Joanna Robertson

The Pharmacist • 2nd June 2023

Concerns 100-hour pharmacy easements could risk out-of-hours access

Reduced hours for late night pharmacies could put elderly, vulnerable and end-of-life patients at risk, clinicians have warned.

Regulatory changes came into force last week which allowed pharmacies on 100-hour contracts to reduce their total weekly core opening hours to no less than 72 hours, including the option to close at 9pm rather than 11pm.

Some clinicians have suggested that this blanket approach to late night closing will put out-of-hours patient access at risk and increase strain on o

The Pharmacist • 23rd May 2023

‘The devil’s in the detail’: What will England’s national Pharmacy First service mean locally?

NHS England has recently announced a £645m investment in community pharmacy, some of which will be allocated to a new national Pharmacy First service for England.

But in many parts of England, some form of walk-in, minor ailments or PGD-based service has already been running or is being developed.

We spoke to three LPC leaders to explore what a new national service needs to consider to work well at a local level.

The Pharmacist • 2nd May 2023

'Utterly devastating’: Cost-of-living crisis hits OTC medicines access

In Shilpa Shah’s area of North-East London, people ‘can't afford to be ill’.

Since last autumn, with the cost of living on the rise, community pharmacies in the area have seen an increase in patients saying that they could not afford to purchase the over-the-counter medicines that they were recommended.

Recently, Ms Shah took the chief medical officer of the North-East London Integrated Care Board (ICB) to visit local pharmacies and outlined the need for a local minor ailments scheme that would cover the cost of over-the-counter items for patients eligible for free prescriptions.

The Pharmacist • 2nd May 2023

Candles lit in Lithuania to mourn loss of pharmacist profession

People in Lithuania have placed lit candles outside community pharmacies to symbolise mourning, after parliamentarians voted to allow remote supervision – a move that campaigners fear would spell the death of the pharmacist profession.

The Pharmacist • 27th April 2023

Just 4% of pharmacies sign up for contraception service in two days

Just 456 out of 11,222 community pharmacies in England signed up for the new Pharmacy Contraception Service within the first two days of the option being available to contractors.

According to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the figures – which represent around 4% of community pharmacies in England – were correct as of 23:59 on 25 April 2023.

The Pharmacist understands that multiple Day Lewis is among those not offering the service amid concerns over inadequate funding for the se

The Big Issue • 19th August 2022

NHS leaders warn energy costs could create public health crisis

A government spokesperson said “we have taken action to help households with £37 billion worth of support, which includes specific support to help people through the difficult winter ahead”. But the rise in household energy costs is expected to outpace government support promised so far when prices rise in October and again in January.

The letter warned of a dramatic upsurge in respiratory conditions, undernutrition, and hospital admissions in children, as well as an increased risk of heart att

The Big Issue • 23rd December 2021

Take One Leave One: The winter coat project helping to change lives

Every Friday afternoon, charity worker Hayley Eroeola sets up a clothes rail underneath the railway arches in Vauxhall, London. She fills it with warm clothing – coats, jackets and jeans – and piles a table high with food. A sign reads “If you are cold take one, if you can help leave one,” and guests come to take a coat, choose a tune for the boombox and chat over a cup of tea.

Eroeola set up the site in January, after seeing a tweet about the Take One Leave One campaign. The idea is simple: se

The Big Issue • 22nd December 2021

These children's drawings are lighting up their communities for Christmas

The Big Issue Christmas cover isn’t the only festive tradition to feature artistic child prodigies. In Scotland and in London the skies are lit up with artwork created by local schoolchildren.

In Newburgh, Fife, Christmas gets started early. As soon as the school term begins after Easter, local schoolchildren enter a competition to design a Christmas light for the town’s display – a tradition which has been running since 2002.

Last year, financial difficulties and school closures due to Covid

Springwise • 4th August 2022

New ‘Stewardship Hub’ improves pension fund transparency

Spotted: Around $35 trillion (roughly €34.3 trillion) in capital is held by pension funds worldwide, but many people don’t know where their pension is invested. UK-based financial services company Fidelity International and fintech Tumelo’s new ‘Stewardship Hub’ gives clients and trustees the insight and information they need to engage with fund managers on the issues that matter to them.

The hub enables clients and trustees to see where their pension is invested, while fund managers can find o

Springwise • 3rd August 2022

Silk capsules tackle microplastics

Spotted: Microplastics can be found in the air, water, soil, and the bloodstreams of people and animals. Around 10 to 15 per cent of them were added intentionally to products like paint, cosmetics, and detergents, generally to protect an active ingredient from premature exposure to air or moisture. With such microplastics due to be outlawed within the EU by 2025, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and chemical company BASF, have developed a silk-based alternative that

Springwise • 21st July 2022

An API provides real-time pollen count data globally

Spotted: Around 22 per cent of the global population suffers from pollen allergies that can cause anything from day-to-day discomfort to chronic illness. Real-time data could help sufferers plan for their symptoms and develop solutions. But tracking the pollen count is a complex process, and many forecasts only provide a broad estimate. Ambee, an India-based climate and environmental data provider, has created Asia’s first pollen-tracking API that provides real-time pollen count data from across

Springwise • 20th June 2022

A carbon-capture solvent helping cement production get to Net Zero

Spotted: Cement is one of the most popular building materials worldwide – but the process of creating it is emissions-intensive. Hanson’s Ketton cement works in Rutland is trialling a solution to capture carbon emissions, as part of a new BEIS-funded carbon capture project.

As ground limestone and clay are heated to create cement, carbon dioxide is released as a by-product. The technology, called C-Capture, uses a solvent to selectively capture the CO2 produced. It uses 40 per cent less energy