CPTV Pharmacy Academy

The 2025 report assesses the critical role of community pharmacy in achieving the vision outlined in the Department of Health and Social Care’s 10-year plan for health, "Fit for the Future." This plan requires England’s health system to undergo significant changes, shifting care from hospital to community, embracing digital solutions, and concentrating on preventative measures. The document argues that pharmacies, leveraging an increasingly clinical workforce with independent prescribing qualifications, are integral to establishing accessible Neighbourhood Health Services. However, achieving this transformation necessitates resolving five fundamental questions regarding national and local engagement, the integration of IT and estate needs, and robust workforce planning. Most crucially, success hinges on reforming the existing community pharmacy contract to ensure a sustainable financial and operational foundation that can support these expanded responsibilities.

This podcast using data from Community Pharmacy England, details the findings of their 2025 Pharmacy Pressures Survey: Staffing and Morale report and presenting a comprehensive sitemap of the organization's resources. The central focus is the deepening crisis in community pharmacy, highlighting issues such as severe staffing shortages, unsustainable workloads, and financial strain that are critically impacting morale and patient care. Key data points reveal that nearly 70% of staff report negative mental health effects and that recruitment remains a major challenge, leading to temporary closures and reduced services across England. Furthermore, the extensive menu structure indicates that Community Pharmacy England is a key representative body involved in negotiations, funding, regulatory compliance, and digital systems within the National Health Service (NHS) framework.

This provides an overview of the services and strategic support offered to community pharmacies within the Thames Valley region, primarily through the Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) known as Community Pharmacy Thames Valley (CPTV). One source details the comprehensive range of Essential, Advanced, and Local Services available at the 325 pharmacies in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire, including the Pharmacy First Service, vaccinations, and the New Medicines Service (NMS). The primary document outlines CPTV’s extensive role in representation, service development, training, and advocacy, demonstrating how they help contractors integrate into local healthcare systems and achieve performance targets, particularly for new services like Hypertension Case-Finding. Finally, supplementary excerpts highlight the LPC’s commitment to contractor education through the LPC Academy, offering webinars, conferences, and podcasts on clinical topics such as Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) and women’s health.

"Closing the Gap – Pharmacy First in Thames Valley," is aimed at local community pharmacy contractors. The primary goal of the podcast is to motivate pharmacists to increase their participation in the Pharmacy First Clinical Pathways service to secure full payment. Using June 2025 data from Thames Valley, the host reveals that while 327 pharmacies participated, 171 fell short of the required 30 monthly consultations, resulting in a lost network income of approximately £147,000. The podcast outlines several steps pharmacies must take, such as proactively identifying eligible patients and engaging GP practices, to improve performance, demonstrating capacity and consistency to commissioners.

This Podcast details the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service in England, outlining the requirements and protocols for community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to provide free oral contraception (OC) and oral emergency contraception (EC). The core source is the service specification (Version 3.0, effective October 29, 2025), which describes the service objectives, provider requirements, consultation procedures, and payment arrangements for both initiation and ongoing supply of OC and provision of EC. Supporting this are several Patient Group Directions (PGDs), which establish the clinical governance framework for supplying specific medications, including Levonorgestrel and Ulipristal acetate for EC, and various types of Combined Oral Hormonal Contraceptives (COC) and Progestogen-Only Pills (POP). These PGDs specify inclusion/exclusion criteria, dosages, and required patient records, emphasizing the goal of expanding public access to contraceptive services and reducing health inequalities.

This podcast provides information regarding the New Medicine Service (NMS), an advanced service within the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework in England aimed at improving patient adherence to newly prescribed medications for long-term conditions. Specifically, the announcements detail a significant expansion of the NMS to include depression as an eligible therapeutic area, with a provisional commencement date of October 29, 2025, according to Community Pharmacy England, though an earlier August 2025 announcement from NHSBSA suggests a publication timeline. Furthermore, the documents outline several operational updates, including amendments to the service specification and eligible drug list following a comprehensive review, and a change to the payment structure effective April 1, 2025, which simplifies compensation to £14 per consultation. Finally, the sources clarify regulatory matters, such as amended timelines for consultations and new guidance concerning the subcontracting of NMS provision.

The PODCAST outlines significant updates to the Pharmacy First Clinical Pathways, scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2025. These revisions introduce several key changes across various pathways, including more emphasis on red flag consideration and the addition of gateway points for urgent escalation to A&E or calling 999. Specific pathways, such as those related to UTIs and shingles, feature clarified definitions and new red flags for onward referral, while women with diabetes are now explicitly excluded from certain services. Furthermore, there are important procedural updates, such as the requirement for examinations to occur in a consultation room, and new guidance regarding claimable points for self-care advice and suspected conditions.

This podcast contains multiple Patient Group Directions (PGDs) authorized by the NHS England Pharmacy First service, outlining the conditions and protocols for pharmacists to supply specific medications for acute sinusitis. The documents systematically detail the use of two nasal steroid sprays, Fluticasone and Mometasone, for general acute sinusitis in individuals aged twelve and over, and three oral antibiotics, Clarithromycin, Doxycycline, and Erythromycin, reserved for cases of suspected acute bacterial sinusitis when a penicillin allergy is present. Crucially, each PGD establishes precise inclusion and exclusion criteria, such as minimum age, symptom duration, signs of bacterial infection, and contraindications related to immunosuppression or concurrent drug use, ensuring safe supply under specific medical and regulatory guidelines. The documentation, which is peer-reviewed and officially dated, also provides essential information on dosage, storage, potential adverse reactions, patient counseling, and detailed referral pathways for serious complications or exclusions.

This PODCAST outlines significant revisions and an expansion of the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS), scheduled for late October 2025. Key changes include the addition of oral emergency contraception (EC) to the service, aiming to standardize access and reduce health inequalities by replacing varied local services. Furthermore, the updated service specification allows suitably trained and competent pharmacy technicians to provide the service and mandates checks of the individual's GP record with consent. Other revisions address operational procedures (SOPs), require verbal consultations directly with the patient, clarify restrictions for Distance Selling Premises (DSPs), and increase the consultation fees for both initiation and repeat supplies.

Updated guidelines and procedures for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in England regarding the provision of emergency contraception. Specifically, two Patient Group Directions (PGDs) detail the supply of levonorgestrel (LNG-EC) and ulipristal acetate (UPA-EC) tablets, including staff qualifications, patient eligibility, dosage, and record-keeping requirements. A separate source from Community Pharmacy England announces that, effective October 29, 2025, the Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS) will expand to include oral emergency contraception, and pharmacy technicians will also be authorized to provide this service. This expansion is part of broader changes to the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF), which also includes revisions to the Pharmacy First Clinical Pathways and the New Medicine Service.