Issue - meetings

The Board was reminded that it held a statutory responsibility to publish and keep up to date a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA).  Oldham’s current PNA was due to be reviewed during 2020/21 and the renewed PNA to be published in April 2021.  However, the Department of Health and Social Care had determined that the publication of PNAs would be suspended for one year in order to reduce unnecessary extra pressure on local authorities and Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPCs) during the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Oldham’s renewed PNA was now not required to be published until 2022.

The Director of Public Health advised that some work to review the PNA had already commenced and a number of required changes identified which could be published in a Supplementary Statement.  A proposed Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment Supplementary Statement June 2020 that included corrections, clarifications and updates to service provision which superseded the original information in the PNA 2018-21 and a previous Supplementary Statement issued on 17 December 2018 was submitted for the consideration of the Board.

Comment was made that while there were a large number of pharmacies across Oldham, there were concentrations in particular areas while others were not so well served.  The Director of Public Health advised that the issue had not been highlighted to date but a conversation could be held to consider this issue.  The Board was advised that the CCG had worked over the period of the pandemic to improve contacts with the LPC and Dr Patterson offered to share contacts with the Director of Public Health.

RESOLVED that –

1.            the suspension of the requirement to publish the renewed Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for one year (until April 2022) as determined by the Department of Health and Social Care as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic be noted;

2.            the publication of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment Supplementary Statement which responds to local changes in pharmaceutical needs at this time be agreed.