Engagement Lead who will be hosting:

Mark Gibbon

Mark’s role of the Business Engagement Lead allows him to support and educate stakeholders and customers. He regularly hosts and presents at events to pass on his vast experience supplying valuable advice and also promotes the valuable work completed by NHS Prescription Services and the wider NHSBSA.

Phil Edwards

Phil joined the NHSBSA in 2016 as the Head of Pharmaceutical Services and Principal Pharmacist. Before joining NHSBSA he has a varied background in pharmacy, retail pharmacy and pharmacy management as he worked for many years at the front line of Primary Care. He now manages the Pharmacy Team and supports colleagues at all levels to build on the excellent service relationship NHSBSA have with clients and dispensing contractors.

He is accountable for the relationship the organisation has with DHSC, NHS England, CPE, DDA, LPC’s and other Stakeholders on behalf of the NHSBSA.

Devon & Cornwall Teach & Treat: Call for Expressions of Interest

We are pleased to announce that Devon and Cornwall have been successful in securing a place on the national NHSE Teach & Treat (T&T) programme, creating a valuable opportunity for community pharmacists aspiring to become independent prescribers.

Access to appropriate supervision and sufficient clinical capacity remains a recognised workforce challenge, particularly within community pharmacy. The Devon & Cornwall Teach & Treat programme has been established to address this by supporting community pharmacists across both counties to achieve their independent prescribing qualification. The programme provides access to suitable supervisors and high-quality clinical learning environments to enable successful completion.

Expressions of Interest are now invited from community pharmacists who wish to commence their independent prescribing qualification in September 2026, supported through the Devon & Cornwall Teach & Treat programme.

Closing date: 15 March 2026 at 18:00

Places are limited and demand is expected to be high. We encourage interested applicants to submit their Expression of Interest as soon as possible by clicking here. Please share this opportunity widely across your professional networks and communication channels to ensure colleagues do not miss out.

Annual Complaints Return – Action Required by 30 April 2025

Under the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013, all pharmacy contractors are required to submit annual complaints report to the local Commissioning Team as soon as reasonably practicable after 31 March, marking the end of the reporting year.

Local NHS will be contacting contractors shortly and will share a CPE template that can be used to send in your annual complaints return

You may wish use your own template, provided it includes all required information listed below.

Your annual report must include:

• The number of complaints received during the reporting period

• The number of complaints determined to be well‑founded

• The number of complaints referred to the Health Service Commissioner under the 1993 Act

Your annual report must also summarise:

• The subject matter of the complaints received

• Any matters of general importance arising from those complaints or from the way they were handled

• Any actions taken or planned to improve services as a result of the complaints

The annual report for the period 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026 must be submitted by 30 April 2026 to:

england.pharmacysouthwest@nhs.net