Agenda item

Report attached for approval (10 minutes)

The Health and Wellbeing Board considered a report that presented the final Oldham Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2022. The meeting was reminded that the Health and Wellbeing Board had a statutory responsibility to publish and keep up--to-date a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA).  The Department of Health and Social Care determined that the publication of PNAs be suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the deadline set for publishing the PNA by October 2022.

The guidance to produce the PNA had been published in October 2021. This aimed to support local authorities to interpret and implement their duties regarding pharmaceutical needs assessments and set out the process to be followed. On behalf of Oldham Health and Wellbeing Board, the Greater Manchester Strategic Medicines Optimisation Team had undertaken the process of developing the PNA according to the guidance.

The draft Oldham PNA was presented for review at the Health and Wellbeing Board in March 2022. The PNA underwent the mandatory consultation of at least 60 days in Summer 2022. After some minor amendments the final report was being presented to this meeting for approval.

Pharmaceutical services were defined by reference to the regulations and directions governing pharmaceutical services provided by community pharmacies, dispensing doctors, and appliance contractors. The pharmaceutical services to which each PNA must relate were all the pharmaceutical services that may be provided under arrangements made by NHS England & NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) for –

§  the provision of pharmaceutical services (including directed services) by a person on a pharmaceutical list

§  the provision of local pharmaceutical services under a Local Pharmaceutical services (LPS) scheme; or

§  the dispensing of drugs and appliances by a person on a dispensing doctors list.

Resolved:

That the Health and Wellbeing Board approves the final version of the Oldham Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2022, for publication in line with statutory requirements.