We’re going paperless! Customer monthly statements available via myahportal

As part of our on-going commitment to reduce our impact on the environment as well as helping you self-serve, we would like to inform customers that Monthly Statements are available to access on myahportal and we will shortly stop sending customers printed copies.

From the July statement onwards, these will be online only via myahportal.co.uk.  From 5 August your monthly statements will no longer be posted.

Benefits to online statements:

1. Instant access to documents – no need to wait for the statement to arrive by post and you can also get access to a rolling 12 months’ of statements, which can be downloaded and stored on your local device

2. Quick, safe and secure – peace of mind that statements will only be accessible by authorised persons

3. Environmental impact – by reducing the need to print an average of four pages of paper per customer, we’ll save approximately 720,000 sheets of paper – that’s more than 50 trees a year, based on current statistics

4. Fuel Savings - help us and the Royal Mail reduce fuel consumption by removing approximately 180,000 statement delivered per year, thus reducing our carbon footprint - a major contributor to global climate change

The benefits don’t stop there! The portal provides you easy access to:

 - Ordering products with immediate access to AH Direct

 - Ordering all your surgical appliances fromNWOS

 - Reporting a missing product with instant access to E-Missings

 - Creating a returns note with access to ‘Returns’

 - View and access statements, invoices and credit notes through Your Docs (where applicable)

Here to Help

We would now like to encourage all customers to view their monthly statements on myahportal.co.uk and would be happy to support with any queries. If you experience any difficulties and require support please contact the Customer Portal Team on 0330 100 0448 – option 8 or email CustomerPortal@alliance-healthcare.co.uk with ‘Online Monthly Statements’ in the title of your email.

Thank you in advance for your support and co-operation with our move to online monthly statements.

Class 4 Drug Caution in use - SYONELL 250MG & 500MG GASTRO-RESISTANT TABLETS

: Lupin Healthcare (UK) Limited has informed us of a discrepancy with the product packaging for several batches of Syonell 250mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets and Syonell 500mg Gastro-Resistant Tablets. This discrepancy relates to the incorrect amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient (valproate semisodium) printed on the outer packaging

MHRA drug alert link: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-4-medicines-defect-information-syonell-250mg-gastro-resistant-tablets-pl-35507-slash-0191-syonell-500mg-gastro-resistant-tablets-pl-35507-slash-0192-el-21-a-slash-11?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=58b8fb90-a905-45be-8b0f-5c608a23c4ba&utm_content=immediately

This may have been supplied by AHDL. Unfortunately we are not providing specific batch information you will  be required to follow the instructions as per the drug alert.

This is a caution in use only we are not accepting stock returns.

For more information or medical information queries, please contact: +44 (0) 1565 751 378 Option 1 or Pharmacovigilance Department at EU-PV@lupin.com

For stock control queries, please contact: 44 (0) 1565 751 378 Option 2 or information@lupin.com

If you have any questions, then please contact your local Service Centre Customer Services team.

Early May 2021 Bank Holiday Opening Hours now available

To help keep our customers informed of changes to our service, we have published our Early May 2021 Bank Holiday opening hours. 

Click here

Alliance Healthcare and Alphega Pharmacy Announce Winner of the BPSA Business and Enterprise Competition

Alliance Healthcare and Alphega Pharmacy Announce Winner of the BPSA Business and Enterprise Competition

Abeer Aamir, a first year student currently studying Pharmacy at the University of Brighton, is the winner of the BPSA’s Business and Enterprise competition, sponsored by Alliance Healthcare and Alphega Pharmacy.

Abeer receives the prize of a £500 gift voucher after she successfully pitched a presentation highlighting how Alphega Pharmacy is the key to the future development of Independent Community Pharmacy. She also came up with not one, but three new ideas that could enhance the current Alphega Pharmacy B2C app.

The BPSA (British Pharmaceutical Students' Association) is an organisation that works to enhance the experience of its members by inspiring them to invest in their development, seize opportunities and become advocates for the profession. This competition is one example of that. It allows students to be innovative and explore the business aspect of pharmacy, whilst building confidence and winning prizes. The BPSA teams up with sponsors, such as Alliance Healthcare to deliver such fantastic opportunities.

The final was held virtually on Tuesday 30 March, 2021, with three out of ten students who made it through to the final round competing via Zoom, due to current Covid-19 restrictions.

Abeer Aamir, winner of this year's event, says: "I am incredibly appreciative for the opportunity I was given to compete in the Business and Enterprise competition. The competition allowed me to look at pharmacy practice in a new light and specifically focus on how we as pharmacists must adapt to the ever-changing healthcare landscape, especially so in this new online based era. As we move into a post-COVID world, I believe it is crucial for all pharmacy students to take a look at how the practice will be shifting in the next few years with the rise of digital care, and learn how to adjust without compromising patient-focused care.

“Competing in this competition also gave me the chance to be creative by creating a cohesive and interesting presentation marketing the Alphega app, as well as coming up with innovative ideas to further the development of the app and the future development of independent community pharmacies on the spot during the judge questioning round. I was also able to gain a deeper understanding about different business standards of practice, as well as appreciate the innovative concepts and designs that must be made by independent pharmacy owners to remain competitive against larger chain pharmacies. Thank you again to the BPSA, Alphega Pharmacy, and Alliance Healthcare for organizing this competition!”

The three finalists performed incredibly well and a great rapport was built with the judging panel. The panel consisted of Mike Smith, Non-executive advisor at Alliance Healthcare, Sue Dobson, Alphega Pharmacy Business Mentor, Vinay Patel, Alphega Pharmacy Services and Contract Pharmacist, plus Rob Darracott, Editor at P3pharmacy magazine who joined as a special guest judge. The event was coordinated by Trisha Dogra, a pre-registration pharmacist who graduated from Keele University and is the Competitions Coordinator of the BPSA Executive Team, plus Karen Lam and Lorna Kimberley, both from the Marketing and Communications Team at Alliance Healthcare.

Mike Smith, Non-executive advisor Alliance Healthcare UK, says: "The entries were again of the highest quality this year. The three shortlisted finalists gave excellent presentations with some really innovative and radical ideas. They demonstrated a clear understanding of the benefits of Alphega Pharmacy membership and how this will be key to the future development of independent pharmacy. These young students are the future of our profession and I have no doubt it will be continue to flourish in such safe hands. I am so proud of them all. They were all winners for me and the judging was very close.”

Rob Darracott, Editor at P3pharmacy magazine also added: “It’s never easy presenting at the best of times, but all the finalists did a great job, not only in identifying the benefits of Alphega to independent community pharmacy, but in presenting their ideas virtually too. It’s especially nice hearing innovative ideas and suggestions from those at the start of their careers in the profession, including one at the very start, our impressive winner and first year pharmacy student, Abeer.” 

For over a decade, Alliance Healthcare has supported the BPSA and looks forward to seeing the positive difference our young pharmacists make in this challenging world.

Abeer Aamir, BPSA, Business and Enterprise Winner

Alliance Healthcare is proudly celebrating Ramadan

Today marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan which is celebrated by Muslims all over the UK.

At Alliance Healthcare, we have a workforce that is diverse and rich in culture, like our customer base and we are proud to mark this special event.

Our Leigh Service Centre Manager, Zak Patel, has been sharing what Ramadan means to him:

“Like many Muslims, during the holy month of Ramadan I will be enjoying fasting from dawn to dusk. Ramadan is a time of self-reflection, supporting those less fortunate and it brings me closer to my religion. Ramadan also means kindness, appreciation, love, generosity and patience which makes me more appreciative of everything that I am blessed with and spurs me to support those in my community whom are struggling, especially during these COVID times.”

Matt Addison, Operations Director, says: “Across our operations network and our wider business, we have team members with many different religions and beliefs. Recognising and celebrating the cultural and religious events that are important to our people creates a welcoming and equitable workplace in which people can be their authentic selves.”

On behalf of all of us at Alliance Healthcare, Ramadan Mubarak!

Company Led - Class 2 Recall (Customer Level) SMA Wysoy Soya Infant Formula 800g

The recall of SMA Wysoy is a food safety recall due to potential presence of foreign bodies (pieces of plastic scoops). Nestlé has undertaken it on a voluntary basis.

The affected products' details are as follows:

Please return all affected stock to your original supplier for credit. Unfortunately we can only accept stock purchased from us (Alliance Healthcare Distribution Limited). Any other stock will be returned to your stores/Pharmacies  

‘WBA senior leaders share COVID-19 lessons learned’ – Matt Addison, Alliance Healthcare’s Director of Operations UK, shares his experience during the pandemic

We are delighted to share a fantastic thought leadership story published in WBA’s digital magazine titled ‘WBA senior leaders share COVID-19 lessons learned’, and features our very own Director or Operations, Matt Addison.

Matt shares his experience during the pandemic and praises operations colleagues who worked collaboratively to run the service centres, cross dock network and transport organisation during this time. Matt says: “The COVID-19 pandemic has seen Alliance Healthcare face possibly the most challenging period of its history. Our operations colleagues have played such a critical part in supporting the NHS and patients across the UK. We are classified as essential workers by the UK government, and without our people, the country would not have made it this far.

My Alliance Healthcare operations colleagues have astounded me throughout the last year, and their stories of resilience, teamwork, and going the extra mile are many. I’ve always believed that working collaboratively and trusting in my leadership team has been key to our combined success, and the impact of the pandemic has only served to reinforce this belief. For a portion of 2020, I also faced a personal challenge and if I hadn’t been able to leave work behind and trust my team to lead our operation to success, then I don't believe I would have been able to successfully overcome the obstacles I faced.

During the pandemic, we’ve taken steps to restructure the operations leadership team, and that is in no small part due to the management changes and responsibilities that we had to employ during this period. I have great leaders in place to run the service center network, cross dock center and transport organization. This will continue beyond the pandemic and will become the new Alliance Healthcare way of working.”

You can see all the other stories featured in this article by following the link to the WBA digital magazine here: https://www.walgreensbootsalliance.com/news-media/our-stories/wba-senior-leaders-share-covid-19-lessons-learned

Alliance Healthcare continues to support pharmacies during the COVID-19 pandemic

To support the mass vaccination agenda, our services arm, Skills in Healthcare will be delivering interactive COVID-19 vaccination training sessions to all healthcare professionals eligible to administer COVID-19 vaccines, as well as vaccination support workers in the lead up to their anticipated involvement in the vaccination programme.

Skills in Healthcare is delighted to be offering support to community pharmacists by providing these informative webinars, in collaboration with Charles Bloe Training. In 2020, Charles Bloe Training won Coursecheck’s ‘Brilliance Award’, the highest rated training provider in their medium-sized organisation category.

The virtual sessions aim to complement their mandatory COVID-19 e-Learning and/or practical training to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and confidence to fulfil their vital role in the programme when the opportunity arises. Healthcare professionals and vaccination support workers are receiving expert knowledge and practical demonstrations, delivered by specialist nurse trainers who are administering the vaccine at present.

Sanjay Pathak, National Pharma Services Manager Skills in Healthcare, said: “As part of the Alliance Healthcare team, we are committed to supporting community pharmacy where we can. We are proud to be helping our Pharmacy COVID-19 heroes with their vaccination training and education in readiness for when their involvement in the programme begins”. 

For more information on our COVID-19 vaccination training webinars, please click here. 

Company Led - Class 2 Recall (Customer Level) SMA Wysoy Soya Infant Formula 800g Class type: Company Led - Class 2 Recall (Customer Level)

The recall of SMA Wysoy is a food safety recall due to potential presence of foreign bodies (pieces of plastic scoops). Nestlé has undertaken it on a voluntary basis.

The affected products' details are as follows:

Please return all affected stock to your original supplier for credit. Unfortunately we can only accept stock purchased from us (Alliance Healthcare Distribution Limited). Any other stock will be returned to your stores/Pharmacies  

Alphega Pharmacy helps vaccinate the nation with launch of around 60 COVID-19 centres

Alphega UK has started delivering COVID-19 vaccinations to communities across the UK. Over 40 members are administering the vaccine from consultation rooms within their independent community pharmacies, with another 20 to open in the next few weeks.

Alphega Pharmacy is a leading European network of independent pharmacists. Throughout the pandemic, it has helped members by supporting application and submissions to become certified COVID-19 sites, providing over 30,000 pieces of social distancing material, launching a COVID-19 hub with resources, toolkits and signage, providing more than 3,000 face visors and over 800 digital tablets to allow pharmacists to carry out remote patient consultations, and giving practical support to customers in reception and recovery areas.

Raj Nutan, Head of Alphega Pharmacy, said: “Alphega is incredibly proud to be part of this national effort to protect our local communities against COVID-19.  Community pharmacies are often at the heart of areas where there are higher levels of health challenges and vaccine hesitancy.”

Dhimant Patel, Pharmacist and owner of Healthways Pharmacy in Harrow, London said: “We have all seen the effect that COVID-19 has had on our local communities across the UK. As primary healthcare providers, independent pharmacies are well established in their local areas and are ideally placed to help in the fight against the virus.

“We’re delighted to be part of the solution to fight the coronavirus pandemic. We have long been a partner to the NHS and we believe that this vaccination programme is something we have a key role to play in, particularly in reassuring patients, dispelling myths and misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines and boosting uptake.”

Patients will be invited directly by the NHS to book their vaccination appointment at Alphega pharmacies.