Calderdale pharmacy services to be assessed in new consultation

Calderdale Council’s Health and Wellbeing Board is undertaking what’s known as a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment - a legal requirement assessing local people’s current and future needs for community pharmacy services.

The results are used to inform decisions by local authorities, NHS England and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

People are asked to complete a short survey about the way pharmacies and chemists in Calderdale operate, to ensure that they provide the right type of services to meet residents' needs across the borough. This includes what pharmacies offer and how easy they are to access.

The Leader of Calderdale Council and Chair of the Calderdale Health and Wellbeing Board, Councillor Tim Swift, said: “Throughout the pandemic our local pharmacies have worked incredibly hard to support local residents. This has included important work to assist with the vaccine rollout programme as well as the distribution of tests and making sure that vulnerable residents received their prescriptions.

“We know that these services are valued, but we also want to know how they could be further improved. We’re asking local people to tell us how they currently access pharmacy services and if they sufficiently meet people’s needs.

“All responses are anonymous, so please share your experiences, good and bad, to help us accurately assess current provision and how this can be improved.”

All Calderdale residents are invited to take part and answer questions related to their experience.

There’s also the opportunity to provide general feedback. The survey takes around 10 minutes to complete and all individual responses and personal information is anonymous and will not be shared any further.

The survey is available to access here. All responses should be received by Friday February 11 2022.

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