Have your say on local pharmacy services until 31 January 2022. This consultation is closed. Final PNA is available.

Every local authority, including Herefordshire Council and Worcestershire County Council, has a Health Wellbeing Board (HWB) to promote integrated working among local providers of healthcare and social care such as the NHS, public health, adult social care and children's services, including elected representatives and Local Healthwatch. The main purpose of the Herefordshire HWB and Worcestershire HWB is to plan together how best to meet the needs of their local population and tackle local inequalities in health.

Since 2013, Herefordshire HWB and Worcestershire HWB have a responsibility to assess the need for pharmaceutical services of the population within their respective areas and to publish a statement of the need. This is referred to as a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA).

The PNA:

  • Looks at the current provision of pharmaceutical services across Herefordshire and Worcestershire,
  • Assesses whether service provision meets the current and future needs of the population and
  • Identifies any potential gaps to service delivery.

The PNA is a key document which is used by:

  • NHS England to inform decisions about applications for new, or changes to existing pharmaceutical services, and the commissioning of NHS-funded services that can be provided by local community pharmacies
  • Local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) when commissioning services to meet local health needs and priorities

How you helped us

Herefordshire and Worcestershire councils conducted a survey to better understand local views on pharmaceutical services for those residents who work and stay in the county. Your views were confidential and the findings from the survey were used to inform the next draft stage of the PNA which was sent to stakeholders for their comments:

The final PNA was published in October 2022:

Previous Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

Published: 24th January 2022