Agenda item

To receive an update on the development of a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment. 

The Board received a report on the development of a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) from Dr Shahed Ahmad, Director of Public Health. 

1.               Dr Tha Han, Public Health Consultant, presented the report on behalf of Allison Duggal.

He highlighted the following:

·       The Health and Wellbeing Board has a statutory duty to produce a PNA by 1 April 2015. 

·       Responsibility for its production has been delegated to a steering group.

·       A consultation has begun, ending on 31 January 2015.  Responses can be completed on line.  It has been sent out to community organisations, local pharmacies and GPs. 

·       When complete, the PNA will be used by NHS England, to determine applications from providers to provide pharmaceutical services.  The CCG and the local authority will also be able to use it to consider what services are needed, from pharmaceutical providers, to improve the health and wellbeing of the community. 

·       Enfield has a lower than average number of pharmacies at 18.9 per 100,000 of the population, although these pharmacies do issue more prescriptions per pharmacy than average.  The majority of pharmacies open during the evenings and on Saturdays, with 20% opening on Sunday, mainly in shopping areas. 

·       A survey of pharmacy users was carried out.  It was found that 96% of respondents rated pharmacies as excellent or good; 95% rated confidence in the pharmacists’ knowledge and advice as excellent or good, 71% rated it as important that the pharmacy was close to their home and 45% that it was close to their doctor’s surgery.  55% walk to their community surgery, 22% go by car and 79% had no trouble travelling to their pharmacy. 

·       The greatest number of correspondents had no most convenient day or time for visiting their pharmacy.  65% of correspondents have a journey time of no more than 10 minutes and 91% no more than 20 minutes.  96% indicated that the ease of obtaining prescription medication from their pharmacy was very easy or fairly easy. 

·       The survey had not identified any gaps in provision. 

·       The Health and Wellbeing Board will be asked to approve the final version of the PNA in Spring 2015. 

2.       Questions/Comments

2.1     A firm based in Leeds, Pharmacy Direct, had been targeting older Enfield residents, using information about patients including their doctor’s surgery, offering to organise the dispatch of prescriptions by post.  The information must have been provided by the NHS.  The firm could provide a threat to the existence of the smaller independent chemist in Enfield who depended on NHS prescriptions for 75% of their business.  Andrea Clemons agreed to look into whether the practice was acceptable in trading standards terms. 

2.2     The list of data collected for this survey seemed very wide.  The suggestion was made that it would be more helpful to have had a shorter list of more relevant data, as well as a glossary. 

2.3     The scope of the report was limited and was not designed to include future forecasts, or take account of any predicted changes to the population.  It would be reviewed annually and changes picked up as they occur.   The purpose of the research was to help understand the way that services are used, and this would inform changes to provision.  

2.4     In the final report a map showing where all the pharmacies are situated, in the borough would be included.   

2.5     Allison Duggal would be happy to pick up these queries answer any other queries, if necessary. 

AGREED to note the report.