Cheshire East Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment consultation opens

People who use pharmaceutical services in Cheshire East are being asked to give their feedback on the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) report.

Every local authority has a statutory responsibility to conduct a PNA every three years. 

The PNA is a report on all the NHS community pharmacies in the borough and includes those family doctors who are permitted to dispense medicines as a pharmacist would.

Community pharmacies provide services such as dispensing medicines and offering advice and practical help on keeping healthy. An important part of a PNA is to consider what residents think about community pharmacy services within Cheshire East. 

The NHS will use the PNA to work out if any changes are needed to pharmacy services in Cheshire East.

Councillor Jill Rhodes, Cheshire East Council’s committee chair for adults and health, said: “PNAs are carried out to assess the pharmacy needs of the local population and it ensures that community pharmacy services are provided in the right place and meet the needs of the communities they serve. 

“We have already gathered views from residents through a public survey, which has been included in the draft assessment and we’re now asking residents to consider whether they agree with what we have found. 

“We would also value views about anything else that residents feel pharmacies should provide to support health and wellbeing, which we have not included in this report.”

The final PNA will be published later in 2022 and will cover the period 2022 to 2025 inclusive.

The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment consultation can be found here:

council’s website.

The closing date is Friday 10 June 2022.