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PNA

The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for Suffolk.

What is the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment?

The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) investigates the pharmaceutical needs of our Suffolk population. It looks at services provided by community pharmacies, GP practices that dispense medications and appliance contractors.

More detailed information about the PNA

  • The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) provides a comprehensive account of the commissioning environment for pharmaceutical services for the Suffolk area.
  • Pharmaceutical services include services provided by local pharmacies, dispensaries at doctors' surgeries, or specialist appliance contractors. Local pharmacies also provide healthcare help and advice. People often go to a pharmacy first when they are concerned about their health.
  • Suffolk Health and Wellbeing Board have a statutory duty to publish a Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) every three years. This is set out in the NHS (Pharmaceutical Services and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013.
  • The Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment is a report of the present needs for pharmaceutical services. It is used to identify any gaps in current services or improvements that could be made.
  • NHS England, Suffolk County Council, and the Integrated Care Boards in Suffolk use it to make decisions when applications for new pharmacies are received. They also use it to commission other services that could be delivered by community pharmacies and other providers.

Should you require the PNA in a different format, please email knowledgeandintelligence@suffolk.gov.uk

The Regulations state that Supplementary Statements can provide updates to the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) only in relation to changes in the availability of pharmaceutical services.

Supplementary Statements cannot provide updates on pharmaceutical need. This can only be achieved through a review of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment.

  • On 31 March 2024 an updated pharmacy location map with an associated list of updated pharmacies was produced. These two documents can be found via the links below.
  • A supplementary statement was initially produced in February 2023. However upon review, the detail within it did not require a supplementary statement. The changes within this have now been superseded by the production of the updated map and list, and the February 2023 supplementary statement has been removed.
  • As of 12 May 2025, no supplementary statements have been formally produced.  This is because not every change in pharmaceutical services needs to have a supplementary statement. Further information and guidance can be found via the PNA Information pack for local authority Health and Wellbeing Boards .
  • Throughout the life cycle of the PNA a record is kept of changes in local pharmacy services, so that they can be incorporated into the next version of the pharmaceutical needs assessment.