Background to the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2022
Every Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) in England has a statutory duty to publish a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA). The PNA looks at the development of pharmaceutical services in its area. It is a key reference document.
NHS England area uses local PNAs while processing new pharmaceutical service provider requests. This is in accordance with the NHS Pharmaceutical Service Regulations 2013. The decision to allow a new pharmacy is referred to as 'market entry'.
The NHS and local authority commissioners also use PNAs when making decisions on:
- NHS funded services (e.g. medicine use review service)
- Locally commissioned services (e.g. stop smoking and sexual health services)
- Which services the local community pharmacies provide
We undertook the previous PNA for Peterborough in 2018. This was in line with the statutory need to update at least once per three years. There was a national pause of the PNA process during 2021-22 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Peterborough PNA 2022 :
- Describes the current pharmaceutical services within the area
- Identifies any gaps / unmet needs
- In consultation with stakeholders, makes recommendations on future development
A steering group from the Public Health department oversaw the process made up of:
- Peterborough City Council
- NHS England East Anglia Area Team
- Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC)
- Healthwatch, East Anglia Pharmacy Local Professional Network
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
The Joint Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) approved the current PNA in September 2-22. This followed a public consultation.