Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 18/08/2023
Pharmacy context
This community pharmacy is located within a large supermarket on the outskirts of St. Neots. It is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Most of its current activity is dispensing NHS prescriptions and it sells some medicines over the counter. It provides the NHS New Medicine Service and Community Pharmacist Consultation Service. It also provides substance misuse treatment. This was a reinspection visit following a previous inspection which found the pharmacy was not meeting all the standards for registered pharmacies.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy has made improvements since the last inspection to make sure potential risks are managed adequately. There is some evidence that the pharmacy team members learn from mistakes to help make services safer. The pharmacy’s team members understand their roles and responsibilities and they keep people’s information safe. The pharmacy generally keeps the records it needs to by law. But the details for private prescriptions are not always recorded correctly and this could make it harder to handle queries in future.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy team is just about managing to keep on top of its dispensing activities and other routine tasks. The pharmacy manager is currently recruiting additional staff to better manage the workload. The pharmacy’s team members work well together and are enrolled on the right training for their roles. And they are provided with additional training materials to help keep their skills and knowledge up to date. They know when to refer queries to the pharmacist, so people get the right advice and information.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy’s premises are generally adequate for the safe provision of pharmacy services, and they are kept clean and tidy. The pharmacy is kept secure when the pharmacy is closed. And people can have a conversation with members of the pharmacy team in a private area and won’t be overheard.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy’s services are generally provided safely though waiting times for people are sometimes longer than the pharmacy would like. The pharmacy team tries to make sure the medicines it supplies are date checked and are removed and disposed of at an appropriate time. But the damaged drawers in the dispensary make this harder to achieve. The pharmacy team is aware of the need for extra care when supplying certain medicines which may be higher risk, including medicines containing valproate. And the pharmacy manager has provided training to the team since the last inspection to make sure the team is fully aware of the advice to give to people when supplying higher-risk medicines.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment it needs to provide its services safely. And it has systems in place to make sure its equipment is maintained correctly.
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 |