Questionnaire results

NHS Oxfordshire is preparing a pharmaceutical needs assessment (PNA). The PNA will form the basis for making decisions about which pharmacy services to commission in the future for our population. The PNA will also inform how the PCT’s plans for pharmacy will develop.

An important element of any needs assessment is to capture the view of current and potential service users to understand their perspective and to identify actions which will ensure the successful implementation of services arising from the needs assessment.

NHS Oxfordshire undertook a postal questionnaire which achieved a response from 1404 people (23%) out of a sample of 6,114 people registered with Oxfordshire GPs. View the full result from the questionnaire (PDF File: 314 KB).

The questionnaire covered the current use of pharmacy services, preferences for, and satisfaction with services, prescription medicines use and access to pharmacies.

The responses to the questionnaire provide a very valuable insight into the views of patients that can be use immediately to inform the PCT’s plans for pharmacy services.

The highlights from the questionnaire include:

  • High levels of satisfaction with pharmacy services which extends across Oxfordshire. The results showed that privacy in pharmacies remains a problem even though most pharmacies have consultation areas. This suggests that there is work that needs to be done to change the way in which pharmacies use private areas.
  • Low levels of knowledge of extended pharmacy services but a strong willingness to use pharmacies for these kinds of services in the future. This suggests there is more that can be done to match patients’ perceptions with their willingness to use pharmacies in new ways.
  • People responding to the questionnaire were more likely to report problems accessing pharmacy services during “normal” opening hours than during the out of hours period (6pm - 8am). This suggests that lunchtime closures or pharmacist absence over lunchtime can be a barrier to access in some areas.
  • There is a significant group of people in Oxfordshire that are not getting the best from their medicines. This suggests that there are opportunities to explore how pharmacists could help patients with the practical problems that they experience.
  • Finally those patients that get dispensing services from their GP asked us to continue to support and nurture this cherished service.

The results have provided a unique and valuable insight into the views of patients which will be useful in developing the PNA and planning pharmacy services in the future. The results provide a foundation on which we can develop further work to explore the important themes that have emerged from the questionnaire.