The PJ Pod

The ‘NHS mental health implementation plan 2019/20–2023/24’, published by NHS England in July 2019, identified a need for “new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care” to support 370,000 adults and older adults with severe mental illness (SMI). With many of these patients on psychotropic medication, such as clozapine, lithium, valproate and antid

Please note that this episode includes discussions of war and injury that may be distressing to some listeners, with stories from pharmacists working in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza. Horrific stories of injury and death in war zones across the world have become a staple of daily news headlines since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In an effort to help, the UK government and gr

As we reach the end of 2023, this final podcast episode of the year continues our annual tradition of looking back at the biggest stories to affect pharmacy teams across the UK, while reflecting on our highlights from The PJ Pod over the past 12 months. While 2023 has been a significant year for pharmacy, with the announcement of a new NHS 'Pharmacy First' service in England and ac

From 2026, all pharmacists will be independent prescribers when they first qualify. But that leaves a whole cohort of non-prescribing pharmacists already in the workforce, many of whom do not want to be left behind. In this episode of The PJ Pod, we accompany three pharmacists — Isabel Macho and Isheeta Mendiratta, who work in primary care, and community pharmacist Rachael Patel

In November 2023, an investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal revealed that two-thirds of patient safety incidents related to homecare medicine provision were for services provided by the company Sciensus, according to the latest data provided by NHS trusts. The findings came after the House of Lords Public Services Committee opened an inquiry into homecare medicines services in

The term 'deprescribing' refers to the tapering, stopping, discontinuing, or withdrawing of medications for the benefit of patients. It was first used 20 years ago in an article titled 'Deprescribing: achieving better health outcomes for older people through reducing medications' by Michael C. Woodward. Since then, the body of literature has exploded. In this 'spotlight' episode of

Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors are used to treat cancers caused by defective B cells, such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, B-cell lymphomas and Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). While B-cell malignancies are relatively rare cancers, their incidence is increasing. There are significant side effects and drug interactions associated with these therapies, and as the clini

In June 2023, The Pharmaceutical Journal revealed that the number of adults in England prescribed medicines for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has more than doubled since January 2020. The increase, which was particularly pronounced in females, has been largely fuelled by increasingly frequent opportunities for adults to pinpoint the symptoms of ADHD in themselves,

Medicines play a critical role in ensuring that people at the end of their lives, and their carers, can manage symptoms, including pain, and remain comfortable at home. But there is evidence that the systems supplying these medicines are difficult, complex and often lead to delays in vital care that leave patients in unnecessary suffering. This in turn can increase costs for the NH

The UK government has said it will introduce a ‘Pharmacy First’ service for England by the end of 2023, as part of a plan for recovering access to primary care. Negotiations are ongoing, but the new service is designed to enable pharmacists to supply medicines for seven common health conditions, including earache, sore throat and urinary tract infections. However, it is not cle