| Weekly News Digest - 10th September 2026 |
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Calling all Newly Qualified Pharmacists (less than 4 years qualified), Foundation Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians – Reserve your Place!
A dedicated fully funded, half‑day vaccination training session will take place in the Thames Valley region on the dates provided below include:
- Vaccination training: 3.5-hour practical session
- Delegates will receive access to a comprehensive online theory course. Key topics covered include: • Intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) injections • Reconstitution of vaccines and Intranasal vaccination • CPR (Adult & Child) • Anaphylaxis management • Administration of adrenaline (Adult & Child)
🟨 Saturday 19 September – High Wycombe
Saturday 19 September, 10am–1.30pm Lansdales Pharmacy Ltd, 41–45 Desborough Avenue, High Wycombe, HP11 2RS To book, email office@cptv.org.uk.
If you would like to be ready for the vaccination season please email office@cptv.org.uk to reserve your place. Places are limited so book early. Please note: non‑attendance will incur a £100 fee.
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| Community pharmacies across Berkshire West, East Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire are invited to submit Expressions of Interest for two new locally commissioned enhanced services launching in Autumn 2026: the Minor Ailment Enhanced Service and the Emergency Provision of Medicines Service. Full details, including draft service specifications and MS Form links, are available here. EOIs close 13 September 2026 at 23:30. |
| DHSC and NHS England have today confirmed the five new prescribing clinical pathways that will be added to Pharmacy First this autumn. The pathways cover: acute otitis externa for adults, seasonal allergic rhinitis for children aged 4–11, mild to moderate acne for young people, low‑frequency episodic migraine for adults aged 18–64, and mild skin and soft tissue infections and scabies. These pathways will expand access to timely care and further strengthen the clinical offer within Pharmacy First ahead of the autumn rollout. Read the full article. |
| Recent safety incidents in the Thames Valley region have highlighted risks linked to concentrated oral morphine and oxycodone solutions, which can be 10x stronger than standard formulations. Thames Hospice and Dr Patrick Clarke are leading a quality improvement project to increase awareness, including GP teaching sessions. to support safer prescribing and dispensing, all Thames Hospice requests will now include patient information sheets and GP letters to reinforce understanding for patients, caregivers and prescribers. Community pharmacists are reminded to check formulation strength, confirm dosing accuracy, counsel clearly and query any discrepancies. Click here. |
Newly qualified, early career pharmacist prescribers in their first year of post-registration practice can now register to join the Pharmacist Enhanced Practice Pathway (PEPP) pilot. To find out more visit the CPPE website.
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| Community Pharmacy England and the NHS have released updated Hypertension Case‑Finding Service promotional materials aligned to the September 2026 specification changes. Contractors can now access updated posters, patient‑facing leaflets and digital assets to support engagement with eligible adults aged 40+. See here for more information and resources. |
| A Leeds pharmacy has adopted scan‑to‑shelf to cut prescription‑readiness queries, improve traceability and free up more time for patient‑facing work — with clearer updates for patients via the NHS App. Read the article in full here. |
| With just three weeks to go until Stoptober begins, there’s still time to download campaign assets from the Campaign Resource Centre, if you haven't done so already. These include static and animated social assets, posters, digital screens and email signatures. |
| The CPTV LPC Annual General Meeting will take place on Wednesday 23 September, 12.00–12.30pm. All contractors are invited to attend, meet Chair Ian Dunphy, and engage with LPC committee members. The meeting will receive the 2025/26 Annual Report and Accounts, with contractors asked to vote on acceptance of the accounts - voting forms have been emailed to all contractors. The documents are available on the LPC website: CPTV Annual Report 2025–26. To join the AGM, please use the meeting link and confirm attendance by emailing office@cptv.org.uk no later than 6pm on Friday 18 September. |
Stay on top of your schedule with ease using our Monthly Deadline Tracker. This September edition is designed to keep you organized and help you meet your deadline effortlessly.
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Recruitment for the Thames Valley Mirror Board is open until 5pm on Friday 18 September 2026. The programme gives colleagues across health and care the chance to contribute to strategic discussions, bring fresh perspectives and build confidence in Board‑level decision‑making. Open to colleagues in NHS, local authorities, primary care, social care. Details and the Expression of Interest form are on the Thames Valley ICB website - see here for more information.
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Mandatory National Health Campaigns 2026/27Community pharmacy contractors must deliver two national health campaigns this year. Respect for Pharmacy Teams running 5–25 October 2026, see here for resources. Pharmacy First Promotion running 1–21 February 2027, communications materials are available on the DHSC Campaign Resource Centre .
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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.
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Refresh your New Medicine Service skills in just 60 minutes. This fast‑paced, friendly webinar walks you through the full NMS journey — from identifying and recruiting patients to delivering structured, meaningful consultations across a wide range of clinical conditions. Simply join us on Wednesday, 23rd September, 7.30pm via the link.
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SAVE THE DATE! Respiratory Clinical assessment skills full day face to face workshop - 8th November, 10-4pm - CIM Business Centre, Cookham, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 9QHA new Clinical Respiratory Skills workshop is coming soon! This workshop is designed to help pharmacy professionals build confidence in history taking, examination skills and person centred consultations. Led by an experienced GP and supported by two CPPE Tutors, the session uses realistic clinical scenarios and a medical role play actor so participants can fully focus on consultation structure, language and clinical decision making. This practical workshop covers respiratory anatomy, common presentations, red flag recognition, systematic examination and person centred assessment. Booking details will be released shortly! |
| CPE will be hosting a webinar to support pharmacy owners, in understanding the current regulatory framework and how the system operates for pharmacy market entry and exit on Wednesday 23rd September 2026 at 7:30pm - 9:00pm. Register here. Bookings will close at 12pm on the day of the webinar. |
New CPPE courses for autumn 2026 are now live: In‑person workshops – respiratory tract infections in Reading, Basingstoke, High Wycombe and Fareham. Online workshops – dermatology, depression, PGDs, emergency contraception, weight management, reflective practice and more. • Extended training and Enhanced Practice Pathway see here for more information.
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AstraZeneca are also holding a webinar about their product Fluenz on Monday, 14th September 6-7pm, join online via the registration link. Please note This is a promotional event during which AstraZeneca products will be discussed.
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