Pharmacy context
The pharmacy is in the main
shopping area of the town and is the only pharmacy in Cambourne. It provides NHS and private prescription
dispensing mainly to local residents. It sells a range of medicine over the
counter. And the team also dispenses medicines in multi-compartment compliance
packs for some people.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
Members of the pharmacy team work to professional standards but the lack of permanent staff makes identifying and managing risks difficult. They are clear about their roles and responsibilities. The pharmacy keeps its records up to date. It manages and protects information and it tells people how their private information will be used. The team members also understand how they can help to protect the welfare of vulnerable people. They sometimes log mistakes they make during the pharmacy processes. And they try to learn from these to avoid problems being repeated although the lack of regular staff makes this more difficult.
Principle 2. Staff
At the time of the inspection, the pharmacy’s staffing profile was not enough to provide safe services. However, shortly after the inspection, the pharmacy successfully recruited new staff. Despite the lack of permanent staff and not being able to cover some of its routine tasks efficiently, the pharmacy is concentrating on the essential parts of its service provision so that patient care is prioritised. Staff do have access to training provided by the company. But they are not always able to complete it in a timely manner.
Principle 3. Premises
The premises generally provide a safe, secure and professional environment for people to receive healthcare. The general cleanliness needs improving, but there are plans by the new manager to do so swiftly.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
Overall, the pharmacy’s working practices are safe and it gets its medicines from reputable sources. Pharmacy team members are helpful and give advice to people about where they can get other support. They try to make sure that people have all the information they need so that they can use their medicines safely although there are times when this does not happen consistently. Some prescriptions might be handed out after their expiry date.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the right equipment for its services. It makes sure its equipment 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 |