Pharmaceutical needs assessment

Providers of local community pharmaceutical services have a crucial role to play in improving the health of local people. They are often the first point of contact, especially for those who might otherwise struggle to access health services. Improved use of the skills and abilities of community pharmacists, in particular, working in partnership with other service providers, will play an important part in achieving the strategic goals of the NHS.

Every three years, the Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) has to publish a statement of the needs for community pharmaceutical services in Gloucestershire. This is referred to as a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA). Community pharmaceutical services include local chemists, dispensing doctors (doctors that can dispense medication to patients in rural areas) and dispensing appliance contractors (businesses which dispense medical appliances such as catheters).

We ran a consultation to gather feedback from people such as Gloucestershire residents, colleagues in the NHS, pharmacies, dispensing doctors, district councils, local committees and Healthwatch Gloucestershire. Their feedback was essential in developing this Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.

Read the updated Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (2022-25) here.

Why are we publishing a PNA?

From 1st April 2013, every Health and Wellbeing Board (HWB) in England has a statutory responsibility to publish and keep up to date a statement of the needs for community pharmaceutical services of the population in its area, referred to as a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA).

The PNA helps identify whether there are any gaps in the provision of pharmaceutical services in the county, which means identifying if any new services, improvements or better access to existing services, are needed. The PNA considers the demographics of the Gloucestershire population and the health priorities of the county, as well as how pharmaceutical services can contribute to improving the health of Gloucestershire's residents now and in the future.