Thursday 3rd September 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.

Please follow this link for the September edition of the Deadline Tracker.

As part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) 2026/27, pharmacy owners are required to participate in two national and two local health campaigns.

The first national campaign, ‘NHS Staff Respect’, will run from 5–25 October 2026 and highlights the importance of treating pharmacy teams with respect so they can work safely and provide the best possible care. Campaign materials are available from NHS England.

The second national campaign will promote Pharmacy First and will run from 1–21 February 2027. Pharmacies can use existing Pharmacy First promotional materials available through the DHSC Campaign Resource Centre.

Campaign requirements can be met by promoting the messages to the public through posters and leaflets, the pharmacy website, social media, or patient emails/SMS.

Pharmacy owners can now complete the Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) questionnaire, which is one of the three gateway requirements for the 2026/27 Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS).

The questionnaire is available via the NHSBSA MYS portal and must be submitted by 11.59pm on 31 December 2026. A confirmation email will be sent following successful submission. Pharmacy owners should retain this email as evidence of completion. Failure to submit the questionnaire by the deadline will make the pharmacy ineligible for a PQS payment, even if the two PQS domains have been completed.

The other gateway requirements:

Palliative care medication stockholder
By 31 March 2027, pharmacy owners who routinely hold the 16 palliative and end of life critical medicines listed in the Drug Tariff, and can support local access to parenteral haloperidol, must ensure NHS Profile Manager identifies them as a ‘Pharmacy palliative care medication stockholder’. Stockholders are encouraged to check and update their information as soon as possible.

PEoLC action plan
By 31 March 2027, pharmacy owners must have an action plan for situations where the required medicines are unavailable. This should include information on local pharmacies stocking the 16 critical medicines and/or parenteral haloperidol, enabling patients, relatives or carers to be directed to the nearest open pharmacy with the required stock.

The national vision for neighbourhood health, set out in the 10 Year Health Plan for England and national Neighbourhood Health Framework, aims to bring GPs, community services, mental health, social care, voluntary organisations and local partners together to provide more joined-up care closer to home.

The aim is to help people stay healthier for longer, access the right support in their local community and reduce the need for hospital treatment where appropriate. Hospitals will continue to play a vital role for people who are seriously ill, need urgent care or specialist treatment.

NHS Devon is inviting residents to have their say through its ‘Let’s talk Neighbourhood Health’ engagement programme. People can complete a survey, attend an event, join a local feedback group or take part in the new Devon People Panel.

Dr Chris Reid, Chief Place and Transformation Officer for NHS Devon and NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, said:
“Neighbourhood health is about helping more people stay well, providing more care closer to home and making it easier to access joined-up support in our communities.

“This engagement programme is an opportunity for people across Devon to help shape the future of health and care. We want to hear what is working well and what matters most to you and your community.”

Learn more and get involved here.

• Do you know that patients signposted from the GP for a clinic test must be over 40 with no prior diagnosis of hypertension?
• Do you know that patients should be informed prior to starting the service that they may need ABPM?

Lots more questions like this will be answered in this free hypertension case-finding service training. To learn more about the online course please click here.

Reducing Stigma for Needle Provision and Supervised Consumption

In this training session learn about:

• How addiction is linked to trauma and adverse childhood experiences.
• The requirement and benefits of a patient centred approach.
• Harm reduction and health promotion messages to people using pharmacy based NSP services.

Learn more here.

Contraception/Sexual Health Update 

This is an update for Registered Community Pharmacists, Locums and Pharmacy Technicians working in Devon providing EHC and oral contraception. This event will provide an overview of the following topics:

• Progesterone only pill
• Combined pill
• Emergency hormonal contraception

More information available here.

What you will learn about in the training session:

• The problems associated with drinking alcohol in pregnancy, with a focus on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum

  Disorder (FASD) and its impact on development.

• Current services and support
• The importance of the preconception & interpregnancy periods as opportunities for intervention for keygroups
• Data from the South West and new research on the prevalence of alcohol consumption in pregnancy
• The evidence and advice about no and low-alcohol drinks (NoLos) in pregnancy

Time and date: Wednesday 16th September 2.30pm – 3.45pm (Online via Teams). Free event 

To register for this event please click 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!

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