Over the coming weeks and months, every pharmacist will have an important contribution to make and possibly become engaged in activities that they have not previously experienced.
We will continue to champion the interests and needs of pharmacists in this evolving situation.
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In recognition that colleagues involved in the delivery of frontline NHS services, both clinical and non-clinical, are facing unprecedented challenges through Covid-19, NHS England and Improvement (NHS E & I) is offering those who work in primary care, including community pharmacy, individual coaching support.
The PDA were concerned that some locum pharmacists could have been missed from the population of frontline health professionals to be allocated a Covid-19 vaccination, and therefore agreed with NHS England that we would develop a web portal to capture the details of locums that needed vaccinations.
Later in the same week that the PDA launched our #getvaccinated campaign for pharmacists, the British Asian Trust hosted a seminar to discuss the Covid-19 vaccination programme and facts for the BAME community, attended by a PDA representative.
The PDA has today launched a new campaign that is calling on all pharmacists to have the COVID-19 vaccine and to help encourage their patients, family and friends, especially those in the BAME community, to do the same.
The PDA welcomes news of government funding being introduced across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to help students who have been impacted financially by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, highlights the need for further funding to support access to mental health and well-being services for all young people.
The PDA launches "A thousand Little Ships", a proposal to maximise the NHS vaccination capacity when demand dramatically increases once the second doses begin.
PDA will ensure that self -employed locums can enjoy the same access to Covid-19 vaccination priority as do their employed colleagues.
The PDA Union, which represents pharmacists across the UK, has welcomed the announcement from Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann that he intends to provide a one-off £500 special recognition payment to health and social care workers due to their work during the coronavirus pandemic.
The PDA is to urge the NHS to develop its strategy for the delivery of the second vaccination in good time and to give the role of the second vaccination of the Astra Zeneca vaccine to the national community pharmacy network as part of a collaborative and integrated NHS process.
The PDA reiterates the strict legal duty of employers to maintain safe and healthy workplaces and to report likely Covid-19 exposure at work resulting in an infection to the Health and Safety Executive.