Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 08/10/2019
Pharmacy context
The pharmacy is in a small parade of shops in the Shrub End Estate in Colchester. The pharmacy dispenses NHS prescriptions. And it provides Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) and New Medicine Service (NMS) consultations. The pharmacy assembles medication into multi-compartment compliance packs for some people who need help managing their medicines. It delivers medicines to people in their homes on five days a week. The pharmacist provides a travel vaccination service using patient group directions (PGDs) and administers flu vaccinations during the winter season. People can ask to have their blood pressure tested and there is a popular smoking cessation service. It offers a range of sexual health services including contraception under the C-Card scheme and emergency hormonal contraception. The pharmacist is an independent prescriber but is not currently using the qualification in practice.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy identifies and manages the risks associated with its services. It records and regularly reviews its mistakes and can show how the team learns and improves from these events. It keeps the records it needs to by law and its team members have clear roles and responsibilities. It asks the people who use the pharmacy for feedback. Team members know how to protect vulnerable people. And they keep people’s personal information safe.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has enough team members to manage its workload safely. They are appropriately trained, and have a good understanding about their roles and responsibilities. They are provided with feedback to identify any opportunities for development or learning.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy team keeps the pharmacy secure, clean and tidy. The pharmacist has an area to check prescriptions and this is kept clear to help reduce the risk of mistakes. People can have a conversation with a team member in a private area.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy provides its services safely and effectively. It gets its medicines from reputable suppliers and stores them properly. It makes sure that multi-compartment compliance packs for people who need help managing their medicines are dispensed safely. Its team members identify and give advice to people taking higher-risk medicines to make sure that they are taken safely. And team members take the right action if any medicines or devices need to be returned to the suppliers. This means that people get medicines and devices that are safe to use.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment it needs for its services and it generally maintains it appropriately. It uses its equipment to help protect people's personal information.
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 |