PHARMACEUTICAL needs are being met on the Island now and in the next three years ... at least that's what the Isle of Wight Council thinks.

In a draft copy of the Pharmaceutical Needs Assessment (PNA), the council's Health and Wellbeing Board has come to that conclusion after looking at health factors, current population and predicted future need.

The PNA is a report considered every three years and the latest assessment has been in the making since September.

It comes, though, as concerns about Island pharmacies increase, with staff facing growing abuse from frustrated patients, who are facing long wait times for — or going without — essential medication.

An incident in April saw the Boots Pharmacy on Ventnor High Street lock its doors with patients inside due to the abuse staff were facing.

The PNA, once completed, will primarily be used by health officials to see where gaps in the services are but through evaluation, the council says there are none, at least until 2025.

The authority says the number of pharmacies, their geographical distribution, opening hours and choice of services currently meets the needs of the Island population and into the future.

They say a pharmacy is accessible to the majority of residents, within a five-mile drive, and approximately around one pharmacy per 4,500 Islanders.

The average number of items dispensed in 2020/21 per pharmacy was also higher than the national average — with 100,110 items on the Island compared to an average of 88,247 nationally.

It equates to just over 8,340 items dispensed per pharmacy per month on the Island.

It is not the final version of the PNA however, with the council looking to hear feedback from the public before the report is officially approved and released in October later this year.

You can fill in its survey, until July 17, here:  hampshirecc.welcomesyourfeedback.net/s/2022-PNA