Healthwatch Together are working with colleagues from Public Health, NHS England, Blackpool
Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Lancashire County Council to hear about
local peoples experiences of accessing community pharmacy services.
Community pharmacies, also known as ‘chemists’, can be found across Lancashire e.g. on the
high street, in supermarkets, local housing estates and also online.
The feedback and experiences will help shape developments and feed directly into the
‘Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment‘ (PNA), which happens every three years. The PNA has been
delayed for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of the PNA is to review
community pharmacy services within an area and identify any areas of unmet need. This will then
shape improvements and further developments of pharmacy services going forward.
To find out more see:
Blackburn with Darwen- https://bit.ly/3FVjr5Y
Blackpool- https://bit.ly/3mTAr4W
Lancashire- https://bit.ly/32FMX1i
The three areas referred to in this report are the areas covered by the three Health and Wellbeing
Boards. The Health and Wellbeing Board are required to consult with stakeholders, such as
Healthwatch, when writing the PNA. As a result, Healthwatch Together are ensuring patient
experience of community pharmacy services is at the heart of the assessment.
Each local Healthwatch were responsible for engaging with patients within their patch. The goal
was to gather qualitative and quantitative feedback to influence the PNA, highlighting trends in
accessing community pharmacy services.
Healthwatch Together would like to thank all those who took the time to share their experiences
of their local pharmacy. We are extremely appreciative to all of the people that chose to take part
in and support our survey.
Download our report here