Bottisham PharmacyGPhC

Pharmacy context

This community pharmacy is in the middle of the village of Bottisham. Its main activity is dispensing NHS prescriptions. Most medicines it dispenses are for people in care homes and the majority of these medicines are supplied in multi-compartment compliance packs. It also supplies medicines in multi-compartment compliance packs to many people who live at home. Three delivery drivers take medicines to people’s homes and to the care homes. The pharmacist also provides Medicines Use Reviews and New Medicine Service checks. And he occasionally receives patient referrals through the Community Pharmacy Consultation Service.

Standards by principle

• Principle 1 – Governance

  Standards met

  The pharmacy identifies and manages the risks associated with its services adequately. It has made improvements to how it looks after people’s information. And it uses mistakes in the dispensing process as opportunities to improve and learn from. The pharmacy keeps the records that it needs to by law. And pharmacy professionals understand their role in protecting vulnerable people. The pharmacy has written procedures which tell its staff how to complete tasks safely, and these are reviewed so they reflect current practice. But, not all members of the pharmacy team have signed the procedures. This could make it harder to be sure that all members of staff are aware of and are following the procedures correctly.

• Principle 2 – Staff

  Standards met

  The pharmacy has enough staff to manage its workload. It can alter its staffing arrangements to cope with changes in its workload. And pharmacy professionals can exercise their professional judgement to act in people’s best interests. The pharmacy could do more to make sure its staff are enrolled promptly on the required accredited training for the roles they carry out. And the lack of a structured approach to ongoing training may make it harder for trained staff to keep their skills and knowledge up to date and to identify any additional training needs.

• Principle 3 – Premises

  Standards met

  The pharmacy provides its services from suitable premises. The pharmacy has enough space to safely provide its services, and it has appropriate security arrangements to protect its premises.

• Principle 4 – Services

  Standards met

  Overall, the pharmacy provides its services effectively. The pharmacy obtains its medicines from reputable suppliers and generally stores them appropriately. It understands how to respond to alerts about the safety of medicines. But it does not keep a record of what it has done about these. So, it is harder for the pharmacy to show it has taken the right action to remove affected medicines from circulation. And it doesn’t always highlight prescriptions for medicines which are higher risk. This could increase the chances of some medicines being handed out when the prescription isn’t valid. And some people may not get the advice they need to take their medicines safely.

• Principle 5 – Equipment

  Standards met

  The pharmacy generally has the right equipment and facilities to provide its services. It checks its equipment to make sure it is working correctly.

Inspection history summary