| Standard not met | Reason | Action being taken by the Pharmacy | By when | Notification By Pharmacy Improvements Made |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | The pharmacy does not effectively identify and mitigate the risks associated with the services it provides. The pharmacy’s risk assessments are inadequate. |
We have revisited our risk assessments and have already started the process of expanding the scope of the current risk assessments , whilst also reassessing further potential risk factors. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 1.2 | The pharmacy does not have adequate prescribing policies and it does not effectively audit or review the prescribing service to make sure it is safe and in line with UK national guidance. |
Similar to the above , we are working through all our current prescribing policies to make the necessary improvements. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 1.6 | The pharmacy's responsible pharmacist (RP) record and private prescription records are not accurate. Prescribing records are not available. |
The recording of RP on the computer has now been moved to a paper record and will be adhered to more vigilantly. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 1.8 | People are able to obtain prescription medicines including contraceptives, and high risk pharmacy medicines, without providing proof of their name, address or their age, which is a safeguarding concern. |
To further safeguard patients we are implementing a 3rd party software solution that is able to verify both age and identity during the ordering process. Furthermore, this 3rd party company is ISO 27001 Certified and PCI compliant which gives us peace of mind our patients data is in good hands. The terms & conditions on our website will be updated accordingly to reflect and inform this additional process takes place. We forecast this will be fully operational in the next calendar month. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 2.2 | Several members of the pharmacy team do not have the appropriate skills, qualifications and competence for their role and the tasks they carry out. And there is a lack of clinical supervision. |
Four members of staff will be put on counter assistant courses and the operations manager is being enrolled on a pharmacy dispensing course . |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 3.1 | The pharmacy's website uses unprofessional terminology and incentivises the purchase of medicines. And the third-party's prescribing service allows a person to select prescription only medicines before starting a consultation with a prescriber. |
We are looking to remove from the online consultation terms such as ‘Top Sellers’ and ‘Shop Now’ to remove incentives to purchase medicines by impulse. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 4.2 | The pharmacy is not able to demonstrate that safeguards are in place to make sure the medicines it supplies are clinically appropriate. This includes:- verifying the information provided by the person completing the online questionnaire, confirming a diagnosis, sharing all relevant information about the prescription with the patient's regular doctor and ensuring effective monitoring is in place. And the online questionnaire is set up so that it is clear which answers will prevent the supply of a medicine, so people may circumvent this in order to receive the medicine they want. |
Further safeguarding measures are to be implemented on and off the website. As mentioned in (1.8) we are implementing an age and verification process. This will verify the age and identity of the person filling out the questionnaire. Furthermore when required we will request access to patients SCR to confirm diagnosis and suitability of medication. During the order process all patients are asked for their GP details and for consent to share any supply of medication. Section 1 of the questionnaire is set up as a Yes | No answer, however, the section 2 of the questionnaire asks and allows the patient to add as much detail as possible regarding their product and condition. Section 2 was expanded on the back of a conversation we had with the GPhC back in October of last year. We are currently consulting with our developers to see how we can implement a text box termed in the industry as a “child of table” which will enable the patient to enter additional information when required. This development is complicated and cannot be done “inhouse”. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
| 4.3 | The pharmacy cannot provide assurance that the medicines it supplies are always fit for purpose. Medicines which have been returned to the pharmacy following failed deliveries are put back into stock to be used again. And medicines requiring refrigeration are not always stored at the correct temperature prior to supply. |
The pharmacist superintendent categorically guarantees that no medicines returned for whatever reason are recirculated. We carry out safe disposal of all returned medication using Doop bins, which are collected routinely. |
16/08/2021 | 26/08/2021 |
Pharmacy inspections
Inspection reports and learning from inspections