Class 2 recall-Curaleaf Oil [FS] 10mg/ml THC, 10mg/ml CBD (30ml)

Curaleaf Laboratories are recalling three batches of Curaleaf Oil [FS] 10mg/ml THC 10mg/ml CBD (30ml) due to low THC content.

MHRA drug alert link: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-rokshaw-limited-trading-as-curaleaf-laboratories-curaleaf-oil-fs-10mg-slash-ml-thc-10mg-slash-ml-cbd-30ml-el-26-a-slash-13?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=b93a959c-5bc7-4b1e-9fa2-503ce10856ac&utm_content=immediately

MHRA drug alert date:12/03/26

Further Information

For all medical information enquiries and information on this product, please email orders@curaleaflaboratories.co.uk, or telephone +44 0191 7431007.

For stock control enquiries please email orders@curaleaflaboratories.co.uk,  or telephone +44 0191 7431007.

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.

Please note that anything not returned to us, or notified to us, within 3 months of this notification, cannot be reimbursed by way of a credit.

Beckside Pharmacy visit with Kerry Ellis, Alphega business mentor

Kerry Ellis discovers what one village pharmacy reveals about the power of support…

In a village like Thornton-le-Dale in Yorkshire, community pharmacy isn’t an abstract concept, it’s personal. It’s the cornerstone of the community, the place to turn to when you are unwell, unsure or in need of professional healthcare advice.

Beckside Pharmacy, led by Barbara Obasi, is exactly that kind of place. But behind its smooth-running exterior lies a pharmacy that balances exceptional patient care with the growing demands of running a modern healthcare business.

It’s also where everyday moments of care surface, like conversations with regular customers such as Sue, a valued member of the community who knits bonding squares and blankets for premature babies in intensive care at a local children’s hospital.

Sue’s knitting helps mothers stay connected to their babies when physical closeness isn’t always possible. Mothers wear the squares before swapping them with their babies, helping with bonding, lactation, and comfort.

“It’s a pleasure to do it,” Sue says. These are the kinds of quiet acts of care that pass through a community pharmacy: small, human moments that rarely make headlines but matter deeply to the people involved.

Behind this calm, familiar setting, Beckside Pharmacy also carries the less visible pressures shared by many independent pharmacies. Alongside patient care sits the realities of rising costs, workforce challenges, evolving NHS expectations, and patients with increasingly complex needs.

Running a modern pharmacy now requires clinical expertise, business acumen, and resilience in equal measure. When the Alphega Pharmacy team visited Beckside a few months ago, they weren’t there to impose a template or deliver a one-size-fits-all solution.

They were there to listen, to understand how the pharmacy operates and what support is genuinely useful. That visit offered a clear lens on what effective support for independent pharmacies can look like in practice.

What makes Beckside a useful case study is not that it faces different challenges, but that it shows what can happen when support helps pharmacies manage complexity without disrupting what already works.

Access to business guidance helps translate day-to-day challenges into manageable decisions, supporting sustainability while keeping patient care at the centre.

Training and clinical service development resources allow pharmacies like Beckside to grow their services with confidence, particularly in communities where access to other healthcare providers may be limited and the local pharmacy plays an increasingly central role.

What stands out is how understated the impact is. There’s no sense of reinvention or loss of identity. Beckside Pharmacy still feels like a local constant, shaped by long-standing relationships and familiar faces.

That continuity is evident in relationships with locals like Sue. The support around the pharmacy hasn’t changed its character; it has helped preserve it.

Looked at more broadly, this reflects a wider reality for independent pharmacies. Keeping up with policy changes, service expectations, and regulatory developments can be demanding, especially for small teams.

Access to shared knowledge, peer experience, and timely information can reduce isolation and make change feel more manageable.

Kerry Ellis is an Alphega business mentor.

Class 3 recall- Various Bayer products

Bayer Plc is recalling all stock of the products listed in this notification as a precautionary measure due to the identification of an impurity above the acceptable limit. The recall is at pharmacy and wholesaler level.

MHRA drug alert link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-3-medicines-recall-bayer-plc-various-products-el-26-a-slash-12?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=dfbe44f3-0aea-4cf9-b610-8c2cbaa46c48&utm_content=immediately

MHRA drug alert date:12/03/26

Further Information

For all medical information enquiries and information on this product, please email medical.information@bayer.co.uk, or telephone 0118 206 3116.

For stock control enquiries please email orders-uk@bayer.com, or telephone 0118 206 3131.

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.

Please note that anything not returned to us, or notified to us, within 3 months of this notification, cannot be reimbursed by way of a credit.

Neil Scobie, head of Alphega Member Offer and Engagement, speaks with Independent Community Pharmacy

Independents should look at what they are doing well, what they shouldn’t be doing, what opportunities they have missed and new ideas they can incorporate into their business, says Neil Scobie.

Strategic mentorship has moved from being a ‘nice to have’ to an essential component of profitable and sustainable pharmacy performance. Alphega business mentors play a critical role in helping pharmacy owners navigate this complexity.

Their support begins with a structured review of pharmacy performance, enabling owners to step back from day-to-day firefighting and take a strategic view of their business.

These reviews provide an objective assessment of what is working well and where improvements are needed, creating a foundation for informed decision-making.

A key element of this is a SWOT analysis. By examining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, mentors help members translate performance insights into practical goals for the year ahead.

Deliver the greatest impact for patients

This approach ensures that planning is grounded in reality rather than aspiration alone. It also helps pharmacy owners prioritise their efforts, focusing on areas that will deliver the greatest impact for patients, teams and business sustainability.

However, strategy is only as effective as the people delivering it. Workforce challenges remain one of the most significant barriers to pharmacy progress and many owners struggle to assess whether their staffing model is truly fit for purpose.

Alphega’s business mentors can help members to address this through the Alphega staff profiling tool, which provides a clear view of staffing levels and skill mix. This enables pharmacy owners to understand whether they have the right number of people, with the right capabilities, to deliver their ambitions.

Importantly, this is not simply about reducing costs. It is about aligning roles, responsibilities and skills to the services a pharmacy wants to provide.

A business aiming to expand clinical services, for example, requires a different staffing profile to one focused primarily on dispensing efficiency. By using data rather than instinct, mentors help owners make confident, evidence-based workforce decisions.

Efficiency is another area where targeted mentorship can deliver meaningful gains. The business mentors are well placed to advise on operational improvements, including pharmacy layout, workflow and the distribution of tasks within the team.

In collaboration with the central team, they can identify changes that improve productivity, enhance patient experience and reduce unnecessary pressure on pharmacists and staff.

Digital tools also play an increasingly important role in driving efficiency and compliance. Mentors can guide members on the effective use of Alphega’s digital solutions, such as SOP Manager, MHRA Manager and Team Manager. When used properly, these tools support consistent standards, simplify governance and free up valuable time for patient-facing activity.

Beyond internal systems, Alphega members also benefit from access to a range of externally provided solutions at preferential rates. These include online controlled drug registers, NHS prescription ordering apps and 24-hour prescription collection points.

Mentors help pharmacies understand which of these solutions are appropriate for their specific circumstances, ensuring technology is adopted strategically rather than reactively.

Ultimately, the value of the mentors lies in their ability to connect insight with action. By combining performance review, strategic planning, workforce analysis and operational efficiency, they help pharmacy owners move from surviving to thriving.

Neil Scobie is head of Alphega Member Offer and Engagement.

Source: Independent Community Pharmacist, Magazine (February 2026) and online : Business spotlight: Assess your performance

Class 2 recall-Ramipril 5mg Caps

Crescent Pharma Limited is recalling one batch of Ramipril 5 mg Capsules as a precautionary measure due to a potential error at the manufacturing site.

MHRA drug alert link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-crescent-pharma-limited-ramipril-5mg-capsules-el-26-a-slash-11?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=1bd23fb1-0c16-4faf-ab1c-f2a95439fefb&utm_content=immediately

MHRA drug alert date:06/03/26

Further Information

For all medical information enquiries and information, please email medinfo@crescentpharma.com, for reporting of side effects email safety@crescentpharma.com or telephone +44 1217901596 and for stock control enquiries please email complaints@crescentpharma.com

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.

Please note that anything not returned to us, or notified to us, within 3 months of this notification, cannot be reimbursed by way of a credit.

Easter 2026 bank holiday opening hours

To help keep our customers informed of changes to our service, we have published our August 2025 bank holiday opening hours for pharmacy and retail customers:

Easter 2026 bank holiday opening hours

Easter 2026 bank holiday opening hours (for Channel Islands and Isle of Man)

Alliance Healthcare UK to enter into a new reduced wholesale agreement with Dansac and Hollister: 01 March 2026

We are pleased to announce that, as of 01 March 2026, Cencora Alliance Healthcare UK, including NWOS, will become the only wholesalers to supply selected products of Dansac and Hollister’s portfolio to all pharmacies in Great Britain.

Click here for full product details.

Class 4 caution in use-DROPODEX EYE DROPS 0.1%

Rayner Pharmaceuticals limited have informed the MHRA that the batches listed in this notification do not include the concentration of phosphates in the product information.

MHRA drug alert Date: 24/2/26

MHRA drug alert link: https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-4-medicines-defect-notification-rayner-pharmaceuticals-limited-dropodex-0-dot-1-percent-w-slash-v-eye-drops-solution-el-26-a-slash-10?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications-topic&utm_source=eb00b060-2e05-4c84-b34c-0a9b0873151f&utm_content=immediately

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

Further Information

For all medical information enquiries and information on this product, please email: medinfo.Rayner@apcerls.com, or telephone +44-800-041-8153

For stock control enquiries please email markclayton@rayner.com, or telephone 01903 258777.

Class 2 recall-KidNaps (Melatonin) 1mg in 1ml Oral Solution

Sterling Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Veriton Pharma Ltd are recalling all batches of KidNaps (Melatonin) 1mg in 1ml Oral Solution due to out of specification stability results.  

MHRA drug alert link:https://www.gov.uk/drug-device-alerts/class-2-medicines-recall-sterling-pharmaceuticals-ltd-specials-manufacturer-ms-32515-kidnaps-melatonin-1mg-in-1ml-oral-solution-el-26-a-slash-09

MHRA drug alert date:24/02/26

Further Information

For medical information enquiries on this product, email centralmedicalinformation@veritonpharma.com or telephone +44 (0)1932 690325. 

For stock control enquiries, email orders@veritonpharma.com or telephone +44 (0)1932 690325.

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.

Please note that anything not returned to us, or notified to us, within 3 months of this notification, cannot be reimbursed by way of a credit.

Tonia Antoniazzi MP visited Cencora’s Swansea service centre

On Wednesday 18 February, 2026, Tonia Antoniazzi, MP for Swansea, visited the Cencora Alliance Healthcare Swansea Service Centre, accompanied by team members: Chris Martin, Non-Executive Advisor, Paul Davies, Warehouse Ops Manager, and Carl Evans, Loss Prevention Manager. She gained insight into the vital role we play in the UK’s pharmaceutical supply chain and had an up-close look at our colleagues in action.

During the visit, Tonia also took part in in-depth discussions with the team, highlighting our essential function in ensuring that pharmacies, hospitals, and healthcare providers across the country receive the medicines and healthcare products they need efficiently and reliably.

Tonia also had the opportunity to meet employees across the site, learning firsthand about the dedication and care involved in day-to-day operations. As demand for healthcare services continues to grow, ensuring these systems remain efficient is more important than ever and is at the heart of what we do. Tonia’s visit and her conversations with the team demonstrate her commitment to understanding the challenges and advancements within this essential sector and we are looking forward to continuing to work with her.

Thank you to all that made the visit a success.