Contract Monitoring

PLANNED CONTRACT MONITORING VISITS ARE CURRENTLY SUSPENDED DUE TO THE COVID PANDEMIC. However, LHBs will continue to carry out visits where there are known or suspected issues with contract compliance.

Within the Terms of Service, a contractor must allow persons authorised in writing by the LHB to enter and inspect the pharmacy at any reasonable time for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the pharmacist is complying with the requirements of their Terms of Service. Where the pharmacist requests it, CPW can be present at the inspection.

Any visit should be planned carefully so as not to impact negatively on the day-to-day running of the pharmacy. Patients of pharmacies do not require appointments therefore any inspection teams should not necessarily expect to have the pharmacist devoted to them during any visit, nor should any inspection disrupt the concentration of pharmacy staff in the provision of care to patients.

To enable the pharmacist to prepare for the Monitoring visit some LHBs have developed Toolkits/Self-Assessment Questionnaires which will be sent prior to the visit.  These usually cover all areas of Essential, Advanced and Enhanced services with which the pharmacy must be compliant. Some LHBs may use the Clinical Governance and ISMS toolkits which are completed online annually by all pharmacies to support the monitoring visit; the method of pre-assessment should be made clear by the LHB in advance of the visit.

For more detail on your LHB’s contract monitoring process, contact the LHB’s community pharmacy team.