The PJ Pod

***Warning: this episode contains some potentially upsetting content about suicidal thoughts and miscarriage. If you would like to skip this part please fast forward from 09:50 to 17:00***

Julia Robinson speaks with experts in the field of psychedelics and mental health, and hears the personal account of someone with first-hand experience of participating in one of these trials, to uncover the truth behind the hype.

Thanks to Sarah Bateup, therapy lead at Clerkenwell Health; David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology; and David Taylor, director of pharmacy and pathology at the Maudsley Hospital and professor of psychopharmacology at King’s College London.

A special thank you to Mat for sharing his story with us.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh, with support from Nigel Praities.

So-called ‘skinny jabs’ have been heralded as game-changers for weight management.

Wegovy (semaglutide) is due to be launched in the UK imminently, will soon be available from community pharmacies, with large chains already setting up waiting lists for people wanting to get the weekly injection privately.

In this episode, Nigel Praities, executive editor, talks with Dawn Connelly and Emma Wilkinson about how these injections work, who is eligible for them and concerns about whether community pharmacies can provide the long-term lifestyle and psychological support needed for weight loss to be successful.

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

TV personality Davina McCall has been at the forefront of a much-needed sea change in the awareness of menopause symptoms, leading to many more women seeking HRT.

However, as demand as risen, there have also been major shortages of certain products and there have also been claims that, in some cases, hormone therapies are being overprescribed.

In this episode, Katherine Sole and Julia Robinson speak with two experts on how best to prescribe HRT and how pharmacists can manage difficult conversations when it comes to shortages. Thanks to Paula Briggs, consultant and chair of the British Menopause Society, and Hayley Berry, lead learning development pharmacist at the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education, for their help.

British Menopause Society’s tools for clinicians: https://thebms.org.uk/publications/tools-for-clinicians/

Newson Health Menopause Society’s ‘Easy HRT Prescribing Guide’: https://www.nhmenopausesociety.org/resources/easy-hrt-prescribing-guide/

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

In this second Spotlight episode, we talk through an investigation that has shown the awarding gap between white pharmacy graduates and their ethnic minority counterparts in the UK has narrowed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PJ journalists Dawn Connelly and Corrinne Burns share the inside story on how they put the investigation together, what the results show and their potential implications for more inclusive teaching on the pharmacy degree after the pandemic.

Read the full investigation here: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/infographic-the-ethnicity-awarding-gap-for-the-pharmacy-degree-during-covid-19

This episode is presented by Nigel Praities, executive editor, and was produced by Geoff Marsh.

In this learning episode, we have enlisted the help of two experts to explore what it takes to deliver effective deprescribing and ask what pharmacists can do to help patients get the most from their medicines.

For links to relevant articles and further resources on deprescribing visit the PJ website: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/effective-deprescribing-getting-the-most-from-medicine

Many thanks to Lelly Oboh, consultant pharmacist in the care of older people at Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Community Health Services, and Tony Avery, GP and NHS England’s national clinical director for prescribing, for their expertise.

This programme is presented by Alex Clabburn, senior editor, research and learning, and was produced by Geoff Marsh.

In the UK, three babies are still being born each month after being exposed to sodium valproate. This is despite the risk of foetal valproate spectrum disorder being known about for many years.

In the first of a series of shorter ‘Spotlight’ episodes, executive editor Nigel Praities speaks with senior data journalist, Julia Robinson, about her recent investigation into this issue and whether NHS England is on track to meet its target to reduce the use of the drug in people who can get pregnant by 50% by the end of 2023.

Julia also gives an insight into new research that may suggest the risks from sodium valproate and other drugs used for epilepsy may have been underestimated.

Click here to read the full investigation: https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/feature/why-is-the-uk-struggling-to-contain-its-sodium-valproate-problem

This episode was produced by Geoff Marsh.

The COVID-19 pandemic has starkly exposed how inequalities in health can be affected by factors such as ethnicity, gender or geography — and all the evidence points to these getting worse.

But in this episode, we hear from two pharmacists trying to turn this around.

First, Ade Williams, superintendent pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy in Bristol, explains how he used a "Pulse in the Pub" blood pressure checking service as a springboard to better understand his local community’s health needs.

Second, Suhayla Dhanji Merali, advanced specialist pharmacist at Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, speaks about her outreach work in perinatal mental health, going into local mosques to help people get the support they need.

Lastly, Carolyn Wickware, investigations editor, outlines new data that shows how funding cuts are putting much-needed pharmacy services at risk in England’s most deprived areas.

This episode was presented by Corrinne Burns and produced by Geoff Marsh.

Will pharmacists go on strike over pay? Will medicines shortages improve? What will be the biggest clinical developments next year?

The team unpicks some of the biggest pharmacy stories of 2022 and shines a light on what pharmacists should expect in the coming 12 months.

Please do let us know what you think we have missed in this episode on social media, using the hashtag #PJPod. See you next year!

This episode is presented by Nigel Praities, executive editor, and produced by Geoff Marsh. Thanks to PJ journalists Corrinne Burns, Dawn Connelly, Carolyn Wickware and Julia Robinson for their contributions.

Two years since the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) took on responsibility for approving consultant pharmacist posts, we look at how these roles are evolving.

We also ask how many consultants the profession needs, look at the barriers to reaching this level of practice and explore how the path to becoming a consultant could be made easier.

Thanks to Hannah Beba, consultant pharmacist in diabetes at West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership; Paula Crawford, consultant pharmacist for older people services within the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; Rani Khatib, consultant pharmacist in cardiology and cardiovascular clinical research at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Andrew Radley, consultant in pharmaceutical public health at NHS Tayside.

Thank you also to Paul Forsyth, lead pharmacist in clinical cardiology (primary care) at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and Joseph Oakley, associate director of education and professional development at the RPS.

This episode is presented by features editor Dawn Connelly and produced by Geoff Marsh.

Anticholinergic drug use is on the rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK medicines regulator is also considering extending access to the anticholinergic bladder drug oxybutynin over the counter.

In this episode, we will look at the potential implications of these changes, particularly in older people, and examine the case for deprescribing. We will also assess emerging evidence that suggests that the cumulative burden of anticholinergics over a lifetime could be a causal factor for dementia.

Thank you to Graham Stretch, chief pharmacist at the Argyle Group in west London, his patient Miriam* who agreed for us to record her consultation, and also to Chris Fox, professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of East Anglia.

This programme is presented by executive editor Nigel Praities and senior data journalist Julia Robinson. It was produced by Geoff Marsh.

*Some details have been changed to ensure confidentiality.