Businesses

How do pharmacies continue with their business amid the pressure of war? C+D talks to a Beirut pharmacist about working during a conflict.

Two pharmacists and an over-the-counter medication association chief are named in King Charles’ new year honours list for their “outstanding contributions to their communities”.

C+D looks back at some of the more cheerful news to come out of community pharmacy in 2024.

CPE data shows 96% of pharmacy owners are “concerned” or “very concerned” that “their business may not survive this winter” as Sadik Al-Hassan MP is “eager to see this government avoid mistakes made during the past 14 years that have brought our sector to a crisis point”.

The US DOJ has filed a lawsuit against CVS alleging its “actions helped to fuel the opioid crisis” as it “prioritized corporate profits over patient safety”.

The Company Chemists’ Association has announced the 47-strong Lincolnshire Co-op “will be joining as a member” at the start of next year.

The CCA’s Nick Thayer says Pharmacy First has been “enormously successful” in its first year and he expects 2.5 million consultations by the end of March 2025.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has found that the fitness to practice (FtP) of a pharmacist who was in charge when patient confidentiality was breached by the “fly-tipping” of medical waste in an “unsecure location” is “no longer impaired”.

Boots parent company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has remained taciturn amid fresh rumours that it is in talks to “sell itself” to a private equity firm in the new year.

The Northern Irish Department of Health (DH) has announced that “an additional £15m” will be invested into community pharmacy and GP pharmacy by April 2027, “subject to additional funding”.