Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 10/09/2024
Pharmacy context
This community pharmacy is located in Hythe, near Colchester. It provides a variety of services including dispensing of NHS prescriptions and the New Medicine Service (NMS). The pharmacy has a clinic next door where it provides other services including travel vaccinations, the Pharmacy First service patient group directions (PGDs) carried out by nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers. The pharmacy previously provided a prescribing service but has since stopped this and instead supplies medicines under PGDs.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy largely manages all the risks associated with its services. It has carried out risk assessments of its clinical services. The pharmacy routinely keeps records of all consultations it has with people. Its team members record and regularly review any dispensing mistakes to learn from these events. And the pharmacy generally keeps the records its needs to by law. People can provide feedback about its services. And its team knows how to protect vulnerable people.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has enough team members to manage its workload safely. And team members do the right training for their roles. Pharmacy team members have a regular formal review of their progress. And they feel comfortable about providing feedback or raising concerns if needed.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy is generally clean and tidy and provides a safe and appropriate environment for people to access its services. People can have a conversation with a team member in a private area. And the pharmacy is kept secure from unauthorised access.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy provides all its services safely. It regularly shares information about the medicines it supplies through its clinic with people’s regular prescribers, where people have given consent for this to happen. And it records all its consultations. The pharmacy dispenses medicines safely and stores its medicines appropriately. It gets its medicines from reputable sources. And the team takes the right action in response to safety alerts and recalls ensuring that people get medicines that are fit for purpose.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment it needs to provide a safe and effective service. And it uses its equipment to protect people’s privacy.
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 |