NEWS
EMERGENCY SUPPLY PILOT
Emergency Supply Pilot Service in Northern Ireland runs in pharmacies in the Northern LCG area from April.
The NPA has welcomed the Emergency Supply Pilot Service in Northern Ireland which has been running in pharmacies in the Northern LCG area from 14 March for an initial period of six months.
The service is designed to: • Ensure that patients can access an urgent supply of their regular prescription medicines where they are unable to obtain a prescription, before they need to take their next dose.
• Relieve pressure on OOHs medical services and emergency care services at times of high demand.
• Ensure equity of access to medicines irrespective of the patient’s ability to pay.
Meanwhile, the NPA have launched new resources designed as an aid for community pharmacists to use when obtaining patient consent, which comprises of a suite of Service user consent policy resources designed as an aid for community pharmacists to use when obtaining patient consent.
Additional and/or innovative pharmacy services are increasingly being carried out by pharmacists and obtaining valid patient consent is an essential process that must be given due consideration. The NPA has therefore published a suite of Service user consent policy resources on the NPA website for members to download and use.
NPA members should note, however, that the “Service user consent forms” in this suite of resources and the “Service user consent policy” should not be used to substitute the consent arrangements that are already in place for existing services commissioned either locally or nationally (for example, Medicines Use Reviews or the New Medicine Service).
The elements that are required for valid consent are still relevant when undertaking any service or treatment and this suite of resources can therefore be used as a reference guide in all circumstances or where further information is needed.
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pharmacyinfocus.co.uk £1.7m investment for diabetes
• improving access to insulin pumps; and improving services for the increasing number of women who develop gestational diabetes, supporting both them and their babies.
The funding will also support the establishment of a Diabetes Network that will underpin a more collaborative approach to improving the health and well-being of people living with diabetes and, importantly, those at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
During the visit the Minister also launched the consultation on the draft Diabetes Strategic Framework for Northern Ireland.
Diabetes UK Northern Ireland National Director, Dr David Chaney, is joined by the Health Minister, Simon Hamilton MLA
March saw the announcement of investment of £1.7million to support diabetes services in Northern Ireland.
The investment package includes funding of £1million which is part of the recently announced £30 million health and social care Transformation Fund, set up to support projects and initiatives which are focused on innovation, prevention and collaboration.
Health Minister Simon Hamilton said at the time, “When I launched my Department’s £30 million Transformation Fund last week, I made very clear my belief that if we are to meet the challenges of an ageing population, a growth in long term conditions and unhealthy lifestyles, we must increase the pace at which we are transforming our health service.
“This includes embracing the opportunities created by new technologies and treatments and working across interfaces so that
together we focus on how we can support all our citizens to have better health outcomes now and into the future. The investment I am making in diabetes services today will be a key element of this.
“This £1.7million investment package in will actively support a more innovative approach to how diabetes services are designed and delivered in the future.”
The investment will focus on a number of high priority areas that will transform the way in which diabetes services are delivered through encouraging innovation and collaboration.
This includes: • Implementing a diabetes foot care pathway to help reduce the risk of lower limb complications and potential amputations;
• Enhancing access to Structured Diabetes Education for people who are newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes;
The Minister added, “Diabetes is one of the biggest challenges facing our health and social care system today and it demands a bold and imaginative response. I am pleased to launch for consultation this Diabetes Strategic Framework, which I believe will help us make that response, and in doing so transform not only the way in which we provide diabetes services, but more importantly the lives of those living with the condition.”
In developing the Diabetes Strategic Framework, the Department has worked closely with a range of key partners including Diabetes UK. Diabetes UK Director for Northern Ireland, David Chaney, welcomed the launch of the Framework.
He said, “This is an important development in addressing the challenges faced by our population and people in Northern Ireland living with diabetes. Diabetes UK are encouraged by many of the positive recommendations which seek to transform and improve diabetes services and care. I would encourage the diabetes community to respond to this new initiative and have their voices heard during the consultation period.”
New concept in pharmacology
Computer simulations conducted in the School of Pharmacy at Queen’s University have contributed to the development of a new concept in pharmacology: Sequential Receptor Activation. The concept is a result of an international and interdisciplinary collaborative work and is published in Cell Chemical Biology.
Co-author Dr. Tikhonova says, “Current mechanisms of activation of the G protein-coupled receptors
(GPCRs) include orthosteric, allosteric, or dualsteric/bitopic binding.
“Sequential receptor activation is a new mechanism in which a ligand binds in a stepwise mode with transient activation of a first receptor site followed by sustained activation of a second topographically distinct site.
“This new type of binding has been discovered with innovative label-free biosensor platforms and explored in functional assays by our collaborators.
“Our computational simulations allow to see this new concept at a microscopic level by showing the precise scenario of dynamic binding of a single molecule ligand and highlighting key interactions with the receptor.
“It is hoped that the new pharmacological concept and its structural understanding could help develop a fundamentally new class of drugs acting on GPCRs.”
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