The Pharmacist’s initiative in asking community pharmacists about the clinical services they are running has reached a key milestone.

The team has now interviewed over 100 ‘Clinical Ambassadors’ – pharmacists and pharmacy teams who are championing clinical services by offering patients easier access to care such as ‘Fit to Fly’ Covid-19 testing, Covid vaccinations, weight loss programmes, sexual health advice, and chronic pain management.

We ask them about their experience of setting up new initiatives and what they’ve learned to pass on to others.

An exclusive Pulse story on how over 400,000 patients may have been given an inflated risk score under the new QCovid algorithm has been picked up by the Daily Mail and Telegraph.

Pulse learnt that where certain information is missing from a record held by NHS Digital or is recorded as unknown, default values are used by the algorithm – taking a ‘precautionary approach’ with regards to their Covid risk.

NHS Digital explained that this means that patients for whom no weight has been recorded are analysed as if they are obese (BMI 31), as this patient group are the most vulnerable to severe Covid illness. 

The story was picked up by the Daily Mail and Telegraph.

Is the end in sight? This month, Pulse looks at how we are going to exit this pandemic. In our cover feature, we speak to a number of eminent experts, to understand what could happen with the vaccination programme.

Pulse looks at most likely, best, worst and the Armageddon scenarios, and come to the conclusion that it is too early as yet to share the Prime Minister’s confidence that this will be over by June.

Elsewhere, we examine the issues with the low uptake of the Covid vaccines among black, Asian and minority ethnic patients, as well as the change to the structure of the NHS, and the new GP contract. Our CPD this month looks into how to identify and support victims of domestic abuse.

In the clinical section, we have the second part of our feature on HIV, as well as guides on using pulse oximetry and steroids cards.

Pulse won another prestigious award at the annual British Society of Magazine Editors event yesterday evening.

Pulse editor Jaimie Kaffash was given the editor of the year (trade and professional) award at the virtual ceremony yesterday.

The judges praised Pulse’s response the Covid pandemic, with a lot of new resources and news exclusives with a smaller team than before.

They said: ‘In a hellish year for the profession he serves, the winning editor gave his readers great support.’

Mr Kaffash said: ‘I see our role as serving and supporting our readership, who have been doing the real hard work. If we have helped them in any little, then that counts as success for me.

‘This was also an award for the team, who have performed beyond belief. To have produced the news and content they have, while working from home, and with a reduced team has shown something special.’

Pulse has had a number of awards in recent years, with the news team winning team of the year in four of the past five years at the BSME Talent awards, scoop of the year at the same awards in 2020, and Pulse winning editor of the year at the Medical Journalists Association awards in 2020.

Challenges with management of controlled drugs in a hospital pharmacy include time-intensive, mandatory record keeping processes and physical reconciliation of stock, often further compounded by inadequate storage facilities and capacity.

In this issue of Hospital Pharmacy Europe, a team at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust share how the implementation of an automated dispensing cabinet enhanced the efficiency of controlled drug workflow and dispensing between wards and pharmacy and how a training programme will be developed for junior staff who would not have previously undertaken controlled drug duties to build contingency and stability into the pharmacy workforce. 

A plan to eradicate SARS-CoV-2 in Belgium in six weeks using ivermectin was recently put forward by a Belgian virologist. As the number people testing positive grows and hospitals struggle to cope, an opinion piece in this issue discusses the approach and how it deserves serious consideration in other countries too. 

Heart transplantation is undoubtedly one of the most significant and life-changing medical interventions, covering a vast canvas of emotions in addition to its physical implications. Post-operative survival is at an all-time high but, despite this, optimal patient outcomes are not always achieved as the management of the recipients does not necessarily align with their needs. In this issue, Professor Anna Forsberg explores the patient experiences in the three years following heart transplant, based on two studies, and demonstrates how a change of management strategy towards aiding the patient in mastering uncertainty could pave the way to improving patient outcomes in the future. 

Pulse today launches its Covid-19 Primary Care Resources site, designed to free up GPs’ time during consultations.

With the vast numbers of guidance and documents designed to support GPs during the pandemic, many GPs have found it difficult to keep on top of the latest advice, especially during consultations. This new site sums up all the guidance, with links to the original source, and is designed to ensure GPs can access the advice they need during the consultation itself.

The site was designed by Dr Poppy Freeman, a practising GP in Camden, London, at the start of the pandemic and she is now working with Pulse to ensure GPs get the most up-to-date advice in an easy-to-use format. It has around 150 summaries and will be updated constantly, driven by GPs, who will be able to submit requests for further information.

We also have a group of specialists on hand who will be able to answer queries submitted by GPs.

In Pulse’s February issue our cover feature looks at the bashing GPs have taken in the national press over the past year.

Our investigation found anti-GP articles were rife – with many claiming practices had been shut during the pandemic. We reveal the impact on staff and damage to the doctor-patient relationship.

We also track the latest stage of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, scrutinising the obstacles GPs will face as they endeavour to meet the Government’s rolling vaccination targets.

Meanwhile, we take a closer look at the Government-commissioned review of the gender pay gap in medicine and what is causing it among GPs.

We include answers to key questions on HIV in an article looking at how to manage patients with the virus in primary care – and in the first of a new series on remote consultations, a GP explains how to deal with HRT prescribing.

This issue also features winners of the 2020 General Practice Awards, showcasing the incredible talent among the profession in a challenging year.

The latest issue of Nursing in Practice focuses on the work practice and community nurses are doing in the pandemic – and how they feel their efforts are being forgotten.

Practice and community nurses told Nursing in Practice they feel overshadowed by GPs and ICU nurses in the eyes of the Government, employers and the media.

We look at the important work practice nurses are doing organising and administer Covid jabs, and the extra case loads community nurses have taken on with early discharges from hospital.

‘Practice nurses are in a room on their own doing their job day in day out without hearing much from the rest of the healthcare service or having much visibility. There’s no thanks, there’s no recognition,’ Robana Hussain-Mills, a practice nurse and deputy clinical director at Nottingham City East primary care network (PCN), explained to Nursing in Practice. 

Ben Bowers, a Queen’s Nurse and PhD student at the University of Cambridge researching palliative and end-of-life care, said community services were ‘going out of their way’ to provide additional care at the moment. However, they are seen as a ‘Cinderella service, with brilliantly skilled nurses who are not really recognised’.

Nurses said that they mainly wanted recognition to give them a voice in decision-making, such as in the unprecedented Covid vaccine programme, because they felt they have skills and expert knowledge it would be helpful to share. Nurses are usually the ones in general practice who do the bulk of organising and administering vaccines.

Dame Donna Kinnair, chief executive and general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, wrote an opinion piece to accompany the piece on the website, saying general practice nurses were the ‘bedrock of the health and care system’.  

This year, perhaps more than any other, it is important to celebrate successes and wins, no matter how big or small. Healthcare professionals have given us ever more reasons to clap our hands, remaining steadfast and diligent during this period, operating business as usual and then some in the face of a global pandemic.

We have watched in awe as individuals have stepped forward and shown excellence beyond the call of duty over the last year. With this said, we thought it important to play our part in acknowledging those who have gone above and beyond.

After much deliberation, it is with great pride that we announce the winners of the General Practice Awards for 2020.

“Healthcare professionals continue to astound us with their commitment, innovation and drive. After an extraordinary year, the General Practice Awards wanted to recognise those going above and beyond, even before the challenges of 2020. The entries, as ever, were exceptional and we would have loved to acknowledge everyone but are delighted to crown our winners who represent the achievement of primary care.” – Rebecca Jolliffe, Events Director

We had many worthy Awards submissions, numbering in the hundreds. Our expert Judging panel commented on an extremely high calibre of entries this year, stating that it was a true challenge to create a shortlist and even more so deciding on a winner for each of our 11 categories.

Thank you to all those who entered, those shortlisted, and of course the WINNERS.

Stay tuned, we will be presenting our winners, some snippets of their noteworthy achievements, and hearing their personal commentary on this achievement. Keep an eye on our magazines, website, and social media to see the full write up, coming soon!

2020 has been a year of trials, tribulations, and challenges. As a nation we rely wholly on our healthcare workers and this year has proven that more than ever.

We have been endlessly impressed by such a tremendous and miraculous effort from primary and secondary care professionals to navigate us through the pandemic, which is why this year we elated to announce our finalists for the General Practice Awards 2020, the perfect time to celebrate our healthcare heroes.

Though our face-to-face events have been officially cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, we still thought it imperative to give our 2020 shortlist the acclaim that they deserve. Each of our 11 categories represents a core and important area of General Practice and our Judging panel had the painstaking task of whittling down hundreds of submissions from some of the highest calibre of entries to date.

“This year we found the entries to be exceptional, with so many going above and beyond to operate business as usual in a most trying time. The resilience and adaptability have been demonstrated again and again and it was very challenging for us to come to our final decisions” – 2020 Judging Panel

Without further delay, here they are – The General Practice Awards Finalists 2020.

Please stay tuned as we announce the winners in January 2021.

In 2020, a year like no other, Hospital Healthcare Europe evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on hospital provision from a divisional perspective.

Experts in the fields of allergy, cardiology, emergency and critical care, radiology and imaging, and rheumatology shared their experiences to address key questions including how continuum of care and throughput had been affected by the pandemic, what new guidelines and protocols had been adopted to protect patients and clinicians, and how new and existing technologies had been employed or adopted during this time. 

Representatives of HOPE (the European Hospitals and Healthcare Federation) from the EU Member States and the UK also summarised the most important impact of the crisis on secondary, primary and social care in their territories and the possible changes to their healthcare systems that would be adopted post-pandemic. 

Read the 2020 issue of Hospital Healthcare Europe here.

2020 was a steep learning curve for all sectors and the events industry has adapted at unprecedented speed.

Moving into 2021 with glimmers of hope for a return to ‘normality’ expected as early as Easter, the vaccine rollout underway and some venues and sporting fixtures already hosting socially distanced audiences in Tiers 1 and 2, Cogora has confirmed its current schedule of events for the coming year.

Acknowledging that an exact timeline to get back to ‘business as usual’ is impossible to predict and primary care healthcare professionals are still under immense pressure caring for patients as well as delivering the community vaccine rollout, all Cogora media events in the first half of 2021 will remain in a virtual format with a Nursing in Practice and a Pulse LIVE virtual festival taking place in spring. Building on the experiences of 2020, we are developing our offering focussing on user experience, interactivity and exhibitor engagement. These events will again focus on specific clinical and professional areas, and be available both live and on-demand in order to fit around the schedule of our delegates.

Moving into Autumn, we are confident in being able to return to face-to-face events and have scheduled six conference-exhibitions to take place in September-November. Three Management in Practice events are set to take place in London, Birmingham and, likely, Newcastle. For the first time, audiences from our clinical brands, Pulse LIVE and Nursing in Practice, will be brought together for three collocated events in London, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Exhibition and sponsored speaking opportunities are limited. Should you be interested, please contact [email protected] (Nursing in Practice/Pulse) or [email protected] (Management in Practice).

We very much hope to be able to host the General Practice Awards next year, celebrating the dedication and innovation shown across primary care. Should you be interested in sponsoring the Awards and showcasing your appreciation, please contact [email protected]

The global Covid-19 pandemic had a major effect on healthcare professionals’ media and educational consumption, including across our primary care media brands.

In 2020, Nursing in Practice, with a new and improved website, highlighted major issues such as racism in healthcare and the toll the pandemic was having on nurses’ mental health. Nurses played an important role in the response to Covid-19, though, as we uncovered, the sector did not always feel fully recognised for their work.

Our Nursing Stars campaign attempts to put that right, highlighting the outstanding contribution of primary care nurses during the year.

With pharmacy doors fully open to patients during the pandemic, The Pharmacist has been busy championing the vital work of independent community pharmacy teams across the UK; examining the challenges and changes. In its first year, our Clinical Ambassadors project has gathered close to 100 case studies showcasing the growing range of clinical services being launched by pharmacies that open up new routes of patient care – giving others in the profession the information they need to do the same.

As established ways of working in primary care were quickly reinvented with the emergence of Covid-19, helping to inform leaders in healthcare though rapid change has been the focus of Healthcare Leader. News, blogs and interviews examined workforce capacity and capability, new uses for technology, and the collective work of health professionals during the pandemic in primary care networks (PCNs) and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs).

Practice managers have been pivotal inkeeping general practices working effectively during the challenges of 2020. Management in Practice has helped support them through an exceptionally busy year with news and information on staff wellbeing, the switch to remote consultations, new approaches to CQC inspection, and practice finances. Practice managers have told us about their learnings from a year of change from their perspective, including their thoughts on a need for stronger role for practice management in the UK.

Pulse Learning and Nursing in Practice Learning have delivered a mix of Covid-19 related CPD modules and other key topics, to support users ongoing learning.

In the November/ December edition of Nursing in Practice magazine we tackle the difficult subject of race.  

Nursing in Practice reports that for many years, black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) nurses have suffered abuse or prejudice at work for years but have felt unable to speak up about.  

A Nursing in Practice survey of 40 primary care and community nurses found 28% had seen racist behaviour, prejudice or discrimination in their workplace in the last year. 

Two of the BAME respondents in the survey believed that the racism experienced by healthcare workers had worsened since the start of the pandemic.  

But our feature shows that nurses have started to speak up about how limits have been put on their careers over the years because of their race. They also describe the shocking words people have spoken to them over the years because of the colour of their skin. 

This year Covid-19 and the Black Live Matter movement have given BAME nurses the courage to speak up. BAME nurses have also been given a safe space to communicate through with the launch of the GPN BME network this year.  

Many BAME communities have suffered disproportionately during the pandemic, and this has pushed BAME nurses to say enough is enough. They are calling for a change in language and better education of colleagues to improve their working conditions.   

The conversation has started and, Nursing in Practice argues, that now needs to turn into action. Employers need to start looking at ways they can restructure the way they work so that their BAME staff are properly supported.  

The Pulse December cover feature is a special on the Covid vaccination programme, following Pulse’s revelation that vaccinations are to start pre-Christmas.

We look at what GPs are being asked to do, whether it can be done, the effect on workload, whether practices will be making a loss on this and we answer frequently asked questions.

Elsewhere, we introduce our Covid-19 clinical toolkit, which is set to go live soon, which gives GPs a single page to find summaries of all the guidelines on how you should be treating patients with a range of presentations during the pandemic.

We answer key questions on using NEWS2, including a handy table to calculate the score and answers on how to interpret the results.

And we take a reflective look at 2020, focusing on all the positive developments GPs have brought about in the most challenging of circumstances and our annual tongue-in-cheek awards for those who have made a tough year that little bit harder.  

A survey by The Pharmacist has revealed that independent community pharmacies, many of whom are struggling financially, have lost thousands in monthly income after having no choice but to pause private clinical services during the first wave of Covid-19.

A quarter (24%) of pharmacists reported they had missed out on over £2,000 a month between March and June, while a further 26% said they had lost between £1,000 and £2,000, and the remainder estimated losses of up to £1,000.

One pharmacist commented: ‘We ceased private professional services entirely from 20 March to 1 June, and I estimate a reduction in turnover of around £25,000 from these services alone.’

Read the full story here on The Pharmacist.

We’re thrilled to announce that Pulse has been nominated for four awards at the Professional Publishers Association independent publisher awards.

Pulse were nominated for business magazine of the year, editor of the year, team of the year (for our news and investigations team), and Covid response.

The awards take place on 18 November.

More than a quarter of nurses have witnessed racist behaviour at work, a Nursing in Practice survey has revealed, with BAME workers reporting a worsening situation because of Covid-19.

The survey of 40 primary care and community nurses, and midwives, found 28% had seen racist behaviour, prejudice or discrimination in their workplace against other people in the last year. A quarter believed racism was an issue at work.  

Among the nine black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) respondents, to the survey – run during September and October this year – a third had personally experienced racist behaviour, prejudice or discrimination in their workplace in the last year. Half believed racism was an issue at work.  

Pulse broke a world exclusive yesterday that a new DES is set to be announced imminently for practices and PCNs to start administering a Covid vaccine from the beginning of December.

The story has already had significant interest across the national press, with mentions on the front pages of the Mirror, Express, Metro and i, as well as in The Sun, Sky News and Daily Mail.

Numerous sources have confirmed to Pulse that practices and PCNs will be asked to prepare to give the vaccine to over 85s and front line workers from the start of December.

There are currently two vaccines that are being prepared, with one requiring two shots and needing to be kept at minus 70 degrees.

Alongside GPs and PCNs, there will be teams delivering it to care homes, and at-scale delivery centres.

Pulse understands there will be sufficient resources allocated to practices.

A number of sources have confirmed to Pulse that an announcement around the DES is imminent, potentially by next week.

Pulse’s November issue looks at the harms of over-prioritising Covid.  GPs are starting to see the effects on non-Covid patients, including increased waits, fewer cancers being diagnosed and an increase in mental health problems.

Pulse also look at the success of NHS England’s GP recruitment attempts during the pandemic, after it made a public call for GPs to return to permanent roles at the same time as the locum market was decimated.

In the clinical section, there are timely key questions on the flu programme, including which vaccines should be used for which cohorts, and we have a piece explaining whether GPs should send patients with respiratory tract infections to have a Covid swab.

Finally, our Working Life feature is on a GP who works ringside for boxing events.

Covid-19 is again the focus for the latest issue of Nursing in Practice, with the front cover examining how the pandemic has affected the mental health of nurses.

Practice and community nurses, and midwives, have been under constant strain since March, often having to deal with increased workloads while getting used to the new normal, such as doing appointments virtually.

As coronavirus cases rise and seasonal illnesses start to emerge, and the Government has launched an expanded flu programme this year, nurses are facing a difficult winter period. There are concerns many nurses could suffer greater burnout and anxiety than usual, and that the suicide rate among them, already relatively high, will go up.

Many nurses were redeployed away from their usual roles during the height of the pandemic, which caused them uncertainty but also contributed to a backlog of services. We explore in this issue how big a task catching up with those services will be.

In this autumn edition of Nursing in Practice, we also look at the particularly damaging effect Covid-19 has had on care homes and what already-existing issues within that sector the virus has exposed. Surveys over the summer revealed, including one of our own, that care homes in the first few months of the pandemic were often pushed into accepting patients from hospitals they knew had tested positive for coronavirus.

In the October issue of Pulse we assess how primary care networks are faring 18 months after they were set up.

It comes at a crucial juncture for PCNs as this month they will begin to deliver three new services in full – covering enhanced health in care homes, structured medication reviews and early cancer diagnosis.

We look at how far networks have been able to recruit additional clinical roles, how much of that recruitment funding – which should be passed on to PCNs for other work if it is not all spent on hiring staff – is still available and how clinical directors feel about the future of networks.

Practice closures continued in 2019 and our analysis of exclusive figures reveals the reasons why surgeries are still shutting, though not in such great numbers as in previous years.

Finally, the October issue also scrutinises the payments general practice received last year and show how the average practice actually earned less per patient in 2019/20 than it did in 2018/19.

Cogora Events is excited to announce the launch of our inaugural Virtual Festivals series.

Having launched 15^th September and concluding 14^th December 2020 our first Nursing in Practice Virtual Festival has seen over 4,000 nursing professionals register to benefit from three-months of expert-led content, delivered in a series of live and on demand webinars & videos, by specialist speakers within primary care.

Pulse LIVE and Management in Practice Virtual Festivals have also seen a surge of interest capturing 5,000 registrations and counting, with Pulse launching 23rd September and Management in Practice following on 19^th October – all three events have been highly anticipated.

In addition to providing expert knowledge, the Virtual Festivals offer a wealth of other opportunities including a virtual exhibition of cutting-edge products and solutions, downloadable case studies and learning material, and on-demand access for up to three months. Free registration is open for all events now.