The Wirral Health and Wellbeing Board met to discuss the Wirral Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment, receive an update from Healthwatch Wirral, and review the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities improvement programme. The board was also scheduled to discuss its work programme for the remainder of the 2025/26 municipal year.

Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment

The board was asked to approve the Wirral Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA) 2025 – 2028 for publication. The PNA is a document that assesses the pharmaceutical needs of the local population, and is used by NHS Pharmacy Commissioners when reviewing applications from contractors to provide community pharmacy services¹. The PNA had been subject to a public consultation between April and June 2025, and no material changes were made as a result. The report noted that all Health and Wellbeing Boards have a statutory duty to provide pharmaceutical needs assessments under the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2013.

The PNA concluded that the borough is adequately served in terms of geographic location of community pharmacies, with one pharmacy for every 4,188 residents, compared to the national average of one pharmacy for every 4,981 residents. However, it also concluded that there is a need for a minimum of essential pharmaceutical services, on Sundays, between 4.00pm and 10.00pm and Monday to Saturday, between 9.00pm and 10.00pm.

The report also noted that there is a broad range of advanced, enhanced and locally commissioned services provided in addition to essential services. These include the Pharmacy First service, the New Medicines Service, influenza vaccination for at risk adults, the Hypertension Case Finding Service, Pharmacy Contraception Services, and Smoking Cessation Service.

The report stated that NHS England (Cheshire and Merseyside) will use the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment as a control of entry document to support in the review of pharmacy applications and associated related commissioning decisions related to community pharmacy services in Wirral.

Healthwatch Wirral Update

The board was scheduled to receive an update from Healthwatch Wirral, the local consumer champion for health and social care. The report was to share the key achievements of Healthwatch Wirral for the year 2024/2025, highlighting the organisation's impact based on insights gathered from community members. These insights were gathered through emails, phone calls, and direct engagement activities, and align with the priorities set out in the Council Plan 2023-2027.

The report included a summary of the interactions of Healthwatch Wirral on local health and care services taken from the Annual Report. The Healthwatch Wirral Annual Report 2024/25 noted that over 10,000 people had shared their personal journeys with the organisation in the past nine months, and that there had been over 24,000 total interactions/ contacts during that time. It also noted that Healthwatch Wirral had published 18 Enter & View reports covering Care Homes, GP Practices, and Walk-in Centres, as well as reports on key issues including: Pressures on Urgent and Emergency Care, GP Enhanced Access, Primary Care Access Recovery, Call Before Convey (NWAS & WCHC), and an evaluation on Medequip services.

The report also highlighted a number of key themes that had emerged from Healthwatch Wirral's work, including: struggles with long waiting lists, difficulties booking appointments, cancelled or unavailable services, unhelpful staff, the need to chase for answers, mixed experiences about the quality of care and the communication received from health services, medication and pharmacy issues, and difficulties accessing health information online.

The report also noted that Healthwatch Wirral provides Independent NHS Complaints Advocacy Support, and that in 2024/25, their advocate provided comprehensive support for 65 people who had a wide range of issues.

SEND Improvement Update

The Health and Wellbeing Board was scheduled to receive an update on the improvement programme for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Wirral. The report covered the July Local Area Strategic Partnership Board 2025 reports pack.

The report noted that the Local Area SEND Partnership Board (LASPB) received a range of reports relating to progress during the reporting period, and that the Priority Action Plan is the key report as it forms the basis of how the LASPB continues to track and monitor the improvements required by Wirral's SEND Improvement Notice.

The report stated that of the actions required in the Priority Action Plan during the reporting period, the majority remain on track for delivery to timescale, with the actions that have been highlighted for slippage relating to the reporting of the updated EHCP recovery plan and the remaining outstanding metrics that were unable to be reported on as Liquid Logic continues to evolve.

The report also noted that the headline 20 week timescale for EHCPs remains challenging as SENDSTART continue to manage down the outstanding EHC needs assessments and stuck cases from previous years while progressing current applications in a timely way where possible.

The report stated that EHCP Audit and Quality Assurance has been undertaken through April to June through the Invision 360 digital tool, and that currently, only 86 plans have been quality assured this year, identifying a significant area for improvement.

The report also noted that Priority Actions in relation to improving the experience of young people with SEND preparing for adulthood (PFA) remain on track with no significant risks or issues identified, and that Wirral Council commissioned NDTI to undertake an audit of provision within Wirral, with the report due at the end of the Summer.

The report stated that Cheshire and Merseyside ICB set out their proposals in relation to the implementation of a new pathway for neurodevelopmental assessment and diagnosis, and that the proposals seek to utilise the this is me neurodiversity assessment tool following a successful pilot phase.

The report also noted that through a deep dive into performance of the jointly commissioned SALT service, the service was able to evidence a return on investment through a significant reduction in the number of children waiting for an assessment as well as the length of time children are waiting.

Work Programme

The board was scheduled to discuss its work programme for the remainder of the 2025/26 municipal year. The work programme is to align with the corporate priorities of the council, and is to be formed from a combination of key decisions, standing items and requested officer reports.