Community Pharmacy England (CPE) - News updates

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that the NHS prescription charge will remain at £9.90 per prescription item for 2026/27. A Government press release today confirms that the NHS prescription charge will be frozen, as well as the costs for prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs). The list of 2026/27 prescription-related charges are outlined below. [...] The post NHS prescription charges frozen for the second year running appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

Politicians and policy experts have cited integration, localism and prevention as some of the core components required to build a future-fit NHS. The themes have been identified in a written report on Community Pharmacy England’s series of policy events at this year’s political party conferences. The discussions concluded that community pharmacy, in particular, is foundational [...] The post Integration, localism and prevention key to building a future-fit NHS appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

Underinvestment in the sector is continuing to threaten the accessibility of community pharmacies to patients and the public, Community Pharmacy England has told a Parliamentary inquiry. Dr. James Davies, Director of Research and Insights at Community Pharmacy England, gave oral evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Health Group (APHG) on Wednesday 19th November. The APHG’s inquiry [...] The post Underinvestment threatening patient access to pharmacy, Health APPG hears appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

National Patient Safety Alert: Harm from incorrect recording of a penicillin allergy as a penicillamine allergy National Patient Safety Alert Reference Number: NatPSA/2025/006/NHSPS Date issued: 20 November 2025 Explanation of identified safety issue There are reports of healthcare staff recording a patient’s penicillin allergy as a penicillamine allergy in electronic prescribing systems. This look-alike sound-alike [...] The post National Patient Safety Alert: Harm from incorrect recording of a penicillin allergy as a penicillamine allergy appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

MHRA Class 3 Medicines Recall: Fingolimod SUN 0.5mg hard capsules (Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited) Drug Alert Number: EL(25)A/49 Date issued: 20 November 2025 Sun Pharma UK Limited is conducting a precautionary recall of a single batch of Fingolimod SUN 0.5 mg hard capsules due to reports of capsule breakage on removing from the blister. No other [...] The post MHRA Class 3 Medicines Recall: Fingolimod SUN 0.5mg hard capsules (Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited) appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

Update 20/11/25 – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has provided an update on the Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) for Creon® 25000 gastro-resistant capsules (SSP061) was due to expire 21 November 2025 but has been further extended to Friday 16 January 2026. Update 23/05/25 – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) [...] The post SSP61 – Creon® 25000 gastro-resistant capsules further extended appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

Update 20/11/25 – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has provided an update on the Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) for Creon® 10000 gastro-resistant capsules (SSP060) was due to expire 21 November 2025 but has been further extended to Friday 16 January 2026. Update 23/05/25 – The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) [...] The post SSP60 – Creon® 10000 gastro-resistant capsules further extended appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Pharmacy has published a new report, The Future of Community Pharmacy in England, recognising the essential and central role that community pharmacies must play in achieving the Government’s ambitions for health and productivity.  The report emphasises that community pharmacies are vital to boosting NHS performance, tackling health inequalities, and delivering more care [...] The post APPG report calls for urgent action to unlock the potential of community pharmacy appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

An article has been published in the journal JAC – Antimicrobial Resistance highlighting outcomes of the 2022/23 and 2023/24 antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) quality criterion of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS). In the 2022/23 and 2023/24 PQS, pharmacy teams reviewed their practice on AMS. This included using the TARGET Treating Your Infection (TYI) upper respiratory tract [...] The post PQS: Research published on the use of TYI RTI leaflets appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.

Pharmacy owners have until midnight on Friday (21st November 2025) to complete the 2025 workforce survey, which is a mandatory requirement for all pharmacy owners. The NHS Business Services Authority sent an email to pharmacy owners containing a link to the survey in September. In some cases, for example, if you work for a multiple pharmacy group, the [...] The post 2025 mandatory workforce survey closes on Friday appeared first on Community Pharmacy England.