| Standard not met | Reason | Action being taken by the Pharmacy | By when | Notification By Pharmacy Improvements Made |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | The pharmacy is working in partnership with a third-party website which promotes unlicensed medicines. So, the pharmacy does not take sufficient steps to ensure that any websites it works with are complying with requirements for advertising medicines. |
We will ensure any third party provider we work for prescribing services will follow MHRA blue guidance and we will instruct on any changes to their website/advertising methods. Prescribing will pause until the changes have been confirmed. Compliance with advertising will form a requirement in our SLA. Websites are checked before onboarding and every audit, and we will suspend the service if the partner does not comply. |
02/10/2026 | 02/10/2026 |
| 4.2 | The pharmacy does not verify people's identities and did not facilitate face-to-face consultations between the prescriber and the person. Consequently, prescribing decisions were based solely on information submitted through online questionnaires. So, this means there is limited assurance that the information provided is accurate or that the medicines being supplied to the intended person. |
The pharmacy will implement a robust ID verification process using an third party credit reference database. No prescriptions are issued until successful verification. Prescribers will arrange face to face consultations where questionnaire alone is not enough to prescribe safely. |
02/10/2026 | 02/10/2026 |
| 1.2 | The pharmacy does not audit its clinical services including its prescribing service. This means that it cannot evidence that it takes a consistent approach with all people that access the services. In addition, the pharmacy does not conduct regular audits of identity verification records, this means there is limited assurance that identity verification processes, where undertaken, were being applied consistently and effectively. |
The pharmacy will audit prescribing services every 6 and 12 month intervals depending on prescribing volume, and sooner after any incident, complaint or change in rejection rate. Each audit reviews all rejections and sample of approvals against set standards, including identity, age verification, clinical suitability, recorded rationale and follow up. Results and actions are reviewed by the Superintendent Pharmacist. |
02/10/2026 | 02/10/2026 |
| 1.1 | The pharmacy does not always follow its own procedures or guidelines. For example, the pharmacy does not conduct follow-up consultations with people receiving treatment, which is contrary to its own guidelines. And it does not maintain records about treatment refusals on people’s clinic records, as specified in its procedures. |
We have reviewed our follow up and refusal recording process against our prescribing guidelines. At each re-order the patient will confirm any changes to medication history. After 12 months patients are required to do a new questionnaire. All patients will be sent a follow up email at 6 and 12 months to check for changes in medical history and side effects. A prescriber will review any replies before subsequent supplies are made. All refusals are now recorded with a reason, signposting and confirmation that no prescription is issued. Both will be checked as part of our prescribing audit. |
02/10/2026 | 02/10/2026 |
| 1.1 | The pharmacy does not have a formal written service level agreement with the third-party website it works with. So, this means there is no documented framework setting out each party's responsibilities and accountabilities, which increases the risk of unclear governance arrangements. |
We will ensure an service level agreement (SLA) is in place with any partnering clinic. A clear standard operating procedure will outline the process. No third party is onboarded without suitability checks and signed SLA. The SLA sets out each party’s roles, responsibility and accountabilities. A signed SLA will be in place and it will be reviewed alongside each partner audit every 6-12 months. |
02/10/2026 | 02/10/2026 |
Pharmacy inspections
Inspection reports and learning from inspections