Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 08/04/2019
Pharmacy context
This is a community pharmacy located along a main High Street in the centre of Reading in Berkshire. A range of people use the pharmacy’s services. The pharmacy dispenses NHS prescriptions and a small number of private prescriptions. It also offers a few services which includes flu as well as travel vaccinations.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy manages most risks appropriately. Pharmacy team members deal with mistakes that occur during the dispensing process responsibly. But, they may not be recording all the details. This could mean that opportunities to spot patterns or trends are missed. And, they may not always understand how to prevent similar mistakes in future. Members of the pharmacy team understand how they can protect the welfare of vulnerable people. But, they are unable to locate contact details for the local safeguarding agencies easily. This could cause a delay when reporting concerns. The pharmacy doesn’t always keep the records that must be kept, in accordance with the law. This means that the team may not have all the information needed if problems or queries arise.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has enough staff to manage its workload safely. Pharmacy team members generally have an appropriate level of understanding about their roles and responsibilities. They are provided with resources to complete ongoing training. This helps ensure that their skills and knowledge are kept up to date.
Principle 3. Premises
The premises are secure and adequate to provide services safely. But, the sink in the consultation room is dirty. This detracts from the overall professional look and use of the room.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy tries to ensure its services are accessible to everyone. It obtains its medicines from reputable sources. But, some medicines are stored in poorly labelled containers. This makes it harder for the team to check the expiry date, assess the stability or take any necessary action if the medicine is recalled. Team members generally ensure pharmacy services are provided safely. But, they don’t always identify prescriptions that require extra advice. This makes it difficult for them to show that appropriate advice has been provided when these medicines are supplied.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment and facilities it needs to provide services safely.
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 |