Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

Southampton Health and Wellbeing Board is under a statutory obligation to draft, consult upon and publish a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA) in accordance with the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. The National Health Service Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2014 have been published to amend these regulations following a report published by the Joint Committee on statutory instruments. More recently, The NHS Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services (Amendment) Regulations 2016 were published.

The PNA is designed to assess the current provision of pharmaceutical services, have regard to any specified future circumstance where the current position may materially change and identify any current and future gaps in pharmaceutical services. The PNA assists NHS England in determining market entry applications by pharmacists for new, additional or relocated premises, hours or pharmaceutical services. The PNA is a tool for commissioners, providers and users of pharmaceutical services and will be updated at least every three years.

Southampton PNA 2018

The regulations state that each Health and Wellbeing Board must publish a revised statement within three years of its previous publications and therefore a 2018 PNA has been produced to satisfy this requirement. A full 60 day statutory consultation was conducted late 2017, largely ratifying the conclusions from the draft PNA. The final report has now been approved by the Southampton Health & Wellbeing Board and was published on 1 April 2018.