Pharmacy context
This is a community pharmacy located in the centre of the historic town of Ironbridge. It provides pharmacy services to the local population and is also used by tourists visiting the World Heritage Sites in the surrounding area. The pharmacy dispenses NHS prescriptions and sells a range of over-the-counter medicines. It also serves as a post office for the local community. The pharmacy supplies medicines to local care homes and it also provides medicines in multi-compartment compliance aid packs to help people take their medicines at the right time. It offers several other NHS services including Medicine Use Reviews (MURs) and a substance misuse service. The inspection was completed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy identifies and manages the risks associated with its services adequately and it keeps the records it needs to by law. Pharmacy team members work within their roles. They understand how to keep people’s private information safe and raise concerns to protect the wellbeing of vulnerable people.
Principle 2. Staff
Pharmacy team members hold the appropriate qualifications for their roles, and they effectively manage the dispensing workload. Team members can raise concerns and provide feedback about the pharmacy and its services. But they do not get regular ongoing training, so they may not always be able to show how they keep their knowledge and skills up to date.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy is reasonably well maintained. It has a consultation room to enable it to provide members of the public with an area for private and confidential discussions. But space is in the dispensary is lacking, which impacts on general organisation and limits the amount of workspace available.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy suitably manages its services so that people receive appropriate care. It gets its medicines from reputable sources and team members carry out some checks to make sure that they are fit for supply. But the pharmacy team should ensure it acts promptly to make sure it stores fridge medicines appropriately.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment and facilities it needs to provide its services. The equipment is generally suitably maintained, and team members use it in a way that protects 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 |