OBJECTIVES

By the end of this section you will be able to:

• Explain the need for Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) within the pharmacy.
• Describe the regulatory processes to follow in relation to collecting and delivering medicines.
• Keep customers’ personal details secure.

Pharmacy is a highly regulated service. In Great Britain the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the regulating body and in Northern Ireland it is the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Both are responsible for maintaining and improving standards to protect the health, safety and wellbeing of people using pharmacy services. Any breach of laws could lead to the prosecution of the pharmacist in criminal court with possible disciplinary action by the relevant regulatory body.

In the pharmacy profession, there are also standards of conduct, ethics and performance to be followed and used as a reference tool for everyone working in a pharmacy environment. Ethics refer to things you do, not because they are a legal requirement but because it is the correct way to behave. Sometimes the two principles can overlap. For example, you are being ethically responsible by keeping a customer’s details secure but you are also ensuring you are following data protection laws. For those in Great Britain, information on conduct, ethics and performance standards are available on the GPhC website and in Northern Ireland on the PSNI website.

You may not work directly in the dispensary yourself, but you still have responsibility for delivering medicines as a member of the pharmacy team and this requires you to carry out your role professionally following both the legal and ethical requirements outlined to you by your pharmacist.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

A SOP is a set of guidelines that details exactly how to carry out a procedure, like a set of instructions. They are essential in a regulated environment to ensure everyone carries out procedures in the correct way with the aim of reducing mistakes.

The regulatory bodies will expect a pharmacy to have written SOPs for all procedures and will check them during an inspection. They will also want to ensure that the pharmacy team have a good awareness of the SOPs relevant to them and know where to find information if they need it, so it is important that you are familiar with all SOPs relating to the delivery service.

Where is the SOP for delivering medicines kept in your pharmacy?

Ensure that you have read this module in detail and fully understand the procedure you must follow. If you have any questions, make sure you speak to the pharmacist.

The core delivery process

The SOP for delivering medicines will detail what to do from the start to the finish for a delivery and cover a number of areas which will be covered during this module.