Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

Hull Health and Wellbeing Board is under a statutory obligation to draft, consult upon and publish a pharmaceutical needs assessment.

The pharmaceutical needs assessment is designed to look at the services provided by pharmacies in the city. It looks at any gaps in the current services provided or if it is anticipated that there might be gaps in the future. A gap could happen if some services are not available to people living in a certain area of Hull without a relatively longer travel time (walk, car journey or bus journey).

Many people call them chemists, but in this survey, we use the word pharmacy. By a pharmacy, we mean a place you would use to get a prescription dispensed or buy medicines which you can only buy from a pharmacy. We don't mean the pharmacy at a hospital or the part of a pharmacy where you buy beauty products. We also don't mean other places such as convenience stores, garages and shops where you buy medicines such as paracetamol.

NHS England and the Integrated Care Board buys services (commissions) from pharmacies, dispensing doctors and dispensing appliance contractors. The local Integrated Care Board uses Hull’s Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment to make decisions about applications by pharmacies in Hull such as opening a new pharmacy, new or additional premises, changes to opening hours, or providing more pharmaceutical services.

As part of this process, Hull’s Health and Wellbeing Board is conducting a consultation process on the draft pharmaceutical needs assessment for 2025 to 2028 and seeks your views on the document.

If you would like more information about the consultation or have questions about the pharmaceutical needs assessment, please email publichealthintelligence@hullcc.gov.uk

We will publish a feedback report after the consultation closes, and we will use your responses to consider if we need to make changes to the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment 2025 to 2028. The final Health and Wellbeing Board’s Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment for Hull 2025 to 2028 will be published in October 2025. It will be available on the Needs Assessments page.

Download the draft pharmaceutical needs assessment.

You can have your say by completing the survey.