The Board to receive a briefing on the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.

David Bearman, Devon Local Pharmaceutical Committee provided the Board with an update on the process they were adopting in relation to the pharmaceutical needs assessment.  It was reported that –

(a)           it was a statutory duty of the Health and Wellbeing Board to be aware of the legal duty to publish a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment by 1 April 2015;

(b)          they had taken a collaborative approach working together with Plymouth, Devon, Torbay and Cornwall to devise a structured assessment across these areas;

(c)           a draft document would be consulted on from 10 November 2014 to 9 January 2015 with the final version to the Board in February 2015 for sign off.

In response to questions raised, it was reported that voluntary and community groups would be consulted with and that Board members had a responsibility to take this back to their organisations and community groups for that wider consultation and feedback their views.

The following comments were made by Board members –

(d)          this was a useful tool to be fed into Education SW to develop the workforce and to inform workforce issues;

(e)          that a further recommendation be put forward to look at the delivery of pharmaceutical needs of people within a domiciliary setting.

Agreed that the Health and Wellbeing Board -

1.         Note the statutory duty to produce a pharmaceutical needs assessment by 1 April 2015.

2.         Endorse the approach to produce the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for Plymouth to receive progress reports and be consulted on the final draft on the 20 November 2014 with final sign off by the Health and Wellbeing Board at the meeting of 5 February 2015.

3.         Look at the delivery of pharmaceutical needs of people within a domiciliary setting.