Contents

  1. Executive summary for the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025
  2. Section 1: Introduction
  3. Section 2: Context for the PNA
  4. Section 3: NHS pharmaceutical services provision, currently commissioned
  5. Section 4: Other services that may impact on pharmaceutical services provision
  6. Section 5: Findings from the public questionnaire
  7. Section 6: Analysis of health needs and pharmaceutical service provision
  8. Section 7: Conclusions
  9. Appendix A: List of pharmaceutical service providers in Bexley by locality
  10. Appendix B: PNA project plan
  11. Appendix C: PNA Steering Group terms of reference
  12. Appendix D: Public questionnaire
  13. Appendix E: Consultation stakeholders
  14. Appendix F: Summary of consultation responses
  15. Appendix G: Consultation comments
  16. Appendix H: List of Abbreviations

15. Appendix G: Consultation comments

Additional comments received on the consultation survey. Please note that some questions have not received any additional comments and therefore are not listed here.

Additional comments to question 3: Does the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment adequately reflect the current provision of pharmaceutical services within your area? If you have answered ‘No’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Neighbouring HWBNA - neighbouring HWBNoted with thanks.

Additional comments to question 4: Are there any gaps in service provision; for example when, where and which services are available that have not been identified in the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment? If you have answered ‘Yes’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicSince Crayford Sainsburys lost its Lloyds pharmacy, there has been a lack of availability with disabled access. Station Rd has very limited parking and Boots is the only alternative, which is always very busy with long queues.Thank you for your comment. Under the Equality Act 2010, community pharmacies are required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure services are accessible to all, including less-abled persons. We also note that Distance Selling Pharmacies (DSPs) offer delivery services, which may be a suitable option for patients facing access barriers. Your comments will be taken into account in the final PNA and shared with local commissioners to inform future planning.
Member of the publicNot enough 72 hours pharmacies or open until 8pm.The PNA has reviewed opening hours across the borough, including evenings and weekends, and concludes that there is no current gap in the provision of pharmaceutical services during these times. However, we recognise that individual experiences may vary. Opening hours reflect commercial and local need.

Additional comments to question 5: Does the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment reflect the need of your area’s population? If you have answered ‘No’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicAs above, Crayford lost its pharmacy inside Sainsburys with no replacement offered. With all the new flats being built, thousands of new residents will require the already stretched services.The PNA has taken into account planned housing growth across Bexley, including in Crayford, and assessed future pharmaceutical needs accordingly. While we acknowledge the closure of the pharmacy reduced convenience for some residents, the assessment concludes that there is currently no gap in pharmaceutical service provision.
Neighbouring HWBNA - neighbouring HWBNoted with thanks.

Additional comments to question 6: Has the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment provided information to inform market entry decisions, for example decisions on applications for new pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractor premises? If you have answered ‘No’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicI haven't seen this anywhere.Details are provided in Section 7.

Additional comments to question 7: Has the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment provided information to inform how pharmaceutical services may be commissioned in the future? If you have answered ‘No’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicI haven't seen this anywhere.Recommendations are provided in Section 7.

Additional comments to question 8: Has the draft Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment provided enough information to inform future pharmaceutical services provision and plans for pharmacies and dispensing appliance contractors? If you have answered ‘No’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicI haven't seen this anywhere.Recommendations are provided in Section 6 and Section 7.

Additional comments to question 9: Are there any pharmaceutical services that could be provided in the community pharmacy setting in the future that have not been highlighted? If you have answered ‘Yes’, please specify why.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicBoots Crayford do not offer NHS covid boosters.COVID-19 vaccination service is an Enhanced Service which is a voluntary service community pharmacies may choose to provide. COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters are also available from other healthcare providers such as your GP Practice.
Member of the publicMore Sunday provision.The PNA reviewed weekend opening hours across the borough and concluded that there is currently no gap in Sunday provision, based on population needs and access to existing services. Opening hours reflect commercial and local need.

Comments to question 12: If you have any other comments, please write them below.

FromCommentSteering Group response
Member of the publicMore accessible pharmacies are needed in Crayford.Thank you for your comment. Under the Equality Act 2010, community pharmacies are required to make reasonable adjustments to ensure services are accessible to all, including less-abled persons. We also note that Distance Selling Pharmacies (DSPs) offer delivery services, which may be a suitable option for patients facing access barriers. Your comments will be taken into account in the final PNA and shared with local commissioners to inform future planning. Opening hours reflect commercial and local need.
Neighbouring HWBMaps showing opening hours could include opening hours of pharmacies in neighbouring boroughs.Noted for consideration for future PNAs.
Bexley Local Medical CommitteeThe pharmaceutical needs assessment needs to edited down to a manageable navigable document. The current document contains unnecessary levels of detail which make reading and processing the document nearly impossible. I cannot answer many of the questions as the document itself is extremely long and needs editing down. The assessment document will exclude members of the public especially those with needs that require addressing.We acknowledge your concerns about the level of detail and the impact this may have on ease of navigation and engagement. The current PNA has been produced in line with statutory requirements, which necessitate a comprehensive level of information and evidence to support its conclusions. While no changes will be made to the current version, your feedback is appreciated and will be considered in the development of future PNAs.

Comments received from London Region Pharmaceutical Services Regulations Committee.

CommentSteering Group response
There are a small number of discrepancies in hours and one in terms of name where a change of ownership has recently been finalised.Changes are acknowledged and the Final PNA reflects the changes.
There appears to be dispensing GPs noted in some maps, there are none in London, but we cannot comment about Kent. The London ones should be amended and removed. We note that there were none recorded for Bexley.This is noted and amended in the Final PNA for Bexley.
The bank holiday service is an enhanced service within the regs and should be included within these statements. Please note the current service is about to finish and a new one is currently being worked through to start later this year.This is noted and amended in the Final PNA for Bexley.
Typo on page 75 for table 44, this refers to Ealing rather than Bexley!Amended.
The pharmacies providing Covid 19 injections is being updated now for the spring cohorts and should be available via the NHSE vaccination team. These can change with each separate campaign, but a service will be provided.This is noted and included in the Final PNA for Bexley.
Adv flu service can be provided by any pharmacy that fulfils the criteria so there is not a list of those who provide unlike other advanced services. The vaccination team will have a list of those providing the enhanced service.This is noted and included in the Final PNA for Bexley.
The HWBB need to be aware of the recently notified change to the Community Pharmacy Framework and may need to make some small adjustments to the text of the PNA to take into consideration these amendments. This was announced after the consultation had started, so the HWBB would not have had these details.This is noted and amended in the Final PNA for Bexley.
Please also bear in mind the recently announced changes to how core hours can be amended, whilst the finer details are not known as yet, this may have an impact on opening hours in general and the HWBB may need to keep a watchful eye on these in case any of these have an impact.This is noted and amended in the Final PNA for Bexley.