Pharmacy context
This community pharmacy is located in Hythe, near Colchester. It provides a variety of services including dispensing of NHS prescriptions, the New Medicine Service (NMS) and it provides medicines in multi-compartment compliance packs for people who have difficulty remembering to take their medicines. The pharmacy has a clinic next door where in recent months it has started to provide other services including travel vaccinations and prescribing services carried out by nurse and pharmacist independent prescribers. Most of the services in the clinic are carried out under patient group directions (PGDs).
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy does not manage all the risks associated with its services. It has not carried out formal risk assessments of all aspects of its prescribing service. The pharmacy cannot show that it routinely keeps records of all consultations its prescribers have with people. And it does not regularly monitor the quality or safety its prescribing service. However, 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 very 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 cannot demonstrate that it provides all its services safely. It cannot show that it always shares information about the medicines it supplies through its private prescribing service with people’s regular prescribers, where people have given consent for this to happen. And it doesn’t adequately record all its consultations. However, the pharmacy dispenses medicines safely and stores its medicines appropriately. And the team takes the right action in response to safety alerts and recalls ensuring that people get medicines that are fit for purpose. People with different needs can access the pharmacy’s services.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment it needs to provide a safe and effective service. And it uses this 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 does 'pharmacy has not met all standards' mean?
When a pharmacy has not met all standards, they are required to complete an improvement action plan, which you can find via a link at the top left of this page. We monitor progress to check the improvements are made and inspect again after six months to make sure the pharmacy is maintaining these improvements. A new report will then be published.