Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 22/06/2022
Pharmacy context
This is an NHS community pharmacy set amongst some retail shops in Addlestone town centre. The pharmacy is part of a large chain of pharmacies. It opens six days a week. It sells a range of health and beauty products, including some over-the-counter medicines. It dispenses people’s prescriptions. And it delivers medicines to people who can’t attend its premises in person. The pharmacy offers a needle exchange service and substance misuse treatments. It provides multi-compartment compliance packs (compliance packs) to help people take their medicines. It dispenses medicines to people who live in care homes. And it supplies medicines to a hospital that cares for people living with a neuro-disability. People can get a flu jab (vaccination) from the pharmacy. They can receive a test to see whether they have coronavirus (COVID-19) or if they’re ‘fit to fly’. And they can book an appointment for a travel clinic which is run from a room in the pharmacy by a third-party company.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy generally manages its risks appropriately. It has written instructions to help its team works safely. It mostly keeps the records it needs to by law. And it has appropriate insurance to protect people if things do go wrong. People who use the pharmacy can provide feedback to help improve the services they receive. People who work in the pharmacy can explain what they do, what they’re responsible for and when they might seek help. They mostly keep people’s private information safe. They understand their role in protecting vulnerable people. And they talk to each other about the mistakes they make. So, they can learn from them.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy generally has enough people in its team to deliver safe and effective care. But sometimes team members feel they don’t have time to do all the things they’re expected to do. Members of the pharmacy team do the right training for their roles. They work well together and make decisions about what is right for the people they care for. They’re comfortable about giving feedback on how to improve the pharmacy and its services. They know how to raise a concern if they have one. And their professional judgement and patient safety are not affected by targets.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy provides a safe, secure and professional environment for people to receive healthcare in. And its premises are bright and tidy. The pharmacy has a room where people can have private conversations with members of the pharmacy team.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy provides services that people can access. Its working practices are generally safe and effective. And its team members are helpful. Members of the pharmacy team mainly dispose of people’s unwanted medicines properly. And they carry out checks to make sure the pharmacy’s medicines are safe and fit for purpose. The pharmacy delivers prescription medicines to people’s homes and keeps records to show that it has delivered the right medicine to the right person. It gets its medicines from reputable sources. And it stores most of them appropriately and securely.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment it needs to provide its services safely. And its team makes sure the equipment it uses is clean.
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 |