National Assembly for
Wales / Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru
Health
and Social Care Committee/
Y Pwyllgor Iechyd a Gofal Cymdeithasol
Public Health (Wales) Bill / Bil Iechyd y Cyhoedd (Cymru)
Evidence from The Urology Trade – PHB 83 / Tystiolaeth gan Gymdeithas y Fasnach Wroleg – PHB 83
Public Health (Wales) Bill: Consultation questions
Community pharmacies
The Bill will require local health boards in Wales to review the need for pharmaceutical services in its area, and that any decisions relating to community pharmacies are based on the needs of local communities.
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Do you believe the proposals in the Bill will achieve the aim of improving the planning and delivery of pharmaceutical services in Wales? |
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The Urology Trade Association (UTA) welcomes the Bill’s proposal to introduce ‘pharmaceutical needs assessments (PNAs)’ in Wales and believes that the proposals would bring planning and delivery of pharmaceutical services in Wales in line with other primary care services across the UK. The UTA also welcomes the Bill’s proposal to require Health Boards to keep PNAs under review, encouraging pharmacies to adapt and expand their services in response to local needs. The UTA would like to highlight the need to ensure that the definition and regulations of PNAs are comprehensive in setting out the needs for the area and assess how they might impact on the community with specific needs, including the 25% of the UK population who suffers from incontinence. The UTA would like to see the in the inclusion of requirements for Health Boards to consult with patients with continence problems and experts in the field as part of the PNA review process, moving towards a more patient-centred approach. We are therefore pleased that the PNAs will move away from applications from pharmacy contractors that is focused on the dispensing of prescription to one of broader pharmaceutical and DAC services. that takes into account the needs of the community. We hope that this approach allows patients to have better access to a wide range of high quality urology products and services which allow them to maintain their independence, quality of life and clinical wellbeing.
Patients being unable access products that meet their own specific needs also lead to product wastage, an increased incidence of urinary tract infections due to the products’ invasive nature, and an increased reliance of health and social care services – leading to increased costs. We hope that this proposal, particularly the requirement for Health Boards to review their assessments opens up the necessary opportunity for engagement – both with patients and healthcare professionals in the field. |
Public toilets
The Bill includes a proposal that will require local authorities to prepare a local strategy to plan how they will meet the needs of their communities for accessing public toilet facilities. However, the Bill does not require local authorities to actually provide toilet facilities.
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What are your views on the proposal that each local authority in Wales will be under a duty to prepare and publish a local toilets strategy for its area? |
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The UTA supports the Bill’s proposal to require each local authority to prepare and publish a local toilets strategy for its area.
In the UK, an estimated 6 million people are affected by continence problems and many rely on urology appliances on a daily basis. High quality urology appliances such as catheters allow users to manage their conditions, maintaining their quality of life and independence and avoiding repeated medical consultations.
However, many people who use catheters fear not being able to access public toilets and can often left housebound. Requiring each local authority to prepare and publish a strategy which ensures the provision of sufficient public toilets which is maintained, safe and accessible is a starting point in addressing the issues currently faced by people with continence problems. |
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Do you believe that preparing a local toilet strategy will ultimately lead to improved provision of public toilets? |
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Please refer to the above response. |
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Do you believe the provision in the Bill to ensure appropriate engagement with communities is sufficient to guarantee the views of local people are taken into account in the development of local toilet strategies? |
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The UTA understands that the current system poses a number of challenges including poor planning around making the best use of toilets already accessible to the public and the lack of uniformity in the provision and maintenance of public toilets. We believe that the provision in the Bill to ensure appropriate engagement with communities must consider the need of patients with continence problems and engage with users of urology products and experts to improve the quality of continence care in Wales. |