David Bagnall / Alamy
A picture is emerging of the day-to-day practices that are influencing how pharmacies are ranked under the new premises inspection regime introduced by Britain’s pharmacy regulator, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC).
Failure to have a managed risk-assessment system is the top standard pharmacies are failing to meet under the prototype inspection model introduced in November 2013.
Lack of safety monitoring and review is the second most common standard that pharmacies are falling down on, according to a report presented to the GPhC‘s council meeting on 11 June 2015.
The standard concerning medicines and devices — covering where and how the products are purchased, whether they are safe and fit for purpose and whether they are stored and supplied safely — is ranked as the third most common standard not being met by pharmacies.
The GPhC has also revealed the top five standards that are marked as “good” by inspectors; these are consistent with the standards most often identified as “not met”.
They are (in descending order): a managed risk-assessment system; a safety review system; a culture of openness, honesty and learning; safe and effective services; and having staff with the right skills and qualifications to deliver services.
“At the lower end of the scale we can see that improvements are most commonly required in the areas of record-keeping, cleanliness and maintenance and management of medicines,” says the report.
There has been a “small increase” in the number of pharmacies rated “good” since the guidance to inspectors was revised in February 2015 following criticism about the rankings, the report says.
