NHS England is to fund a life-changing treatment for people with rare conditions causing repeated bouts of fever, joint pains and swelling, in an effort to help a small group of people who ‘suffer in silence’. Periodic fever syndromes (PFS) are a group of rare genetic conditions where the person’s immune system overreacts, resulting in […]

Thousands of people, including children with severe epilepsy will have access to a potentially life changing, seizure preventing cannabis-based treatment on the NHS from the New Year. Doctors will be able to prescribe Epidyolex with clobazam for eligible children with two types of severe epilepsy which can cause multiple seizures a day – Lennox Gastaut […]

More lifesaving vaccines should be provided in convenient locations for parents to drive uptake, a new NHS review says today. The findings are being published amid a reduction in children getting vaccinated, with analysis showing that one in seven children aged five had not had both doses of essential measles jabs. Health leaders will also […]

NHS England has today announced it has secured a definitive agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals to make available all three of their UK-licensed cystic fibrosis medicines. This means NHS patients will now have full access to Orkambi, Symkevi and Kalydeco, and around 5000 people may now take up these treatments. There is no cap on patient numbers, and each and every patient in England who […]

World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) aims to increase awareness of antibiotic resistance as a global problem, and to promote best practices among the general public, health workers and policy-makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. As part of preparations for the 2019 Awareness Week this November, a group of senior leaders […]

A pharmacist who came to the aid of hundreds of people during the Whaley Bridge crisis, in which a dam threatened to burst and wash away the village under tons of flood water, is being recognised for his heroism. Deputy Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, Dr Bruce Warner, visited Raj Modi to praise him for his remarkable […]

Midwives, nurses and doctors in maternity and birthing units are ‘always standing ready’, as the country sees the annual peak in births today. Thanks to a spike in conceptions over the Christmas holidays, around 2,000 babies are born on 26 September in England and Wales – more than any other day of the year – […]

Children in England with a rare condition which leads to early death are set to receive treatment on the NHS, after the health service struck a deal with manufacturers. Young people with Batten Disease – an incurable illness which affects the nervous system, causing seizures, visual impairment, mobility loss and early death – will now […]

High dose statins could be made available directly from high street pharmacies as part of the NHS Long Term Plan to cut heart disease and stroke, NHS chief executive Simon Stevens has announced. In a new review confirmed today, England’s top pharmacist Dr Keith Ridge and newly-appointed director of primary care, Dr. Nikki Kanani, will […]

A revolutionary new gene therapy which restores sight will be provided by the NHS, chief executive Simon Stevens has announced today. Babies born with inherited retinal dystrophies disorder have poor sight which swiftly deteriorates, with most losing their vision completely in childhood. Until now no treatment has been available. The life-changing treatment for children and […]