45 Consultation started on reform of NHS final-salary pension
NHS staff are likely to need to work until the age of 65 to be entitled to a full pension, if proposed changes to the NHS pension scheme are implemented more
45 Admissions increased by “at home” reviews Emergency
admissions to hospitals are increased by medication reviews
carried out by pharmacists in patients’ homes,
according to research published last month in the BMJ more
46 Patients to report suspected ADRs
Patients, along with parents or carers of patients,
are now able to report suspected adverse drug reactions
(ADRs) directly to the Medicines and Healthcare products
Regulatory Agency more
46 First hospital pharmacy technicians register
Pharmacy technicians have started registering with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, in a process which will lead to mandatory registration by 2007 more
46 Trusts set monthly Agenda for Change targets
NHS trusts have been set a timetable of targets to ensure that Agenda for Change will be fully implemented by the end of September more
48 Do not restrict emollient choice, skin group says
Patients should be given the opportunity to choose the emollient products that suit them from the widest possible selection, according to members of the Skin Care Campaign (SCC), an umbrella group that represents the interests of all people with skin diseases in the UK more
48 Medicines information error and near miss database set up
A database of medication errors and near misses occurring within medicines information services in NHS hospital pharmacy departments across the UK has been launched by the clinical governance working group of UK Medicines Information (UKMI) more
48 Patient opt outs from NPfIT records database are clarifed
Conditions under which patients may opt out of various aspects of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) electronic records database have recently been clarified by the Department of Health more
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45 NEWS
IN BRIEF
Pharmacists should be involved in drafting policies aimed at producing
smoke-free hospital trusts, according to guidance sent out by the
Health Protection Agency. One reason for this is the interaction between
antipsychotic medication
and stopping smoking. Another is the effect on drugs budgets, with
the guidance recommending that nicotine replacement therapy and bupropion
should be included
in hospital formularies. The guidance is available as a PDF file
(170K)
Re-organisation of the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency is to take
place. More details are at www.pasa.nhs.uk
A new poster campaign aims to raise awareness of the latest drive
to reduce violence against NHS staff. It also highlights the role staff
can play in tackling violence, including knowing how to defuse and
report incidents. Further information is available at www.cfsms.nhs.uk
“The Breckenridge report revisited” is the topic of a
meeting at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on Thursday 14 April. The
guest speaker will be Professor Sir Alasdair Breckenridge who will
speak about the preparation of injectable medicines — 30 years
on. The meeting is being jointly organised by the Pharmaceutical Aseptic
Services Group and the Society’s Hospital Pharmacists’ Group.
Further details are available from the advertisement on p74.
The British Pharmaceutical Conference Committee is calling for abstracts
of posters and talks in pharmacy practice. The deadline is 15 April.
E-mail bpcpractice@rpsgb.org for more details. |
Hospital Pharmacist