Pharmacist jobs are likely to be created across the country after MedicX Pharmacy announced plans to open new practices.

The Preston-based pharmacy company hopes to open seven new practices this year, bringing it to a total of 17 around the UK. Some 140 staff are already employed in pharmacy jobs by the company and more could be taken on at new facilities in Surrey, London, Wiltshire, Lancashire, Merseyside, Rochdale and Hertfordshire.

MedicX Pharmacy practices offer advisory, screening, testing and dispensing services and tend to be situated in newly built GP health centres. The company has an annual turnover of £10 million, but it believes this will rise as it expands and offers more specialist dispensing services.

It also plans to offer more treatment room facilities for services such as chiropody and physiotherapy under its HealthSpace brand.

The company`s operations director Gavin Birchall said: "Our long-term strategy is to create more than 30 MedicX Pharmacies and we`re delighted to announce that we now have a total of 10 practices and look forward to continuing our strong programme of expansion during 2012 and beyond.``

Copyright Press Association 2012

The amount of errors made in prescribing drugs could be reduced by inviting pharmacists into GP practices to conduct regular medicine reviews, according to research.

The IT-based intervention scheme was found to be cheap and easy to put in place and cost just £75 for each error avoided after six months, the report published online by The Lancet said.

People in pharmacist jobs were invited to analyse prescribing errors at GP practices in the pharmacist-led, information technology-based intervention (Pincer). They then agreed action plans and provided simple feedback on patient records.

Professor Tony Avery from the Division of Primary Care at the University of Nottingham`s Medical School led the study. The trial involved 72 general practices in the UK with a combined patient list of 480,942.

The study`s authors said: "Pincer offers an effective method for reducing a range of medication errors in general practice. An essential prerequisite is the use of electronic health records, which effectively reduces errors.

"The intervention that we have developed will be suitable for implementation in the increasing number of countries where clinical records are now computerised and where the roles of pharmacists to monitor proactively for clinically important medication errors can be extended"

Copyright Press Association 2012

A consultation on changes to how pharmacies in Britain are regulated has been launched by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).

Opinions on new standards that all registered pharmacies in the country will have to meet, are being sought from professionals in pharmacist jobs , as well as members of the public.

The GPhC`s consultation on Modernising Pharmacy Regulation also lists its plans for how to ensure pharmacies are delivering the outcomes demanded by the new standards. It also sets out the action that will be taken if these standards are not met.

GPhC chair Bob Nicholls, launching the consultation, said: "Protecting patients is at the heart of this new, modern approach to pharmacy regulation. We have set out clear outcomes that we expect to see in pharmacies to ensure safe and effective practice. Pharmacy owners and superintendents bear the responsibility for achieving those outcomes in their pharmacy for their patients.

"We believe that this will be far more effective than imposing a detailed step by step rule book. It means that the new standards will work well for all types of pharmacy now and in the future."

Once the new standards have been approved, a fresh approach for inspecting pharmacies and enforcing the standards will be set up.

Copyright Press Association 2012

Out of all the UK regions, the highest number of prescription items per head of the population has been recorded in Wales.

The latest figures show that the number of prescription items dispensed by people in pharmacy jobs rose markedly in the last financial year, with a 3.3% increase recorded.

While GPs in Wales issued 67.9 million prescriptions during the 2009/10 period, the latest full tax year saw 70.1 million given out.

For the past four years, people living in Wales have been able to gain free access to prescription medicines, as long as they are registered with a GP in the country.

Despite these prescription figures from the Welsh Assembly Government, separate Rarer Cancers Foundation research indicates that new cancer drugs are five times less likely to be accessed by people in Wales, compared to those living across the border in England.

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