Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 07/12/2021
Pharmacy context
The pharmacy is located in a unit on an industrial estate in Liverpool. It is a distance selling internet pharmacy, trading as clearchemist.co.uk. The pharmacy premises are not open to the public. The pharmacy’s main activity involves dispensing prescriptions that are issued by an online prescribing service for patients of Gender GP (‘the online provider’), which is an online clinic that operates outside UK regulation. The online provider is registered as a company in Hong Kong and the prescriptions are issued by a doctor who is registered and based in Romania. The online provider offers treatments for transgender patients and gender dysphoria. Medicines are prescribed by the online provider for adults. Some of the medicines that the pharmacy supplies to patients of the online provider are higher risk because they require effective monitoring and management. The pharmacy also dispenses approximately 200 NHS prescription items each month and sells a range of over-the-counter medicines.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy generally manages the risks associated with its services and protects peoples’ information. Members of the pharmacy team are clear about their roles and responsibilities. They record their mistakes so that they can learn from them. And act to help stop the same sort of mistakes from happening again. The pharmacy carries out
some audits to assess whether the prescribing service it works with follows
appropriate protocols. But the scope of these audits is limited. So the
pharmacy cannot provide full assurance about the treatment its patients receive.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has enough staff to manage its workload safely. Members of the pharmacy team have completed the training they need to do their jobs. And they have access to ongoing training to keep their knowledge up to date.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy is safe, clean, and properly maintained. The layout is appropriate for the services provided.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy’s services are accessible to most people and they are generally managed adequately. The pharmacy has some safeguards in place to help make sure that the medicines they supply will be used safely. It works with online providers that are not registered with UK regulators. But it does not carry out many checks to make sure that they are operating effectively or following UK guidelines. So it has to rely on assurances that the online providers give it.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment it needs to provide services safely. It is appropriately maintained, and it is used in a way that protects privacy.
Pharmacy details
Unit 20
Brookfield Trade Centre
Brookfield Drive Aintree
LIVERPOOL
L97AS
England
What do the inspection outcomes mean?
After an inspection each pharmacy receives one overall outcome. This will be either Standards met or Standards not all met
| The pharmacy has met all the standards for registered pharmacies | |
| The pharmacy has not met one or more of the standards for registered pharmacies |
What do the summary findings for each principle mean?
The standards for registered pharmacies are made up of five principles. The pharmacy will also receive one of four possible findings for each of these principles. These are:
| The pharmacy delivers an innovative service and benefits the whole community and performs well against the standards | |
| The pharmacy delivers positive outcomes for patients and performs well against most of the standards | |
| The pharmacy meets all the standards | |
| The pharmacy has not met one or more standards |