The Barnsley Health and Wellbeing Board met on 11 September 2025 and approved the final draft of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) for 2025-2028, which will be published by 1 October 2025. The PNA assesses pharmaceutical services across Barnsley and identifies any gaps in service delivery. The board also discussed pharmacy opening hours and the location of dispensing GP practices.

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025-2028

The board approved the final draft of Barnsley's Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025-2028, ready for publication on 1 October 2025. The PNA is a statutory requirement for all Health and Wellbeing Boards in England, as outlined in the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013. The PNA looks at the provision of community pharmaceutical services across Barnsley to assess whether they meet the needs of the population and to identify any gaps in service delivery.

The key findings of the PNA include:

• Barnsley has good coverage of pharmaceutical services across the borough, with no gaps in current provision.
• Most Barnsley residents live within a one mile (1.6km) radius or a ten-minute drive of a pharmacy.
• Barnsley has similar coverage of community pharmacies compared to the England average.
• In the Area Council where pharmacy coverage is considerably lower than national averages, there is good coverage provided by dispensing GP practices and this was not considered to be a gap in provision.
• An increase in population may generate increased demand.

The PNA also incorporates feedback from a statutory 60-day consultation with partners. As part of the consultation process, Barnsley's Public Health Team reviewed the PNA documents of Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Local Authorities, with no implications identified for Barnsley.

Next steps include:

• Publication of the PNA by 1 October 2025.
• The council's Business Intelligence Team will continue to monitor pharmaceutical provision and publish supplementary statements on the council's website about any changes on a quarterly basis.
• The findings of the PNA will be shared with the Barnsley Place Partnership Delivery Group on 14 October 2025.

Councillor Wendy Cain, Cabinet Spokesperson - Public Health and Communities, welcomed Rebecca Clarke, Head of Health Protection & Healthcare, BMBC, and Laura Fairbank, Senior Public Health Officer, BMBC, to the meeting to present the final draft of Barnsley's Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025-28 for the Board's approval and final sign off.

Other Matters Discussed

• Sunday opening hours and palliative care provision: Katy Calvin-Thomas, Executive Director Place Health and Adult Social Care for Barnsley, noted information in the PNA regarding Sunday opening hours and palliative care provision. This matter will be addressed at the upcoming Barnsley Place Partnership Delivery Group meeting on 14 October 2025.
• Data analysis: Jamie Wike, Deputy Place Director, NHS South Yorkshire ICB, asked if any data analysis had been undertaken regarding the capacity, coverage, geographical distribution, number of pharmacies and pharmacists per pharmacy in Barnsley, their respective capacities, and the involvement of pharmacists in prevention activities. It was recommended that this inquiry be referred to the Barnsley Place ICB for a response, with relevant information then being presented at the Barnsley Place Partnership Delivery Group meeting. Rebecca Clarke, Head of Health Protection & Healthcare, BMBC, will take action on this.
• Number of pharmacists: The board highlighted that the presence of only one pharmacist in a pharmacy affects residents and agreed that this matter would be addressed within the context of the above discussion. Rebecca Clarke, Head of Health Protection & Healthcare, BMBC, will take action on this.
• Accuracy of location data: Dr Jamie MacInnes, GP Representative, asked for clarification regarding the accuracy of the location of the dispensing GP practices in the assessment. Rebecca Clarke, Head of Health Protection & Healthcare, BMBC, responded that this data had been provided by NHS England and confirmed that she would verify this information with South Yorkshire ICB colleagues. Rebecca Clarke, Head of Health Protection & Healthcare, BMBC, will take action on this.