Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 20/02/2023
Pharmacy context
This is a busy pharmacy located on a main road close to the centre of town. It trades extended hours, opening early in the morning and closing late in the evening. The pharmacy dispenses NHS prescriptions, and it sells a range of over-the-counter medicines. It supplies a large number of prescription medicines in multi-compartment compliance aid packs to help people take their medicines at the right time. The pharmacy also has a private prescribing service which people can access from its website www.prescriptiondoctor.com. It is a pharmacist led prescribing service, so it is not regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
Overall, the pharmacy’s
working practices are suitably effective. The pharmacy manages its NHS services
reasonably safely and it keeps the records required by law. The
pharmacy team members discuss any errors, but they do not always record or review them, so they
could miss additional learning opportunities. The
pharmacy has risk assessments and policies for its online prescribing services,
but these sometimes lack clarity, which means team members might not always
work effectively. And the pharmacy could improve the quality of its audits, so
it can demonstrate and make sure its online prescribing services are safe.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy team members have the appropriate qualifications for the jobs they do. They can provide feedback to their manager about the pharmacy and its services, and they feel reasonably well supported. But team members do not get regular ongoing training, so there may be gaps in their knowledge and skills. And the pharmacist prescriber has a very high workload which could compromise his ability to make appropriate prescribing decisions.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy generally provides a suitable environment for people to receive healthcare services. It has a private consultation room that enables it to provide members of the public with the opportunity to have confidential conversations. The pharmacy’s website has useful information about it services, but it does not provide clear information about the prescriber's qualifications to enable people using the service to make an informed decision about their care.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy offers a wide range
of healthcare services, which are generally well managed and easy for people to
access. It gets its medicines from licensed suppliers and the team carries out
some checks to ensure medicines are in suitable condition to supply. The pharmacy’s
online prescribing service often supplies people with
prescription medicines for weight loss without informing their usual
doctor. This means their doctor may not have relevant and up-to-date
information about the person to support ongoing safe and effective care.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
Members of the pharmacy team have access to the equipment and facilities they need for the services they provide. They maintain the equipment so that it is safe to use.
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 |