Thursday 15th October 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.

Thank you to all those who have completed the Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey for 2026.

If you have not already done so, please ensure you have completed the survey by the deadline of Saturday 14 November 2026.  

Accessing the Survey

• Pharmacies will be able to access the online survey through the NHS Business Services Authority's Manage you service (MYS) system.
• You can also access the online survey through the following link, odsdatasearchandexport.nhs.uk and login using your pharmacy ODS code (which can be searched for on the NHS ODS Data Search and Export system)
• Details on how to complete the survey can be found here Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey 2026

Please note in accordance with the Terms of Service it is a requirement for all contractors to complete the annual community pharmacy workforce survey.

If you have any queries regarding the survey, please contact pharmacysupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk 

⭐ Always provide an appropriate dosing device
Always supply an accurate oral dosing syringe or calibrated measure matched to the prescribed volume.

⭐ Double check complex calculations
Apply extra verification (such as independent double-checking by a second pharmacist or technician), especially for high-risk or weight-based paediatric liquid calculations (e.g., low-age paediatric suspensions)

⭐ Shake and mix suspensions              
Ensure the bottle instructions are checked and suspensions prepared in accordance with the manufacture instructions.

⭐ Ensure that the labelling has clear instructions
Write instructions in plain, explicit language stating the exact volume in Millilitres, the frequency, and the specific time or indication.
 

And always include the Patient information leaflet.

Additional reading can be found here. 

Pharmacies are reminded to follow agreed protocols for supervised and take-home opioid substitution treatment (OST), particularly when patients miss doses.

Missing doses of methadone can reduce opioid tolerance and increase the risk of overdose if treatment resumes without appropriate clinical assessment.

If a patient misses three consecutive days of methadone treatment:

• Do not supply further doses until the prescriber has reviewed the patient.

• Place the prescription on hold and notify Harbour/the prescribing treatment service immediately.

• Advise the patient to contact their key worker or Harbour for assessment and guidance.

• Do not restart treatment without specific authorisation from the prescriber.

Any concerns about patient safety, intoxication or missed collections should be promptly communicated to the prescribing team. Missed collections for non-supervised prescriptions should also be reported to enable appropriate wellbeing checks.

Contact the prescribing team at:

• livewell.prescribingserviceinharbour@nhs.net

• livewell.prescribingservicemedsecharbour@nhs.net

Please ensure all missed doses and actions taken are appropriately documented in line with local procedures. Timely notification and clinical review are essential to minimise harm and ensure treatment can be resumed safely.

Reminder to all pharmacy teams minor illness referrals can be received from NHS 111 and general practice via your digital referral platform or NHS Mail.

These referrals form part of the Pharmacy First service and are claimable. Referrals should not be considered inappropriate simply because following your clinical assessment, you determine that the patient requires onward referral to another healthcare setting or they do not form one of the 7 clinical pathways.

Where a patient presents with red flag symptoms or is assessed as being outside the scope of community pharmacy management, please ensure this is clearly documented within the referral record and that the patient is safely directed or referred to the appropriate service.

As the clinician, you are expected to exercise your professional judgement. If your assessment concludes that the patient's needs cannot be appropriately managed within community pharmacy, this should be recorded accordingly and the necessary steps taken to ensure continuity of care.

INFORMATION: IP Prescription Management Service Information and resources including the Professional Assurance Framework and the final draft Prescription Management Guidance are now available on the NHSBSA website.

Applications are now open for community-based healthcare organisations, including community pharmacies, to apply for funding of between £2,000 to £100,000 to support staff time delivering research,  from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This is part of the NIHR Research Delivery Network (RDN) Wider Care Settings Funding Programme 2027/28. Find out more here.

Key dates are:

• Applications open: 6 October 2026
• Application deadline: 17 November 2026 (midnight)
• Outcomes communicated: 22 February 2027
• Funding commencement: 1 April 2027

The local RDN team are likely to be holding webinars / drop in sessions to support this initiative; you can also contact the South West Regional RDN at the following address to seek advice and access relevant information.

South West Central: swc.rrdn@nihr.ac.uk or

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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