Medicines and patient identifiable information exposed to unauthorised access.

Pharmacy type

Community

Pharmacy context

A village pharmacy which is part of a small chain of pharmacies. It serves a population with a high percentage of retired residents. The pharmacy processes approximately 6,500 prescriptions per month. Other services include Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC), Medicines Use Reviews (MURs), New Medicines Service (NMS), Monitored Dosage Systems (MDS), Delivery service, Drug Misuse prescriptions, Repeat prescription delivery service (RPCS) and a repeat dispensing service.

Relevant standards

• 3.4 - Premises are secure and safeguarded from unauthorized access

Why this is poor practice

Sharing of the building with another business without proper separation led to medicines being accessible to individuals other than pharmacy team staff.

What the shortcomings are

The upper floor of the pharmacy had been let out to an Estate agents business. An employee of that business held a key to the pharmacy and gained access to the estate agents through the main entrance to the pharmacy. This person would occasionally have entered the pharmacy prior to the arrival of any member of the pharmacy staff. There were waste medicines in open yellow bags in an unlocked room, opposite the estate agents business on the upper floor of the pharmacy. The dispensary area was not protected by a separate alarm, nor was it sealed off in any way. As a result, the pharmacy, the medicines and patient sensitive documentation were not protected from unauthorised access.

What improvements are required

Any other business using the building where the pharmacy is located must be physically separate. This is to prevent unauthorised access to medication and to ensure adequate means of escape in case of fire. Owners of business buildings are required to undertake a fire risk assessment and implement any actions arising, which would have prevented this problem.