Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Faculty - what is it and how can it benefit you?

© Royal Pharmaceutical Society (used with their permission)

In the coming months, a brand new development will commence and be up and running - Faculty from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.

And what is it? It is a new programme which recognises the development and progression of pharmacists. It aims to be a simple yet effective professional programme which helps pharmacists identify what they require in terms of knowledge, expertise and experience at different levels of practice.

Faculty will be aimed at those who have completed their first years of practice as a pharmacist and as the Faculty develops, facilities will also be made available to newly qualified pharmacists as well. The Faculty will enable a pharmacist to demonstrate to patients, the public and employers, their capability of delivering services at a recognised level. A pharmacist will also be able to network with other fellow Faculty members to share their knowledge and experience as well.

Next Monday, 22nd April, at the Novotel, Edinburgh Park in the west of the Scottish capital, a major launch event is due to take place in order to enlighten pharmacists across the East of Scotland Local Practice Forum area about Faculty and it is set to be a very well attended event. It will begin at 6:30pm for 7pm with a buffet included and a set of speakers from across the profession and beyond. It is an open event so anybody can come.

If you are a pharmacist or involved in pharmacy, why don't you come and join too? It's sure to be an event not to be missed.

Scottish football's future is damaged

Whilst the game south of the border continues to attract more and more fans all over the world, football north of the border is continuing to throw itself into more and more chaos, particularly in the eyes of the public.

Stewart Milne, Aberdeen FC chairman, is absolutely correct to strongly advise the media to strongly investigate into why St Mirren voted in the way they did. And the media should also strongly probe Ross County into why they decided to stop those badly needed reforms from going through.

Everyone knows that the national game across Scotland needs to be reformed now. The game has become monotonous for far too long. It is in the Scottish national interest to ensure that our national game is in a healthy state and not in a position where fans snub their local clubs in favour of bigger teams.

The only objection I had was the number of teams in the top league. Frankly, there should have been far more. I'm talking about 20 teams - much like the English Premier League. It would be better to see each team play each other only twice, instead of four times. But compromise matters and if I had a vote then I wouldn't reject the overall proposals because of that one area.

If the Scottish game does not get reformed in the next twelve months then it is with deep sadness, but it would become inevitable that Scottish football will be permanently damaged and will hurt the reputation of the Scottish nation.

Thank goodness for such an action packed weekend in the Scottish Cup. At least there is some hope.

Are prescription charges in England fair?

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Should English MP's be only allowed to vote on English
matters?

Patients on the NHS in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have to pay for their medicines. However, NHS patients in England will still have to pay for their medicines, unless they are officially exempt. And with prescription charges per item rising to £7.85 this month, many people south of the border are still questioning why the levy still exists and whether it should go.

Earlier today, I tried to obtain statistics online to find out how many patients in England are exempt from the levy for prescriptions. But sadly the publications hosted by the Health and Social Care Information Centre with those details were unavailable.

However, to illustrate the overall situation regarding prescriptions in England, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee have a graph titled "12 Month Rolling Items Dispensed" which shows that at around November 2011, the number of prescription items dispensed broke through the 900 million item mark. And that figure is slowly escalating to a billion. And in my experience working in England last year, the majority of patients do not pay for their prescriptions.

If this is generally the case across England, then I suppose one can be forgiven for questioning the justification for a prescription charge. With the prescription item fee rise this month, it is very clear that the coalition at Westminster has no intention to review the levy. But, politically, you cannot blame some people for raising another issue of whether English MP's should only be allowed to vote on issues affecting England.

And I don't blame them for that. I think it is a major pity and, frankly, astonishing that politicians at Westminster have never considered raising the idea of installing a mechanism to ensure that England has the ability to fully decide on what policies they want implemented, without MP's from other parts of the United Kingdom voting also on those issues despite the fact it will have absolutely no relevance to their constituents.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Neal Patel voiced his opposition to the 20p increase in prescription charges on behalf of the society. I can understand his comments and he is certainly not wrong to give the impression that the exemption system needs to be reviewed.

But in an age of austerity and cuts in public spending, rising costs for medicines and lower employment prospects for pharmacists, are free prescriptions across the whole of the UK really affordable?

Brian Taylor's Big Debate - on TV?

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It is one of the most relished fixtures in the BBC Radio Scotland weekly schedule and it's a programme that I have participated in, as a member of the audience, twice. And on one occasion, I even opened the programme with a question.

BBC Scotland HQ at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, on the left.
I visited the public area of it in January 2013. It's well worth
 having a look.

Brian Taylor's Big Debate, every Friday at 12pm, brings a panel of Scottish politicians, stakeholders and people from other walks of life together to discuss the big issues shaping the Scottish news agenda. The programme is held in various places across the nation including theatres, colleges and churches. Some may say it's the Scottish equivalent of BBC One's Question Time.

But I don't think so. Unlike Question Time, the programme has a distinct identity of it's own. And it's canny host, Brian Taylor, proves through presenting this programme why he is such a Scottish institution. 

In fact, I think the show is such an asset to the BBC north of the border that I often ask myself why BBC Scotland haven't experimented with the idea of transforming it into a weekly television programme instead. It would, without a doubt, be a popular fixture in the TV listings. When Brian fronted one of the Scottish independence TV debates on BBC Scotland, he clearly distinguished himself as a serious yet light hearted chairman. 

And what time should it be scheduled? Well BBC Northern Ireland produce a show called The Nolan Show which isn't the same format but does cover the main issues in Northern Ireland with a studio audience and studio guests. The show is normally broadcast after the BBC Ten O'Clock News in the middle of the week. They have shown that, with a popular host and a simple and effective format, broadcasting such a programme is achievable. 

Any initiative to increase and improve the quality of Scottish television output is welcome. And it is worth BBC Scotland exploring the idea of transforming Brian Taylor's hit radio programme into a potential TV institution. 

And to also give him another platform to cheer on his beloved Dundee United.

Margaret Thatcher, Scotland and the Scottish Conservatives

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Westminster

The news broke earlier today that the former British Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, had died. Provoking tributes, opinion and reflection, there is no doubt that Britain's Iron Lady has a place in history forever.

I was born in Scotland's capital city during her final years as Prime Minister. I'm far too young to properly appreciate and understand how life changed under her leadership, how people completely reacted to her policies and direction and how seismic the change in society was during the 1980's.

Whether it was the poll tax, the closure of much of the manufacturing industry or her general economic policy, there is no doubt that much of the political debate in Scotland is centred around what happened three decades ago. The current debate on the prospect of Scottish independence is mainly based on past events that happened around that time and many people still talk about her, despite the fact that she left office 23 years ago. And that is down to a number of factors.

Firstly, those that lived under her tenure at Number 10 still reflect on what was happening in the

Is this the legacy of Margaret Thatcher's time as Prime Minister?

country. Secondly, the current policies from the coalition, led by the Conservatives, drive individual and political commentators to compare now to what was happening approximately thirty years ago. And thirdly, compared to other past Prime Ministers, she was truly unique in her style of leadership.

The United Kingdom had never seen a leader of the kind that Margaret Thatcher was. And Scotland's future was to be majorly driven in a direction which was inevitably affected by the policies she pursued.   Almost a decade after resigning as Prime Minister, the Scottish Parliament was reborn for the first time in 292 years. During a BBC documentary called 'Thatcher and the Scots', it's presenter Allan Little commented that:

"She let the genie of Scottish national aspiration out of the 300 year old bottle of British soveringty."

And that is what we are seeing today. Alex Salmond has been our First Minister since 2007 and after his Scottish National Party secured an overall majority at Holyrood in 2011, it has provided them the mandate they have long been seeking to achieve. Next September, the nation will have the chance to decide whether Scotland should stay in the United Kingdom or become an independent country.

And whatever the outcome, it will be truly historic. If Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom, some may dare to say that Margaret Thatcher's political legacy in Scotland was not just the Scottish Parliament, but Scotland's independence. Others may disagree.

And as for the Scottish Conservative party, it's fair to say that they have never recovered from their downfall back at the UK General Election in 1997, despite increasing their share of the vote in 1992 under John Major. The party seem to have lost their ability to bounce back from their decline, despite increasing their share of the vote in Scotland at the 2010 UK General Election. They still only have just the one MP north of the border and failed to win more seats three years ago. This outcome can be interpreted as partly to blame for David Cameron falling short with the number of seats won at the election, failing to ensure that his party sealed an overall majority.

And as far as current polls show, David Cameron could well have to depart Downing Street in just over two years time as Labour are now 10 points ahead of the Conservatives. Thatcherism now shapes the political debate across the UK and what may happen in the next two years could well shape the destiny of these islands forever.

For now though, Baroness Thatcher's life and her time as Prime Minister will be spoken about for days, weeks, months and even years to come.

Reduce your blood pressure? Eat more bananas and fish.

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Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The British Medical Journal has published research which suggests that increasing the amount of dietary potassium and cutting down on salt intake will bring down blood pressure, according to an article published by the BBC News website.

Results from the research showed that a daily diet of 3-4g of potassium brought about a reduction in blood pressure. Foods such as chicken and fish are excellent sources of the mineral. Other foods that contain plenty of potassium also include bananas, kiwi fruit and potatoes.

But why is potassium so important for the body? As far as the heart is concerned, potassium's role is to protect the cardiovascular system by reducing the sensitivity of sodium. Salt mainly contains sodium and a reduced salt intake will cause the blood pressure not to go up drastically.

Increasing potassium intake to recommended levels joins other positive actions such as lowering caffeine intake, increased level of exercise and quitting smoking. Around a third of adults in Scotland were diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2008/2009, according to the Scottish Health Survey.

The MMR vaccine and the measles crisis in Wales

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Image courtesy of Keerati / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

It's the vaccine that has time and time again found itself in the centre of controversy. Ever since Andrew Wakefield led a study which linked autism to the MMR vaccine, parents have agonised over whether to permit children to have it. But despite many years of anxiety, uptake of the vaccine used to fight measles, mumps and rubella have recovered to an extent.

But what exactly is the MMR vaccine? The vaccine is composed of live measles, mumps and rubella viruses, but they aren't as potent as normal versions. When injected, it will provoke the body's immune system to produce antibodies. Their purpose is to fight infection by making bacteria and viruses much less harmful by recognising a special part of the bacterial or viral target called an antigen. Both the antigen and the antibody bind together which stops the bacteria or virus from causing harm.

The overall purpose of the vaccine is to ensure that any human being who is vaccinated, who happens to catch either one of the three types of virus then their immune system, will combat the viral infection.

Although many studies have dismissed any link between autism and the MMR vaccine, side effects can still occur and can include mild forms of measles. Signs of this include a rash, appetite loss and fever. This can last between 48 and 72 hours and can normally take place between 7 and 11 days after the injection, according to NHS Choices.

But the risks of those side effects are outweighed by the benefits of being vaccinated as being infected by either of the three viruses without the vaccination can be more severe. Measles can be fatal. According to the World Health Organisation, 158,000 died worldwide as a result of measles in 2011.

So why has a major crisis unfolded in Swansea and it's surrounding areas this weekend? So far, according to BBC News, just under 600 people so far have been affected by measles in many parts of Wales which has provoked a dramatic increase in the demand for the uptake of the MMR vaccine. And so far, 1,700 people have been vaccinated during emergency clinics held across hospitals in the south of Wales today. There is still a potential possibility that those figures could escalate even further in the coming days.

And could similar events break out north of the border? STV News reported on a measles outbreak that happened in Lanarkshire last November where nine cases of measles were confirmed, despite a very high uptake of the MMR vaccine.

Currently, there is no imminent threat of any form of an outbreak in Scotland. But there is certainly no room for complacency and events in Wales will, without a doubt, continue to be monitored very closely across these islands.

Has the new look BBC News overtaken Sky?

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The original BBC Broadcasting House in central London.

It was only last month when the BBC News Channel was aesthetically revamped and, more significantly, relocated over four miles east from the BBC Television Centre at Wood Lane to the newly revamped BBC Broadcasting House near Oxford Circus.

Yet the transformation of the television news output from the BBC has been very clear to see. The new set doesn't feel so isolated any longer. The previous set in the west of London was frankly dull and very boring. The new set gives me, the viewer, an impression that there is some form of activity definitely taking place in what is now the "biggest newsroom in Europe". The news has livened up at the BBC once again.

As far as the content is concerned, not much has changed apart from the fact that a brand new extended newspaper review programme has been introduced nightly at 10:30pm and 11:30pm.

There is no doubt that the newsroom at Broadcasting House is absolutely enormous. Every hour, the channel takes deep pride in showing off it's brand new facilities to the whole nation, showing journalists and other BBC News staff concentrating deeply on their computer screens, quite probably researching content for the news, editing footage for news packages and doing other related activities.

I was lucky to go and see the building for myself at this time last year. Sadly, it wasn't fully operational but there's no doubt that I will want to head down south again to go and see the place being brought to full life. Nevertheless, the part of visiting Broadcasting House now that excites me the most is that anyone can actually watch the news as it broadcasts live from the public café.

Sky News underwent a slight revamp it it's on screen graphics nearly three years ago. Yet it's own set remained more or less the same. I've also noticed that Sky News has become less interactive than before prompting the question - is it time for Sky to play catch up with the BBC once again as far as news output is concerned?