Pharmacy context
This pharmacy is located on a local high street in Rainham, Essex. It does not provide any NHS services but dispenses medicines against private prescriptions and offers a delivery service. The pharmacy also sells pharmacy-only and general sales list medicines through its website and over the counter. The superintendent pharmacist (SI) is an independent prescriber and provides a private prescribing service face-to-face and at a distance as part of a CQC-registered prescribing service. Separate to this CQC-registered service, the SI also issues and the pharmacy dispenses private prescriptions against requests from a third-party platform used for aesthetic treatments. The pharmacy registered on 01 February 2022 and this was its first inspection.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has enough staff for the services it provides and manages its workload safely. Team members have the opportunity to raise concerns if needed. They complete some training as and when possible, but there is limited structure to their training. This may make it harder for them to keep their skills and knowledge up to date and relevant.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy’s website advertises medicines for unlicensed indications. The pharmacy's premises, however, provide an appropriate environment from which to deliver its services. And its premises are generally clean and secure. People using the pharmacy can have conversations with team members in a private area.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy does not always provide its services safely. As described under Principle 1, there are risks with the pharmacy’s prescribing service which are not being appropriately managed. And the pharmacy cannot demonstrate that it makes clear records setting out the justification for prescribing. However, the pharmacy obtains its medicines from reputable suppliers, and stores them securely. People with a range of needs can access the pharmacy’s services.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the appropriate equipment to provide its services safely. And it protects people’s privacy when using its equipment.
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.