Community Pharmacy Devon Weekly Dose 💊

Thursday 6th August 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 August edition of the Deadline Tracker here.

Independent Prescribing Services in Community Pharmacy

NHS England has published guidance on assuring CPCF clinical services and commissioning NHS prescribing services in community pharmacies. A professional assurance framework sets out best practice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians delivering NHS-commissioned clinical services, while separate guidance supports ICBs commissioning prescribing services from community pharmacies in England. For more information, click here.

We would strongly recommend that you read through the documentation and familiarise yourself with the assurance framework. In the meantime, working with Community Pharmacy Devon (CPD), the ICB will be starting to develop its implementation plans to ensure they can effectively support the onboarding of pharmacies intending to provide these services from October 2026.

To help understand the level of interest, and to support planning, please complete the Microsoft Form. The form will be closing on the 24th August 2026; it should only take a few minutes to complete and CPD will be collating the information. If you would like any further information about the form please contact Sue Taylor on 01392 719604.

New WhatsApp Group for Contractors, Pharmacy Teams and Locums

Community Pharmacy Devon has created a new WhatsApp community group for all contractors and pharmacy team members across Devon. It's a place where we can easily keep you updated on training and relevant events, along with advice and guidance, and members can discuss all things pharmacy with each other.

Please ensure that your locums have access to this information by placing the below QR code in your locum guides. Alternatively, you can print off the newly updated CPD locum guide which has the QR code already in there.

Tens of Thousands of Young People get Vital Protection from MenB

Thousands of high street pharmacies up and down the country are working to help the NHS deliver vital protection to eligible groups. NHS England has released a progress report showing strong early uptake of the MenB vaccination programme through community pharmacies, with significant demand and bookings.

The bacteria that cause MenB disease can be spread through close contact with an infected person. This can be through kissing, sharing drinks or vapes, or prolonged close contact with the person for long periods of time, such as living in the same home.

Students in their first year of university have a risk that is about 7 times higher than that of young people of a similar age who do not go to university.

The NHS National Booking Service has received more than 135,000 bookings for the coming weeks.

Training for Smoking Advisors in Community Pharmacy

If your pharmacy is signed up to deliver the smoking cessation service, training is available:

Devon: Community Training | Devon County Council Stop Smoking Service Provided by Best You

Torbay: Direct email: yourhealth.torbay@nhs.net

Plymouth: The next dates are 0930-1430 on 24th and 0930-1500 on 25th Nov to book onto either of these sessions you can call the Wellbeing Hub on 01752 437177 or email the Team at livewell.oyp@nhs.net

Please keep an eye out for more news coming soon in relation to local smoking cessation services.

Online Access to the Stress Management and Building Resilience Workshop

The on-demand Stress Management and Building Resilience Workshop recording has been added to the CPE website, until the 5th September 2026.

The stress management and building resilience workshop facilitated by Pharmacist Support, provides a deeper dive into wellbeing and looks at how to build resilience. It provides techniques for dealing with feelings of pressure including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and encourages participants to identify and build on strengths. It explains the advantages of positive thinking and self-reflection, in addition to providing tips to enhance resilience and wellbeing.

Local Mandated Campaign Launch – Keep Antibiotics Working 3rd August to 28th August

Gentle reminder that the mandated health campaign launches 3rd August. You should have received a campaign pack in relation to this on the 27th July including reporting requirements via email from the South West Commissioning Hub.

Pharmacy contractors are to actively engage with patients throughout the campaign by displaying promotional materials, sharing key antibiotic messages, and using every opportunity to support public understanding of when antibiotics are and are not needed. Access the campaign materials here.

This is a mandatory campaign.