RPSGB Please find below the monitoring bulletin from the Scottish Office of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. The bulletin provides a summary of news and developments from the media, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament and NHS Scotland bodies. Where available, hyperlinks are included for further information. To sign up or unsubscribe please email Marie.Stewart@rpsgb.org
NEWS In this bulletin you will find news items on the following topics. Please note that links to articles can only be guaranteed on the day of publication. Click the link below to be taken directly to that subject: Pharmacy Swine Flu Drugs & Treatments NHS General Practitioners Dementia Diabetes Obesity Smoking Drug & Alcohol Abuse Sexual Health Research & Education General Health & Lifestyle PHARMACY PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP BODY / GENERAL PHARMACEUTICAL COUNCIL Would you like to be a pioneer for pharmacy’s new professional body? – 21.09.09 To date, more than 290 members of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have become pioneers for the new professional body. So, what motivated them to become pioneers? And how are they finding the experience so far? Commitment To Pharmacy SCOTLAND Health authority mulls long-term conditions role for Scots pharmacists – 21.09.09 Community pharmacists in Lothian are set to gain increased involvement in the management of long-term conditions (LTC). The sector‟s role will be considered as NHS Lothian evaluates a recent pilot project to identify the pharmaceutical care requirements of LTC patients, the board told C+D. Chemist and Druggist Call for OFT review of supply deals role in shortages – 24.09.09
Scottish pharmacists have called for an official investigation into the role of manufacturer supply deals in drugs shortages. Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS) has submitted a dossier of evidence to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on direct to pharmacy (DTP) and restricted wholesaler models, and what the contract negotiator believes is their detrimental impact on medicines supply. Chemist and Druggist UK WIDE/INTERNATIONAL RPSGB guidance on activities in absence of Responsible Pharmacist – 22.09.09 The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has issued guidance on what activities can take place in a pharmacy when a responsible pharmacist is not signed on or absent. Chemist and Druggist Care by pharmacists as good as by GPs, suggests study – 24.09.09 Care provided by pharmacists to older people living in the community can bring equal or better clinical outcomes than care provided by GPs or nurses, according to results from a literature review published in the latest issue of Australia and New Zealand Health Policy. Pharmaceutical Journal Start planning for EPS 2, says RPSGB – 24.09.09 Pharmacists must start preparing their businesses for the electronic prescription service (EPS), the RPSGB warned as it launched guidance on dispensing using the service. Chemist and Druggist Back
SWINE FLU Asda dismisses flu vaccine 'price war' claims – 23.09.09 Asda has rejected media claims it has launched a high-street “price war” on private flu vaccination services. The group is offering flu vaccinations from its 169 stores at £8 each, while other multiples charge up to £15 and independents are expected to charge £15-20. Chemist and Druggist Scottish pupils could be blood tested to track swine flu virus – 24.09.09 Public health chiefs want to blood test school pupils in a bid to track the swine flu virus as the anticipated second wave of the pandemic approaches. Health Protection Scotland has requested, via local authorities and health boards, that schools infected with swine flu volunteer to take part in the tests. Herald Influenza A (H1N1) update – 24.09.09 Scottish Government Serious swine flu unit considered - 25.09.09 A specialist unit which could treat patients seriously ill with swine flu is being considered in Scotland, the health minister has said. Nicola Sturgeon said an expert group was carrying out a study on providing procedures including extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). BBC Back
DRUGS & TREATMENTS Osteoporosis campaign launched via community pharmacies – 18.09.09 Community pharmacists are being urged by Proctor & Gamble to routinely check that postmenopausal women for whom they dispense osteoporosis treatments are not suffering upper gastrointestinal side effects that affect their compliance. Pharmaceutical Journal 'Doomsday bug' creeping closer – 19.09.09 Doctors are growing increasingly concerned about a rising number of infections in Scotland that have developed the ability to resist antibiotics. Extended spectrum beta- lactamases (ESBLs) are enzymes that can be produced by bacteria, including E coli infections, leading to resistance to common drugs and making the illness harder to treat. Scotsman HRT raises lung cancer risk – 20.09.09 Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) using oestrogen and progestin increases the risk of death from lung cancer, research published online in The Lancet concludes. NHS UK Genes breakthrough offers new hope in prostate cancer fight – 21.09.09 New tests and treatments for prostate cancer could be on the horizon after the discovery of genetic code variants that triple the chances of developing the disease. Scotsman Latest BNF includes advice on antivirals for pregnant or breastfeeding women – 21.09.09 BNF 58, the latest version of the British National Formulary, is now available and contains updated information on the use of antiviral drugs for influenza in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Pharmaceutical Journal Sunshine vitamin boosts survival rates for cancer sufferers – 22.09.09 Having higher levels of vitamin D in the body may improve survival rates in cancer patients, research revealed yesterday. Two new studies found that people with more vitamin D when they were diagnosed with bowel or skin cancer were more likely to survive. Scotsman Daily dose of aspirin could reduce bowel cancer risk – 22.09.09 People with a genetic risk of bowel cancer could halve their chances of developing the disease by taking a daily dose of aspirin. A study led by scientists in Newcastle suggests that aspirin may have an effect on the survival of faulty cells before they turn malignant. Times £8m boost for Beatson bid for new cancer drugs – 22.09.09 Scientists at a leading Scottish research centre have won £8m in new funding to uncover cancer drugs of the future. Herald Epileptic drugs fears – 24.09.09
From next year, pharmacists can substitute branded prescriptions for generic ones. But Edinburgh's Epilepsy Scotland says this could have a negative effect on patients. Edinburgh Evening News Vitamin warning for pregnant women – 24.09.09 Pregnant women may not be getting enough vitamin D even if they take supplements, researchers said. A lack of vitamin D in pregnancy can lead to a youngster suffering rickets and longer-term problems such as schizophrenia and Type 1 diabetes, they said. Press Association Prostate screening under scrutiny - 25.09.09 Routine screening for prostate cancer has come under further scrutiny after two studies concluded it may do more harm than good. European researchers found the current prostate specific antigen (PSA) test cannot reliably rule out a future diagnosis of prostate cancer. BBC Back NHS Hospitals facing blood platelet crisis – 20.0.09 Scotland is facing a critical shortage of a vital blood component after a surge in demand from seriously-ill patients. Transfusion chiefs are now launching an unprecedented appeal for platelet donors. Scotland on Sunday Targets: more effective than we think – 21.09.09 Where have all the headlines gone about MRSA, the hospital superbug? Maybe the answer lies in the fact that the risk has plummeted. Why? The answer is unfashionable: targets, probably. BBC News Back GENERAL PRACTITIONERS Questions raised over old doctors – 23.09.09 Older doctors are far more likely to have questions raised about their performance than younger colleagues, figures show. The National Patient Safety Agency said GPs over 60 were seven times more likely to be referred for problems than the under 40s. BBC News Action call over diagnosis errors – 20.09.09 Hundreds of thousands of people could be misdiagnosed by doctors in Scotland every year, a BBC Scotland investigation has revealed. BBC News Back DEMENTIA Plea for £15m dementia fund boost – 21.09.09
A charity has called on the Scottish government to invest £15m each year for the next five years to help people with dementia. Alzheimer Scotland said the number of people diagnosed with the condition in Scotland could increase by almost 60,000 within a generation. BBC News Scotsman Money problems 'signal dementia' – 22.09.09 Declining financial skills are detectable in patients in the year before they develop Alzheimer's, according to US researchers. BBC News Back
OBESITY Scots don’t know they are obese – 23.09.09 Two-thirds of Scots who are obese do not realise they are an unhealthy size because being overweight is increasingly seen as the norm, according to a new study. Only 10% of people told researchers that they believed they would be classed as obese, even although 31% fell into that category when their measurements were taken. Herald Third of children exercise too little – 23.09.09 One in three children could face significant health problems in adulthood unless more is done to encourage families to take more exercise, physiotherapists have warned. Scotsman Experts call for sweetened drinks to be taxed in America – 22.09.09 American public health experts have called for a tax to be added to sweetened drinks in a bid to fight the growing obesity epidemic. Diabetes UK Back SMOKING Smoking bans 'cut heart attacks' – 22.09.09 Bans on smoking in public places have had a bigger impact on preventing heart attacks than ever expected, data shows. Smoking bans cut the number of heart attacks in Europe and North America by up to a third, two studies report. BBC News Reducing child smoking rates – 22.09.09 Ending the display of cigarettes in shops will help reduce child smoking in future generations, Public Health Minister Shona Robison said today. The move is one of the proposals in the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill which receives its stage one debate in the Scottish Parliament on 19 September 2009. Scottish Government Back
DRUG & ALCOHOL ABUSE Jack Straw calls for heroin on NHS – 20.09.09 Jack Straw, the justice secretary, has called for the NHS to give out heroin on prescription to addicts for whom other forms of treatment have failed. Times Labour ministers accused of being 'soft' on alcohol warnings – 22.09.09 Ministers have been accused of colluding with the alcohol lobby to water down new warning labels on drinks. Plans to warn mothers-to-be that alcohol 'can harm your baby' were rejected in favour of telling women to 'avoid alcohol when pregnant'. Daily Mail Youth advice sought on drink – 22.09.09 A group of teenagers and young people have been recruited to help tackle alcohol misuse in Scotland. The 19 "youth commissioners" will produce a report next year on what they think needs to be done to reduce alcohol problems. Scotsman Residential care for drug addicts at 'astonishing' all-time low – 22.09.09 The number of drug addicts being treated in residential clinics is at its lowest since the SNP came to power. The fall was branded "astonishing" by Conservatives, who are calling for more action from those on the "front line". Scotsman Six people a day treated for drug abuse – 23.09.09 Six people a day in the Lothians are treated for drug misuse, figures have shown. Statistics released through the Scottish Parliament have revealed 2,126 people were admitted to NHS Lothian hospitals last year, a rise of nearly 100 from the year before. Only Glasgow had more cases. Edinburgh Evening News £400,000 to help tackle drink-related violence – 23.09.09 New funding to help tackle alcohol-fuelled violence was announced yesterday by the Scottish Government. A total of £400,000 of Safer Streets funding will be available to local authorities from November this year through to March 2010. Scotsman Back
SEXUAL HEALTH 'Viagra cream' could prove safer – 20.09.09 A cream allowing erectile dysfunction drugs to be applied directly to the skin could one day make them safer to use, say New York scientists. BBC News Trial HIV vaccine cuts infection – 24.09.09 An experimental HIV vaccine has for the first time cut the risk of infection, researchers say. The vaccine - a combination of two earlier experimental vaccines - was given to 16,000 people in
Thailand, in the largest ever such vaccine trial. Researchers found that it reduced by nearly a third the risk of contracting HIV, the virus that leads to Aids. BBC News Scotsman Herald p.15 'Politicians have duty to teen health' – 22.09.09 Politicians have a duty to intervene to reduce teenage pregnancies, Scotland's public health minister insisted yesterday. Shona Robison said she believed politicians could not just sit back and watch teen pregnancy rates fail to drop and sexually transmitted infections rise Scotsman Lloydspharmacy launches online STI screening service – 24.09.09 Lloydspharmacy has launched an online screening service for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV and gonorrhoea. Customers wishing to use the service, which costs £75, must register online and are then sent a screening test pack, with instructions for sending urine and saliva samples to a testing laboratory. Pharmaceutical Journal Nine in 10 girls have cervical cancer jab – 25.09.09 More than 90% of eligible schoolgirls have taken part in a national campaign to immunise them against cervical cancer, official statistics showed yesterday. The Government hailed the figures as „„fantastic‟‟ and said it will save lives. Herald Back
RESEARCH & EDUCATION Blood test raises prospect of early bowel cancer detection – 21.09.09 Blood tests that can identify patients with bowel and stomach cancers have been devised by scientists, raising the prospect of rapid, population-wide screening for the tumours. Times Terminal breast cancer survival jumps if original tumor removed – 22.09.09 Women with breast cancer that has spread to other parts of their body can live significantly longer if their original tumour is removed, researchers said yesterday. Times Call to focus cancer research on prevention and diagnosis – 23.09.09 Cancer research needs to focus less on developing new drugs and more on preventing and diagnosing cases, according to Richard Sullivan, of King's College London's Integrated Cancer Centre. Health Care Republic Autism rates back MMR jab safety – 23.09.09 Latest autism figures should dispel any fears about the MMR jab being linked to the condition, say experts. The NHS Information Centre found one in every hundred adults living in England has autism, which is identical to the rate in children. BBC News
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GENERAL HEALTH & LIFESTYLE Call to get tough on eating sites – 20.09.09 The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RC Psych) is calling for urgent action to protect vulnerable young people from eating-disorder websites. BBC News Professor warns parents of under-fives after petting farm E coli outbreak – 20.09.09 Parents should "think very hard" about letting children under five touch the animals at petting farms, a leading microbiologist said yesterday after E coli was linked to four sites. Scotland on Sunday Over-55s 'less aware on cancer' – 21.09.09 People aged over 55 are less aware than younger adults of how to reduce their risk of cancer, a UK survey suggests. A survey of 2,000 people found those in that age group were less likely to know that poor diet, being overweight and drinking alcohol all increase risk. BBC News Study proves ‘killing season’ occurs as new doctors start work – 23.09.09 Emergency patients are more likely to die in NHS hospitals when their admission coincides with an influx of newly qualified doctors, a study has shown. Death rates for patients brought into English hospitals on the first Wednesday in August were 6% higher than for those arriving a week earlier, researchers found. Herald Women don't know how to cut cancer risk – 22.09.09 More than 90 per cent of women are unaware that maintaining a healthy weight and limiting alcohol can cut their risk of breast cancer, according to a poll. Almost a third think there is "nothing they can do" to reduce their chances of developing the disease. Scotsman High-fat diet helps epileptic children without drugs – 24.09.09 A new high-fat diet is helping epileptic children who do not respond well to traditional medications, research revealed yesterday. Trials of the ketogenic diet found nearly half of the children treated had more than a 50% reduction in seizures. Press and Journal Scottish Government to review muscular dystrophy services – 24.09.09 Some 5500 adults and children in Scotland are living with neuromuscular conditions like muscular dystrophy, but the provision of services for them varies dramatically across the country. Herald Back