As the government mulls education reform, C+D Senators revisited their experiences of pharmacy education to decide the best way forward

From the future of NMS to self-selection P meds, C+D reporter James Waldron quizzes Senator and Celesio external relations and policy director Andy Murdock on the issues that matter to you

From the latest funding arrangements to poor service delivery, C+D Senators debated all the issues set to impact on pharmacy business and its future viability

Senate Against a backdrop of a double whammy of funding cuts, C+D Senators were divided on the best route to financial salvation for the sector

After another financially difficult year for community pharmacy, Emma Weinbren asks if more pharmacies – multiples and independents alike – should follow Boots in focusing on retail over dispensing and services

People From employee rights to the government’s austerity agenda, James Bloodworth puts readers’ questions to Pharmacists’ Defence Association director and C+D Senator John Murphy

The control of entry exemption will soon be no more, consigned to the Department of Health’s pile of least successful pharmacy experiments, writes Gary Paragpuri

As pharmacy battles against allegations of failure to provide quality, Emma Weinbren and James Bloodworth were on hand as Senators clashed over their verdicts on the sector – and how to improve standards overall

C+D Senate Friday's C+D Senate will look at the issue of delivering quality services to a high standard, writes Zoe Smeaton . Join us live as we debate the issues of workload, funding and more

C+D news editor Zoe Smeaton put C+D readers’ questions to C+D Senator and PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe. Here’s how the interview unfolded in full

From contractor confidence to commissioning relationships, Zoe Smeaton puts readers’ questions to C+D Senator and PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe

From mumbo jumbo retail offerings to widespread confusion over roles, some tensions between GPs and pharmacists never seem to die down. Emma Weinbren looks at how C+D Senators proposed breaking down the barriers that are preventing the two professions from building fruitful partnerships

Patients should be at the core of what GPs and pharmacists do, but is this the case in practice? Emma Weinbren reports from the latest C+D Senate debate

The doctors in power aren’t exactly sending us warm and fuzzy messages, writes news editor Zoe Smeaton ahead of the C+D Senate on March 30

As C+D approaches its first GP-led Senate, Emma Weinbren asks for your top doctor-related gripes

With England's pharmacy contract unravelling, has the sector blown its chances of a prosperous future, or is there a last hurrah, asks North-East London LPC secretary Hemant Patel   I...

What you said: Pharmacists expressed concerns over the timescale of the service in C+D's pre-Senate survey. While a quarter of pharmacists said they were almost ready to implement the NMS, 60 per...

What you said: Pharmacists were divided on the issue of training, the pre-Senate survey revealed, reporting varying degrees of confidence. A quarter felt they could already offer the advice,...

What you said: The Senate survey revealed widespread concerns over implementing the service. Pharmacists cited a lack of time, lack of patient awareness and pressure to hit targets as key...



What you said : Unsurprisingly, pharmacists said they would ideally like to be paid more than the agreed £25 for the service (subject to pharmacy-based targets, see below). Almost a third would...

C+D Senators answer your questions about training and education

From embracing NMS to collaborating on local service commissioning, James Waldron puts readers' questions to C+D Senator and Lloydspharmacy chief Andy Murdock

From employee rights to the over supply of pharmacists, we put your questions to the Pharmacists' Defence Association director John Murphy

C+D senate We put your questions to the experts. This week, the topic was business in a tough economic climate.

C+D senate We put your questions to the experts. This week, the topic was pharmacy and the public health agenda

News blog Over the past few months, writes Emma Weinbren there's been a great deal of talk about pharmacy's role in public health. As the NHS reforms take shape, the overriding message seems to be that pharmacists should do more to promote wellbeing in their communities.

As the pharmacy bodies court councillors with speed dating, C+D Senators answer your questions about working with local authorities under the NHS reforms

As the PDA urges pharmacists to respond1 to an RPS review of the Responsible Pharmacist, C+D Senators answer readers’ queries on the contentious regulations

The NHS reforms are no stranger to controversy, and recent changes from the NHS Future Forum have made government plans a hot talking point again. Emma Weinbren puts reader questions to the C+D Senators to dig behind the political jargon and explain what the changes mean for pharmacy

People Proposals to teach prescribing in the pharmacy degree have been abandoned because of concerns over funding and experience, C+D Senators including the GPhC's Damian Day (pictured) have revealed.

Senate Fear of failing the registration exam is hampering pharmacy students’ ability to learn professional and practical skills during the pre-reg year, C+D Senators have warned.

Nearly three quarters of pharmacists think they should achieve further qualifications to help them in their career.   However, time-pressed pharmacists said they simply could not fit...

Practice The pharmacy degree should have more emphasis on clinical skills, leadership and business, say respondents to C+D's education survey conducted ahead of the C+D Senate on education on Thursday

Business Pharmacists have hit back at C+D Senator Andy Murdock's warning that pharmacy must embrace NMS "far more", citing a myriad of reasons why they have not delivered more interventions.

Practice Community pharmacy must make more of an effort to embrace the NMS or risk "kissing it goodbye" when the service's evaluation is published next summer, Lloydspharmacy's Andy Murdock warned at the C+D Business Senate.

Business There is no excuse for 'scruffy' premises or pharmacists, LPC secretary Andrew McCoig told the C+D Business Senate on September 21, warning that customers were expecting increasingly high standards of service.

Practice Pharmacists would “have a proper business” once they started conducting MURs, LPC secretary Andrew McCoig told the C+D Senate last week, claiming that the "silver lining" of the PSNC interim funding deal was that it would force pharmacists into offering the service.

Senate Supplying medicines is “pointless” if they are not taken properly, LPC secretary Andrew McCoig (pictured) told the C+D Senate last Friday, and he was echoed by PSNC chief Sue Sharpe who said optimisation was the future for pharmacy.

Practice C+D Senators including SG Court Group general manager Kevin Cottrell (pictured) warned contractors, at the Business Senate last Friday, that government funding for dispensing could dry up and a move to services is vital.