G P h C P RI N C I P L E 5: ACT I O N P L A N

The equipment and facilities used in the provision of pharmacy services safeguard the health, safety and wellbeing of patients and the public

5.1 EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES NEEDED TO PROVIDE PHARMACY SERVICES ARE READILY AVAILABLE
Question Details of action required Reference Comments Actioned

1 Does the pharmacy have the appropriate The pharmacy uses appropriate equipment Various suppliers
equipment and facilities for all the and facilities for the services provided. as Numark
services they provide? Discount Partners
for equipment. I.e.
Fridges, weighing
balances, blood
pressure monitors,
measures
2 What resources are available to offer the All resources required for the services Numark
services provided by the pharmacy? offered are available e.g. consultation Signposting
room, measuring or monitoring equipment, guidance
reference sources such as the British
Numark
National Formulary (BNF), signposting
Signposting
documents, access to Information Services
Flowchart
such as Numark.
Numark -
Information
Services
5.2 EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES ARE:
• OBTAINED FROM A REPUTABLE SOURCE
• SAFE TO USE AND FIT FOR PURPOSE
• STORED SECURELY
• SAFEGUARDED FROM UNAUTHORISED ACCESS
• APPROPRIATELY MAINTAINED
Question
3 Are all electrical equipment PAT tested
annually?
4 Is there a separate tablet counters for
cytotoxic medication which is clearly
labelled?
5 Are there separate conical measures for
methadone that are clearly labelled?
6 What conical measures are available for
use?
7 Are the conical measures cleaned after
every use?
8 Is all equipment clean and ready to use?
Details of action required Reference Comments Actioned
All electrical goods need to be PAT tested Numark Equipment
and any scales, blood pressure monitors maintenance SOP
etc. must be calibrated every 12 months. Be
Numark Discount
able to provide evidence to the inspector
Partner - Calbarrie
that this process occurs.
Have at least two tablet counting triangles Numark Discount
and mark one for ‘Cytotoxic Use Only’ Partner - Denward
and make sure that you do not use this
for counting anything else other than
cytotoxic medication.
If you dispense liquid methadone you Numark Discount
should also have a set of conical measures Partner - Denward
reserved for pouring methadone only.
There should be a selection of conical Numark Discount
measures which enable the team to Partner - Denward
measure smaller volumes of liquids
accurately and all measures should be
stamped (crown, British Standard [BS], ISO
or CE).
Conical measures cleaned between use.
All equipment must be kept clean and Numark Cleaning
suitable for use. rota
5.3 EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES ARE USED IN A WAY THAT PROTECTS THE PRIVACY AND DIG NITY OF THE PATIENTS
AND THE PUBLIC WHO RECEIVE PHARMACY SERVICES
Question
9 Are NHS mail accounts used accordingly?
10 Are patient details that are emailed being
managed accordingly?
11 Are patient details that are posted being
managed accordingly?
12 Are patient details that are being
transferred being managed accordingly?
13 Are patient details that are being faxed
being managed accordingly?
14 Are documents stored in the consultation
room?
Details of action required Reference Comments Actioned
NHS Mail - Transfer of patient data via Numark - GDPR
NHS Mail must only be from and to an NHS
Numark - Data
Mail account and only when there is a clear
Security and
business need to do so. Double check the
Protection Policy
e-mail address, only send the information
required by the recipient, delete the e-mail Numark - Subject
and its contents from the e-mail system access, erasure
once it is no longer needed. and rectification
requests SOP
E-Mail - Double check the e-mail address, Numark - Data
only send the information required by Protection Impact
the recipient, delete the e-mail and its assessment
contents from the e-mail system once it is template
no longer needed.
Post - Mark the envelope as ‘Private & Numark - Data
Confidential’, double check the postal Protection Impact
address (especially if using pre-paid assessment
envelopes), select an appropriate postal template
service e.g. recorded delivery, ask the
recipient to confirm receipt.
Paper Transfer with Surgery - Use white Numark - Data
envelopes and ensure the details on the Protection Impact
paperwork cannot be seen during transit. assessment
template
Fax - Use fax header sheets, double check Numark - Data
the fax number and ensure the recipient Protection Impact
has received the information. assessment
template
Confidential documents are not stored
in the consultation room and patient
information is not left visible open on
the computer. The door should always be
locked to prevent any unauthorised access.
15 How are electronic documents containing
patient details stored?
16 Does the pharmacy team connect any
personal devices to pharmacy computers?
17 How long are documents stored for?
How are documents destroyed in the
pharmacy?
18 Do all pharmacy staff have their own NHS
smartcard?
All electronic documents containing
patient or personal confidential
information must be stored appropriately.
It is recommended that the documents
are password protected which will help to
ensure only those with permission have
access to the data, in addition, care should
be taken to ensure the data isn’t kept for
longer than necessary and that the files
are deleted when no longer required.
Pharmacy team are aware that connecting
personal electronic devices to company
computer equipment poses a significant
security risk. In order to ensure that
computer viruses are not transferred
from personal electronic devices to the
pharmacy computer equipment and also
to ensure that data is not taken from the
company systems, connecting personal
devices to company equipment is strictly
forbidden.
Documents are retained and stored until SPS Retaining and
the required date and then destroyed/ storing pharmacy
disposed of appropriately. records in England
SPS Additional
services records
in community
pharmacy
All pharmacy colleagues in England should NHS England -
have their own NHS Smartcard. The person Smartcards and
the Smartcard is allocated to is solely access controls
responsible for the card and for all data
processing activities which take place
using the card. NHS Smartcards must be
kept secure at all times, when not in use
they should be kept either on the owners
person, or, locked away in a drawer or safe.
Talk the inspector through your practice for
keeping your NHS Smartcard safe when
not in use.