| Weekly News Digest - 24th July 2025 |
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The final list of pharmacy openings and closures across the Southeast Region for the Summer Bank Holiday (Monday, 25th August 2025) will be finalised by Monday, 28th July 2025 and posters circulated for use on 1st August. Please ensure your DoS and NHS.UK profiles reflect your opening hours—or indicate if you are closed—on the Bank Holiday. Updates can be made via the NHS Profile Manager.
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A small number of amendments have been made to the service specification compared to last year - see here for more information. |
The updated national diphtheria guidance now includes support for severe C. diphtheriae cases and managing infection clusters in vulnerable settings. Cases should follow current protocols as set out in the attached document, and contact tracing or antibiotic prophylaxis isn’t needed for contacts of non-toxigenic cases; queries can be directed to UKHSA Incident Lead rebecca.corder@ukhsa.gov.uk.
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| UKHSA has been notified of several individuals with iatrogenic botulism linked with cosmetic procedures across England, including one large outbreak in the Northeast. The purpose of this communication is to ensure healthcare professionals are aware of the ongoing cases, the national level investigation and its association with certain brands of botulinum toxin. If you get any queries, please contact: incident053.nrc@ukhsa.gov.uk See here for full details of briefing. |
| Negotiations have been agreed with NHS England to the introduction of a one-season trial of a new flu vaccination service for children aged 2-3 years. The service will be commissioned as an Advanced service and pharmacies that choose to provide the service will be able to commence vaccinating eligible children from 1st October 2025. The majority of eligible children will be vaccinated with Live attenuated influenza vaccine nasal spray suspension which will be supplied to pharmacies from centrally procured stock. Pharmacy owners will be paid £9.58 for each vaccine administered; this fee is funded from NHS vaccination budgets. For more details see here. |
| Read the July edition of the Frimley Prescribing Newsletter. |
Activate is a brand-new animated series co-created by Joe Wicks MBE and Studio AKA (Hey Duggee) to get children moving more. Backed by the government, the campaign tackles inactivity—currently affecting 53% of UK children—and promotes short bursts of fun physical activity at home, school, clubs, or on the go. To support this campaign via social media - access promotional materials on the Campaign Resource Centre. |
| Download the latest edition of the Healthwatch Oxfordshire newsletter. |
We are pleased to share that the resources page from our recent Pharmacy Contraception Service Webinar. If you were unable to attend the session, the webinar recording is available to watch or download at your convenience. |
Pharmacy First posters in several different languages can now be accessed on the CPE website. |
| The CPAF screening questionnaire is available on the MYS portal for completion until 31st July 2025. Completion of this questionnaire is mandatory for all pharmacy owners, and may lead to the requirement to complete the full CPAF questionnaire. See here for more information. |
Pharmacy First claim period has been reduced to one month and therefore claims for Pharmacy First consultations carried out in June 2025 must be claimed on the MYS portal by 11.59pm on 31st July 2025. |
Stay on top of your schedule with ease using our Monthly Deadline Tracker. This July edition is designed to keep you organized and help you meet your deadlines effortlessly. |
| Stay informed with the Pharmacy Academy podcast channel, a great source for weekly updates on essential pharmacy topics, powered by insights from NHS, CPE, and PGD guidance and AI generated for clarity. Stay connected, enhance your expertise, and dive into key pharmacy discussions—all in one place. |
Bucks Health and Social Care Academy is offering 4 funded places on its accedited Health Coaching course with support from the ICB's health inequalities funding. This hands-on, four-day course builds the practical skills and confidence needed to empower patients to manage their health and wellbeing more effectively and will be held at BCW Hub, Buckinghamshire New University, Walton Street, Aylesbury on the following dates:
- Thursday, 23 October
Friday, 24 October Thursday, 6 November Friday, 7 November
For full details and how to apply see here, deadline for applications is 31st August 2025.
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| News dates have been added for Alcohol Brief Intervention training on how to deliver Identification and Brief Advice (IBA). See here for dates and more information. |
| Positively UK will be hosting some free HIV Awareness training. The training is free to those living or working in Buckinghamshire and is open to professionals, family and friends of people living with HIV and individuals who would just like to learn more about HIV in general. HIV Awareness Training - BUCKINGHAMSHIRE ONLY see here for registration. |
| Virtual Outcomes has produced a module to support pharmacies with providing Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM). The LPC subscribes to the Virtual Outcomes training platform, granting our pharmacies access to an array of online training resources. To get started, simply enter your ODS Code using this link. |
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