Agenda item

This report provides an overview of the updated Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025-2028, outlining the process undertaken to produce the assessment and the main outcomes.

The board is asked to approve the report for publication on the City of York Council website and the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) website.

The Vice Chair noted that the production of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) was a statutory duty for the Health and Wellbeing Board, and that the board were being asked to approve this report for publication on City of York Council's website as well as the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) website.

The report was presented by the Director of Public Health and the Public Health Improvement Officer.

The Director of Public Health noted that the board’s approval to publish this assessment formed part of the process of pharmacy provision and helped to shape its direction. He explained that pharmacy provision was a local issue, concerning the main point of contact most people have with the health service on a day-to-day basis, and getting this right was important for the board, in terms of assessing need and understanding what the sector looks like.

The Public Health Improvement Officer explained that PNA’s exist to provide a comprehensive data driven understanding of unmet need, and opportunities for reducing this. She stated that work on this PNA had begun during the summer of 2024, and in January 2025 residents and stakeholders had been invited to participate in a survey; in August 2025 there had been a 60-day consultation period on the draft document.

The key findings of this consultation were that while York generally had satisfactory pharmacy provision, there were areas of unmet need, particularly in rural and suburban areas of the city, and specifically in Clifton ward - where the nearest pharmacy was some distance away, and Westfield ward – where closure and limiting of hours had reduced provision.

The Manager, Healthwatch York said that this was a very good PNA – particularly praising the excellent survey response – and that community pharmacy was essential and with the current plans, people would come to rely on them even more.

She suggested there should be representation from the community pharmacy in meetings regarding neighbourhood health plans and the move to reorganise health services, and more detailed involvement from them at an earlier stage.

She suggested the importance of the 100 hour pharmacy changes may have been underestimated, but this fundamentally alters the number of hours that services are available to people.

The Vice Chair responded that neighbourhood and community pharmacies were being included by organisations such as the ICB and work was being done to ensure they were brought into neighbourhood discussions and more fully recognised as an integrated part of the process.

Cllr Webb asked what happens next with regard to the identified areas of unmet need, once the PNA was approved; what was the process to address this unmet need?

The Public Health Improvement Officer responded that there was a plan, which would be published to the JSNA website, and there would be follow-up conversations with members within the ICB who commission pharmacy services.

The Director of Public Health added that pharmacies close due to being independent contractors, therefore needing to make a profit. He emphasised that they do not close because they no longer wish to provide a service they close because their operations have ceased to be profitable, and staff cannot be paid. To counter this the local ICB has as a Primary Care Committee within it which receives applications for new pharmacies and applications for closures and changes of hours. The Primary Care Committee uses this document in guiding their decisions. The PNA is therefore a key piece of evidence for the ICB to convince pharmacies; it can’t make a pharmacy open, but if a need has been identified and there are any applications, these will be approved.

Cllr Webb asked whether there had been any applications. The Director of Public Health noted that it was not possible to give specific details as applications were subject to a six-month review process, but one of the areas highlighted in the report had drawn a number of applications and it was expected this need would ultimately be met.

The Vice Chair said that this was about local determination based around needs.

The Director of Public Health said as independent contractors, pharmacies always welcome people commissioning things in their local areas beyond core contract, they were a great route to reach communities.

Cllr Runciman praised Pharmacy First as a service and wondered whether this could be expanded.

The Director of Public Health answered that this was often about areas where pharmacies can best be used.

Resolved:   To approve the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for publication.

Reason:      To meet the Board’s statutory duty to update and publish an up-to-date PNA by 1 October 2025.