Press release
Have your say on pharmacy services assessment
People living in Bury are being asked to give their views on NHS Bury’s assessment of pharmacy services in the town.
Earlier in the year, local people were encouraged to fill in a questionnaire to find out their views on existing services, to help shape service developments. Now, all those views have been fed into a document known as a ‘Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment’ (PNA). The draft document is now the subject of a public consultation. It focuses on current pharmacy services, any identified gaps, and will be used to prioritise service developments in the future.
NHS Bury is seeking the views of local people on whether the information in the draft PNA reflects an accurate picture of pharmacy services across the town, which will in turn help to plan future provision.
The draft PNA is being consulted on for a 60 day period, until 22 November 2010. Any feedback received will be incorporated, as far as possible, in the final version of the document, which will be published in February 2011.
Dr. Peter Elton, Director of Public Health for NHS Bury said:
“Community Pharmacies play a vital role in health provision in Bury. They provide a wide range of services and it’s really important that we gather the views of local people about whether they agree with our assessment of current pharmacy services, so that we can take this into account when planning future provision. I’d urge all local people to have their say in shaping this process, before the plan is finalised later in the year, and put into action. The document is quite lengthy but there is an executive summary which outlines the key messages, and I hope local people find this helpful.”
Local people can give their views on the draft PNA in a number of ways:
- The draft PNA and questionnaire can be found on the NHS Bury website at www.bury.nhs.uk (consultation pages).
- Hard copies of the questionnaire and an executive summary of the document can be obtained by calling NHS Bury’s Engagement Team on 0161 762 7334.
The consultation on the draft PNA closes on 22 November 2010.
ENDS
Date: 22 September 2010
FOR PRESS & MEDIA ENQUIRIES: contact Caroline Dearden, Corporate Communications Manager on 0161 762 3106 or email communications@bury.nhs.uk
Notes to editor:
The Health Act 2009 requires all Primary Care Trusts to produce a PNA.