Help shape the future of pharmaceutical services in Shropshire
Shropshire residents and organisations are being asked to have their say on the future of pharmacy services in the county.
The public consultation, led by Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board, runs from 13 February to 15 April 2015, and asks people their views and thoughts on the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) report.
The PNA is a statutory requirement of local authority Health and Well-Being Boards, which helps look at pharmaceutical services offered or needed across the region. It is a way of making sure that pharmacies across the county are providing the right services, in the right locations, to support the needs of Shropshire residents.
Pharmacies play a key role in providing quality healthcare, providing a wide range of health advice, information and treatment. Pharmacists are trained to help people treat themselves for many common conditions, such as colds, stomach bugs and aches and pains, which can be especially common in winter months. Many pharmacies offer flu and travel vaccinations to customers for a fee, and also provide flu vaccinations for people eligible to get them free on the NHS.
Shropshire’s PNA will be looking at the current provision of pharmaceutical services across the county and whether this meets the current and future needs of the population whilst identifying any potential gaps in the service. The information and feedback collated will be then used by NHS England to decide whether there is a need for new pharmacies in the area.
Karen Calder, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health, and Chair of Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board, said:
“The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment consultation provides a great opportunity to shape the future of pharmacy services in Shropshire. This will be the first PNA since the creation of Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board in April 2013. It is important that pharmacies provide high-quality services for people in Shropshire, and therefore the views of everyone – pharmacists, patients and customers are important.”
Tracy Savage, Head of Medicines Management and Primary Care Support at Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said:
“Community pharmacy colleagues and other providers of pharmaceutical services such as dispensing GP practices have a key role to play in helping the Health and Well-being Board develop and deliver the best possible services for the population of Shropshire. The launch of this consultation gives Shropshire residents an excellent opportunity to say what they feel they need from their pharmacies. The Health and Well-being Board will use the feedback from the consultation to help in the decisions they make about pharmaceutical services for the people of Shropshire.
“Pharmacies play a vital role in the local community and, as most of us use pharmacies as part of taking care of our health, Shropshire’s Health and Well-being Board are urging residents to put forward their views to help shape the PNA.”
To view the PNA report and take part in the survey, visit http://www.shropshireccg.nhs.uk/pharmacists#PNAC or
shropshire.gov.uk/get-involved and search for “Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment”.
All enquiries, comments and feedback on the content in the draft PNA should be submitted no later than 15 April 2015 to: emma.sandbach@shropshire.gov.uk, or in writing to; Emma Sandbach, public health specialist, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6ND.
Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board’s purpose is to improve the health and well-being of the population. It does this by influencing policy decisions that impact the lives of people locally, commissioning services that join up health and social care, and by working to improve the quality of services in Shropshire.
The board is made up of members from Healthwatch Shropshire, Shropshire CCG, NHS England, Shropshire’s Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly, and Shropshire Council.
The Board has developed and currently revising its Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), a document which details the health profile and health needs of Shropshire, and the Joint Health and Well-being Strategy, a document that shows how we will help meet those needs. Ongoing work is taking place to ensure that patients and service users can influence both the design and delivery of services in future.
For more information about Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board visit http://www.shropshiretogether.org.uk/ or follow us on twitter @ShropPship.
For more information about what services pharmacies offer and to find out your nearest Pharmacy visit http://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/aboutnhsservices/pharmacists/pages/pharmacistsandchemists.aspx.
Further information
What is a PNA and why do we need one?
The PNA is a report on the needs for pharmaceutical services. It is used to identify any gaps in current services or improvements that could be made to current or future pharmaceutical service provision.
Since 1 April 2013, every Health and Wellbeing Board in England has a statutory responsibility to publish and keep up-to-date a statement of the needs for pharmaceutical services of the population in its area, referred to as a PNA.
Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board have a statutory duty to publish a PNA at least every three years, under the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013.
Who will use the PNA?
It will be used by NHS England and Shropshire’s Health and Well-Being Board to make decisions about current and future providers of pharmaceutical services and the services they may provide.
What happens next?
The feedback and the comments from the consultation will be considered and amendments made to the PNA as necessary. The HWB will publish the final PNA in later in 2015.
