Agenda item

To update the Board on the completion and publication of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA).

Ruth du Plessis (Director of Public Health and Leisure, Brent Council) introduced the report which updated the Board on progress with the Brent Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA). In updating the Board, she delivered a presentation highlighting the following key points:

·       She began by thanking members of the Health and Wellbeing Board who had contributed to the PNA through the stakeholder group and encouraged members to refer to the PNA and use it in their work as it held a lot of useful data.

·       There had been a comprehensive process followed for developing the PNA, working within the NHS England (NHSE) guidelines.

·       She highlighted the breadth of provision pharmacies now provided, from the dispensing of medicines, advice and support, to additional enhanced services such as vaccination, blood pressure checks and support for palliative care medicines.

·       The PNA included a wealth of information relating to population demographics, showing the increase in population, which would have resource implications for Brent going forward, as well as data on crime, abuse, drugs, alcohol and housing.

·       A map displayed pharmacy provision in the borough and she highlighted that, both nationally and locally, the number of pharmacies had reduced slightly. A change to the pharmacy contract allowing flexibility of hours had also resulted in less 100-hour pharmacies that were now open. Despite this, Brent still had a higher provision of pharmacies compared to nationally, and the report provided further information around travel distances.

·       In developing the PNA, a public consultation had been undertaken with resident input as well as pharmacists and other stakeholders, which garnered around 400 responses and helped to shape the data and process.

·       The findings from the public consultation showed that people benefited from their pharmacy provision and quality of service was important to users, with people travelling to get to the pharmacy they felt provided a quality service. Accessibility was another important factor for residents and the consultation found that most people walked to their pharmacy which highlighted the importance of having pharmacies within walking distance of residents. The results also showed that many people used their pharmacies on a Saturday morning.

·       In concluding the presentation, Ruth du Plessis advised that the analysis indicated that Brent had enough pharmacies in the borough and that they were broadly in the right places. The PNA covered the next three years, but, given the fact that Brent was building more houses, provision may need to be increased in a few years.

The Chair thanked the Ruth du Plessis for her presentation and invited contributions from those present. The following points were made:

·       The Board commended the PNA steering group on the development of the PNA and felt the process had garnered good insights into the borough.

·       The Board asked what the local authority’s role would be in bringing about an increase in provision if it had been found that there was a significant shortage of pharmacies. Ruth du Plessis confirmed that there was a route the Council could take if a gap in provision was identified by presenting the case to NHSE and undertaking a formal process.

·       The Board asked whether there was sufficiency of staff working in the pharmacy sector, to which Ruth du Plessis agreed to follow up on.

·       In relation to the composition of the steering group, the Board asked who had sat on that group. Ruth du Plessis advised that the PNA document detailed who the members were and they had included NHS, Council and voluntary and community sector colleagues with a focus on diversity.

·       The Board recalled a previous discussion considering whether Brent was maximising the use of pharmacies, and, considering the implementation of Pharmacy First and the direction to push more to pharmacies, they asked again whether pharmacy services were being maximised and whether there was more that could be done to support pharmacies in that regard. Ruth du Plessis highlighted that there were areas that could be improved, for example around emergency contraception where there had been legislative changes. Each pharmacy was asked to conduct 6 different public health campaigns each year, which she felt was something the Health and Wellbeing Board could influence more. In terms of Pharmacy First, she advised that a balance was needed because pharmacies had already expressed that capacity was stretched.

·       The Board felt that Brent had a good record of co-locating pharmacies with other services as part of regeneration projects, such as the new surgery and pharmacy in South Kilburn and the recently agreed Integrated Health and Wellbeing Hub in Dollis Hill which would include an on-site pharmacy. Members asked what effort was made, locally and nationally, to ensure that co-located primary care services were part of the conversation when new infrastructure was built. Ruth du Plessis advised that this was done through planning, ensuring that when the Council was considering housing developments it also considered the provision needed early on in terms of schools, primary care and pharmacies. She agreed that there was utility in having primary care and pharmacies together, but acknowledged that some of this was easier to influence than others due to the complexities of the commissioning arrangements of pharmacies and some things might not be in the gift of the Council and partners.

·       Noting the complexities of the commissioning arrangements, the Board asked if there was anything partners could do to work with pharmacies to enable them to have extended hours. Ruth du Plessis advised that this had become more difficult since the contractual arrangements changed. Pharmacies had more flexibility in their opening hours now and the borough had seen a reduction in opening hours as a result of that. Some pharmacies attributed this to being able to operate and manage workload across those hours. There were some levers the Council could use to influence this, for example, if local people reported they were struggling to access a particular pharmacy this could be flagged as a concern through letters from the Health and Wellbeing Board to NHSE.

In concluding the discussion, the Board thanked officers and noted the production of the PNA before the deadline, which had been overseen by the PNA steering group and consulted on, and the work of the NWL Integrated Care Board and local authority in maintaining the PNA. They resolved to delegate future decisions about the revision of the PNA to the Director of Public Health and Leisure. In closing the item, the Chair asked members to recognise the need to maximise Pharmacy First opportunities and co-locate pharmacies with primary care where new regeneration was being built.