Pharmacy context
This is an NHS community pharmacy on a small parade of shops in Redhill. The pharmacy opens six days a week. It sells medicines over the counter. And it dispenses people’s prescriptions. The pharmacy delivers medicines to a few people who have difficulty in leaving their homes. It provides a substance misuse treatment service. And it supplies multi-compartment compliance packs to a handful of people who need help managing their medicines.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy doesn’t manage its risks appropriately. It doesn’t adequately review the services it provides when things go wrong. And the way its team works and stores its medicines increases the risk of mistakes happening. The pharmacy has some written instructions to help its team members work safely. But these aren’t reviewed regularly and aren’t always followed. The pharmacy has the insurance it needs to protect people. And it’s required to keep certain records by law. But these aren’t always filled in correctly and aren't available at the pharmacy. People who work at the pharmacy generally know what they can and can’t do. They try to keep people’s private information safe. And they understand their role in protecting vulnerable people.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has just enough people to deliver its services. But its team members are sometimes so busy they struggle to do all the things they need to do. Members of the pharmacy team use their judgement to make decisions about what is right for the people they care for. They’re comfortable about giving feedback on how to improve the pharmacy’s services. And they know how to raise a concern if they have one.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy is very cluttered and disorganised particularly in areas people using its services can’t see. And this could present an unacceptable risk to the health and safety of the people who visit or work at the pharmacy. The pharmacy is large enough for the services it provides. And is adequately presented in the areas people using its services can see.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
People who work at the pharmacy don’t follow the pharmacy's procedures all the time. The pharmacy doesn’t keep adequate records to show its working practices are safe and effective. It can’t show it has supplied the right medicine to the right person. And it doesn’t always give people the information they need to make sure they take their medicines properly. The pharmacy doesn’t suitably store all its medicines that must be locked away or those that it needs to keep in a refrigerator. The pharmacy generally sources and manages its other medicines appropriately. It usually carries out checks to make sure these medicines are safe and fit for purpose. It can get rid of the medicines that people no longer want or need. And people can access its services.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has a small refrigerator to keep medicines in that require refrigeration. But this is too small and isn’t fit for purpose or appropriately maintained. Otherwise, the pharmacy generally has the equipment and the facilities it needs to provide its services. And its team usually 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 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.