Pharmacy type
Closed
Pharmacy context
COVID-19
Relevant standards
- 1.1 - The risks associated with providing pharmacy services are identified and managed
Why this is notable practice
This homecare pharmacy has reassessed its delivery process in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has put in place suitable processes to ensure continuity of medicine supply to people receiving homecare medicine services.
How the pharmacy did this
The pharmacy had worked with the NHS to see if they could increase supplies of patient’s medicines from eight weeks to ten weeks. And to extend the expiry date for prescriptions on repeat dispensing. This was so the pharmacy could reduce the number of deliveries they needed to make.
The pharmacy changed the processes for their delivery drivers to support social distance requirements. When making a delivery the delivery driver let the patient know they were on their way. On arrival the driver knocked on the door and placed the delivery on the doorstep. The driver then took two steps back. When the person answered the door, the driver asked them for confirmation. The driver then signed the delivery record. The record was specifically identified as Covid-19, so anyone querying it later would know why the patient didn’t sign. The pharmacy was allocating delivery priorities to different patient groups. So, if delivery teams were affected, they could ensure the most vulnerable patients got their medicines. The pharmacy had a large fleet of cold chain vans that it could provide to other organisations if needed. The fleet was spread over different sites.
What difference this made to patients
The pharmacy’s contingency planning is focussed on helping prevent the spread of the virus. And ensuring people identified as vulnerable continue to receive their medication safely. It has identified ways in which it could support other pharmacies by offering specially equipped vehicles to assist with deliveries if required.
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: