Agenda item

The Committee received a report of the Director of Public Health which provided details regarding the publication of a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2022-25 (for copy see file of minutes).

C Jones, Public Health Pharmacy Adviser advised that there had been 290 responses to consultation which would be combined with response.

Councillor Stubbs asked whether the number of responses from the public was as expected and whether it was a low response rate.  The Public Health Pharmacy Adviser confirmed that it was a reasonable response, compared to similar exercises that she had experienced.  The biggest response was from the community champion network, which had provided over 600 responses but only 290 had been deemed to be reasonable.  They included a mix of individual comments and comments from organisations.

Based on previous history of these type of surveys Councillor Stubbs asked whether there was any evidence that people only tended to fill them in if they were unhappy with a service, which resulted in negative responses.  The Public Health Pharmacy Adviser advised that there had been a good balance of responses and people were happy to come forward with approval of service provision.  The responses had been reflected in the way those received had been summarised.

The Interim Project Lead, Healthwatch County Durham referred to a survey carried out in 2019, in which 90% of the feedback had been positive.  There were suggested improvements and services that customers would like to have delivered, to be followed up in March 2020 however due to the pandemic, could not be done face to face.

Councillor Hovvels referred to the important role of Pharmacists that enabled patients to self-diagnose and predicted it would be more demanding in future due to the difficulties in getting appointments.  The Public Health Pharmacy Adviser advised that there had been national changes and more services were able to be offered by Pharmacies, such as assisting with prescribed medicines, or support with minor illnesses and screening.  Councillor Hovvels confirmed that there were many welcome changes to the service during the pandemic, in particular the offer of delivery.

Councillor Holmes confirmed that there were still some issues regarding repeat prescriptions and stock levels and wondered what could be done to ensure the necessary stock was kept in order to provide repeat prescriptions.  The Public Health Pharmacy Adviser advised that there was a national issue with intermittent issues affecting supply chains.  There were a host of processes and procedures to protect supply chains and provision for GP’s to supply suitable alternatives where possible.

Councillor Quinn queried the consultation process and the options available to respond to the survey and how it had been advertised.  She had been notified as a community champion, but not as a customer in the pharmacy.

The Public Health Pharmacy Adviser confirmed that pharmacies had not been used as a conduit due to their existing workload, however they had consulted with the Local Pharmaceutical Committee and used networks such as Healthwatch, Durham County News, and the voluntary care sector for advertising purposes. The consultation itself was available online but there was a facility to assist people filling it in.

Councillor Quinn was concerned that if there were supply issues, people may choose not to take regular medication.  The Public Health Pharmacy Adviser confirmed that there were clinical exceptions within national guidance that allowed patients to access alternatives in consultation with their GP.

The Principal Overview and Scrutiny Officer advised that the item had been brought to Committee to allow Members the opportunity to provide a response and all comments raised would be included.

The Committee also agreed to support the findings of the HWB included in the executive summary for the provision of future pharmaceutical needs and improvements.

Councillor Earley added that the Council should do everything they could to support this service, which had in the past been underutilised.

Resolved

That the report be noted and comments submitted with regards to the Draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.