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prescriptions

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Pharmacist who oversaw prescribing of 85,000 drugs without safeguards can continue practising

A GPhC hearing last week said Tariq Boodho’s fitness-to-practise was not impaired after he met "regulatory and public interest concerns".

17 Nov 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Number of antidepressant items prescribed increased by 300,000 between March and June

The NHS Business Services Authority said 23,400,000 items were prescribed to 7,030,000 patients in the first financial quarter of 2025-26.

16 Sep 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Out of date laws leave patients waiting three weeks for medicines, warns NPA

A survey of 400 NPA members revealed patients’ health is being jeopardised by delays to drugs supply and inadequacies of The Medicines Act 1968.

16 Sep 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Figures show 16.5 million items for dependency-forming drugs prescribed in Q.1

The NHS Business Services Authority said 4.37 million patients in England were prescribed the medicines between April and June 2025.

15 Sep 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Pharmacies in Scotland urged to prepare for big increase in eye treatment prescriptions

The number of prescriptions written by independent prescriber community optometrists and sent for dispensing in pharmacies is set to rise.

05 Aug 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Items prescribed for dependency-forming medicines fell from 2016-17 to 2024-25

The number of patients prescribed the medicines fell by 14 per cent, going from 8.1 million in 2016-17 to seven million in 2024-25.

31 Jul 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Number of prescription items dispensed in England increases to 1.26 billion

The most dispensed drug in 2024-25 was Atorvastatin with 73 million items, according to data from the NHS Business Services Authority.

05 Jun 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Independents dispense 70 per cent more items as shrinking multiples 'diversify'

Data points to a vast gap in prescription items between independents and multiples

13 May 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Pharmacist who forged prescriptions and falsified patient records struck off

Stephen James Fleck created 16 handwritten prescriptions by forging a doctor’s signature and falsified patient records to generate 43 prescription requests.

23 Apr 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Over three million patients received PPC exemptions in 2023-24

The NHS Business Services Authority said patients would have spent £817 million in prescription charges without prescription prepayment certificates.

26 Mar 2025 , 1 Min Article

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Patients in Gloucestershire asked for views on impact of pharmacy closures

Healthwatch Gloucestershire wants to know how closures and reduced staffing is making it difficult for patients to access services.

30 Oct 2024 , 1 Min Article

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One in five patients could not get medicines at a pharmacy, ONS study reveals

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said the survey’s findings showed “there is a clear need" to address the root causes of supply issues.

16 Sep 2024 , 1 Min Article

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Number of items prescribed for dependency-forming medicines in England falls

NHS Business Services Authority said 7.1 million patients were prescribed the medicines, a 13 per cent decrease from 2015-16.

05 Sep 2024 , 1 Min Article

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Diabetes items prescribed in England rose by 21 million between 2016 and 2024

The NHS Business Services Authority said 71 million items were prescribed in 2023-24.

08 Aug 2024 , 1 Min Article

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Prescription ordering service in Coventry to close next month

Coventry and Warwickshire integrated care board deciding to decommission the service having concluded it lacked value for money.

21 Feb 2024 , 1 Min Article

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Number of pharmacies in England falls to lowest level since 2016

There were 11,414 pharmacies in 2022-23, 108 fewer than in 2021-22 and the fewest since 2015-16 when there were 11,949.

12 Oct 2023 , 1 Min Article

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