Agenda item

NOTE: This item was given priority on the agenda to accommodate a guest presenter.

Dr Nicola Lang (Director of Public Health) presented the item that outlined the process of refreshing the borough’s Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA), which assessed whether the current provision of pharmacies and the commissioned services they provided met the needs of local residents and whether there were any gaps.

Dr Lang noted the last PNA had been completed in 2022 and the process for this version was similar. The assessment would map current pharmaceutical services against local health needs, identify gaps in service provision, inform commissioning decisions and market entry for new pharmacies, and support service development to address local health priorities and reduce inequalities. The work would be done by the Council’s Public Health and Business Intelligence teams, with some specialist work being done by a specialist third-party provider.

Councillor Natalia Perez asked how the recommendations in the 2022-2025 PNA fed into the process for this year’s Assessment. Dr Lang said the key purpose was to look at how many pharmacies there were in the borough, what services they provided, and if they met the needs of NHS partners and the local population.

Councillor Perez noted that the last time this was discussed, provision in College Park and Old Oak ward was relatively low and asked if that would be addressed. Dr Lang said part of the Assessment would be looking at the distance to the nearest pharmacy for all residents in the borough to find gaps. She noted that the exercise carried out in 2022 showed the distribution of pharmacies met the distance requirements.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom asked about marketplace for pharmacies and their relationship with the Council and health services. Dr Lang said that, in recent years, some national pharmacy chains had been taken over by large multi-national corporations; however, there were still smaller providers in the market. She reported a constructive relationship with providers and noted that there was a local pharmaceutical committee which maintained a good dialogue with the Council and NHS partners. She said there had been some closures, but they were not worried at the moment. However, she also noted that there were ongoing issues around NHS funding for community pharmacies.

Susan Roostan (H&F ICB Borough Director) said the NHS had commissioned a range of services from community pharmacies and this had been enhanced since the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out. She said the PNA would show hotspots and gaps and said it would be linked back to the Integrated Care Board (ICB) to ensure even coverage.

Councillor Rowbottom asked how intelligence from community pharmacy was captured. Dr Lang said pharmacies used two main systems called Pinnacle and Sonar to keep records and they also interfaced with some of the Council’s commissioning systems.

Councillor Perez asked how the patient’s voice would be incorporated into the PNA process. Dr Lang said the PNA would go out to consultation for a long period and would be disseminated widely in a range of formats to encourage engagement. She noted that they tried to over-sample certain clients such as homeless people and drug and alcohol clients.

Sue Spiller (Chief Executive Officer, SOBUS) asked if there was any flexibility to tailor consultation questions to the local community. Dr Lang said there was a lot of flexibility and she was willing to work collaboratively on the questions. Carleen Duffy (Healthwatch H&F) noted that Healthwatch were also willing to be involved to help reach as many people as possible.

The Chair asked how the PNA was reviewed post publication and what, if anything, could trigger an early reassessment. Dr Lang said it was possible, if for example there were closures in areas with very sparse provision or significant reductions in provision.

RESOLVED

1. That the Health and Wellbeing Board noted and commented on the approach.

Additional update item – Highlights from the People’s Department

Jacqui McShannon (Executive Director of People’s Services) gave a short presentation showcasing some recent highlights from the People’s Department including Dementia Awareness Week, Parentsactive’s 25^th Birthday, Foster Care Fortnight, the Jack Tizard School installing 270 solar panels with H&F Community Energy, and an Insights Event on severe mental illness.