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Pharmacy inspections

Inspection reports and learning from inspections

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Continual review of the pharmacy's business continuity plan

Pharmacy type

Community

Pharmacy context

​COVID-19

Relevant standards

  • 1.1 - The risks associated with providing pharmacy services are identified and managed

Why this is notable practice

The pharmacy has a live business continuity plan in place which is updated daily by the superintendent pharmacist. It is supporting its committed workforce by easing the pressure through new ways of working.

How the pharmacy did this

The pharmacy was one of four pharmacies under the same ownership. To help manage and co-ordinate services between the four pharmacies its superintendent pharmacist had set up a process which required each pharmacy to contact him three to four times each day with an update on how they were coping. This was helping to ensure the company had the right resources in the right places to help manage its service safely. In response to the regular updates the pharmacy had delayed its opening time by an hour each morning. But its team members were arriving for work an hour early each day. This provided its team members with two hours of protected time to begin dispensing the increased number of prescriptions being received. The pharmacy clearly displayed its new opening times along with information about Covid-19. And it was providing this information to people verbally as they visited the pharmacy. Some pharmacy team members had been identified as being in the ‘at-risk’ group. But they had expressed a desire to continue working to support the pharmacy in delivering its services. The pharmacy had assessed the risk to these team members. And in response to this it had created a non-patient facing work area. Staff working in this area came to work in an evening to limit their interaction with other team members. And they focussed on supporting the pharmacy’s multi-compartment compliance pack service.

What difference this made to patients

The pharmacy is continually reviewing its business continuity arrangements in response to the outbreak of Covid-19. Its flexible continuity arrangements limits the pressure on its frontline team members. And help ensure people continue to receive safe and timely access to their medication.

Highlighted standards

We have identified the standards most likely and least likely to be met in inspections, and highlighted examples of notable practice for each of these standards; to help everyone learn from others and to support continuous improvement:

  1. 1.1 Risk management
  2. 1.2 Reviewing and monitoring the safety of services
  3. 4.2 Safe and effective service delivery
  4. 4.3 Sourcing and safe, secure management of medicines and devices
  5. 2.2 Staff skills and qualifications