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’s business continuity plan is regularly updated, and the working patterns are changed to ensure that if one member of the team has symptoms of COVID-19 and needs to self-isolate, there are other team members available to work at the pharmacy.
How the pharmacy did this
The superintendent had reviewed the business continuity plan and implemented several changes to the working practices of the pharmacy. These included large information posters for patients, an updated and more intensive cleaning rota, staff training on the correct use of personal protective equipment and limiting the number of people that are in the pharmacy at any one time.
To ensure that the entire pharmacy team did not have to self-isolate if any of them demonstrated symptoms, the team had changed their working pattern by splitting into two teams. The teams worked alternate full weeks and the pharmacy was cleaned after it had closed on a Saturday evening and then again by the new team before opening on the Monday morning. This was in addition to regular cleaning which was taking place.
What difference this made to patients
If one of the pharmacy teams is required to self-isolate due to showing signs of COVID-19 infection the other team would be available to work at the pharmacy. This means any negative impact on people needing to access the pharmacy’s services is minimised.
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: