Accessibility of pharmacy services for patients with physical and sensory impairment.

Pharmacy type

Community

Pharmacy context

This was a shopping centre pharmacy dispensing around 18,000 NHS items per month and a small quantity of private dispensing. The pharmacy opened extended hours every day of the week; including some out of hours’ dispensing. 7am – 8.30am, with a pharmacist signed in and absence recorded. The NHS items included supply to around 40 patients in Monitored Dosage System trays and pharmaceutical services were provided for 50 care homes, totalling around 1200 There was a consultation room and a separate discreet area with a hatch to the dispensary for delivery of substance misuse services.

Relevant standards

• 4.1 - The pharmacy services provided are accessible to patients and the public

Why this is notable practice

Services provided are aligned to the needs of the local community, taking into account the demographics, and ease of access to the pharmacy.

How the pharmacy did this

There was good physical access by means of a flat entrance which was open onto a flat shopping centre. Wide aisles allowed prams, wheelchairs and people with disabilities to move about easily in the pharmacy. A hearing loop in working order was available and staff had strategies to ensure that patients who were hard of hearing understood how to use the medicines. There was a low reception desk at the end of the dispensary which allowed wheelchairs to move under enabling patients to reach a desk to sign prescriptions and receive the medication. Large print labels were provided for some patients and large numbers were on labels with corresponding directions’ sheets for those who required large print. Other strategies used to assist patients included labelling some eye drops on the bottle and some on the carton to differentiate the different types, halving tablets and repackaging tablets from blisters into bottles with plain tops. All these strategies were risk assessed and notes made on the PMR to ensure that these were always supplied in this manner.

What difference this made to patients

The pharmacy has put in place a range of measures to enable patients with physical or sensory impairment to access pharmacy services, adopting appropriate risk assessments to ensure their safety is not compromised.