Wellbeing PharmacyGPhC

Pharmacy context

The pharmacy is in the same building as a medical practice a short walk from the town centre of Ipswich. The pharmacy dispenses NHS prescriptions. And it provides Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) and occasional New Medicine Service (NMS) consultations. It offers a range of sexual health services including contraception under the C-Card scheme and emergency hormonal contraception. A small number of people use the substance misuse service including needle exchange. The pharmacy offers a range of Health-checks including blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol as well as a smoking cessation service. It delivers medication to people in their own homes on five days a week. The pharmacy administers flu vaccinations during the winter season.

Standards by principle

• Principle 1 – Governance

  Standards met

  The pharmacy identifies and manages the risks associated with its services to help provide them safely. It records and regularly reviews its mistakes and can show how the team learns and improves from these events. Team members have clear roles and responsibilities. The pharmacy asks the people who use the pharmacy for feedback. Team members know how to protect vulnerable people. And they keep people’s personal information safe. The pharmacy mostly keeps the records it needs to by law. But it could do more to ensure these records are kept ​up to date.

• Principle 2 – Staff

  Standards met

  The pharmacy has enough team members to manage its workload safely. They are appropriately trained and have a good understanding about their roles and responsibilities. They make suggestions to improve safety and workflows where appropriate. They are provided with feedback and have regular appraisals to identify any opportunities for development or learning.

• Principle 3 – Premises

  Standards met

  The pharmacy team keeps the pharmacy secure, tidy and generally clean. There is some scope for routine maintenance. The pharmacist has an area to check prescriptions and this is kept clear to help reduce the risk of mistakes. People can have a conversation with a team member in a private area.

• Principle 4 – Services

  Standards met

  The pharmacy provides its services safely and effectively. It gets its medicines from reputable suppliers and largely stores them properly. It makes sure that multi-compartment compliance packs for people who need help managing their medicines are dispensed safely. Its team members identify and give advice to people taking high-risk medicines to make sure that they are taken safely. And team members take the right action if any medicines or devices need to be returned to the suppliers. This means that people get medicines and devices that are safe to use.

• Principle 5 – Equipment

  Standards met

  The pharmacy has the equipment it needs for its services and it largely maintains it appropriately​. It uses its equipment to help protect people's personal information.

Inspection history summary