Inspection outcome: Standards met
Last inspection: 24/08/2023
Pharmacy context
This is a community pharmacy belonging to an independently run group of 25 pharmacies. The pharmacy is on a parade of local shops and businesses in a suburb of Reading in Berkshire. It provides a range of services including dispensing prescriptions. And it has a selection of over‐the‐counter medicines and other pharmacy related products for sale. It provides a selection of other services, including a winter flu vaccination service. The company operates a central dispensing ’hub’ to which the pharmacy sends many of its prescriptions for dispensing.
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy has suitable written procedures in place to help ensure that its team members work safely. And the team understands and follows them. The pharmacy has insurance to cover its services. And it completes the records it needs to by law. The pharmacy team knows how to protect the safety of vulnerable people. And it protects people’s confidential information properly. The pharmacy adequately identifies and manages the risks associated with its services. Team members respond appropriately when mistakes happen. And they take suitable action to prevent mistakes in the future.
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy adequately trains its team members for the tasks they carry out. The pharmacy team manages its workload safely and effectively. And team members support one another well. They are comfortable about providing feedback to one another, so that they can improve the quality of the pharmacy's services.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy’s premises provide a suitable environment for people to receive its services. And they are sufficiently secure. But some areas of the pharmacy are cluttered. And not all areas are clean and tidy enough.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy provides its services safely and makes them accessible to people. It supports people with suitable advice and healthcare information. The pharmacy team gets its medicines and medical devices from appropriate sources. And team members make the necessary checks to ensure they are safe to use and protect people’s health and wellbeing. In general, the pharmacy ensures that all its medicines are stored correctly and safely. But it does not do enough to ensure that all the medicines it supplies have the information that people need so they can take their medicines properly.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the equipment and facilities it needs to provide services safely. The team uses its facilities and equipment to keep people's private information safe. But the pharmacy is not thorough enough in keeping some of its equipment and facilities clean and hygienic.
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 |