Enter and View Report: Massingham Chemist

What is an Enter and View visit?

The Health and Social Care Act 2012 allows local Healthwatch Authorised Representatives to observe service delivery and talk to service users, their families and carers on premises such as hospitals, care homes, GP practices, and pharmacies. We also interview management and staff regarding their views of the service provided. The aim is to get an impartial view of how the service is operated and being experienced.

Enter and View visits can be arranged if people tell us there’s a problem with a service, but equally, they can also occur when services have a good reputation – so we can learn about and share examples of what they do well from the perspective of people who experience the service first hand.

Following the visits, our official ‘Enter and View Report’, will be shared with the service provider, local commissioners and regulators outlining what has worked well, and give recommendations on what could have worked better. All reports are available to view on our website.

Project Background

On 31^st January 2024, the government and NHS England launched the Pharmacy First Scheme to give patients quick and accessible care, and ease pressures on GP services. It allows community pharmacies to independently supply prescription-only medication, including antibiotics and antivirals where clinically appropriate.

The rationale for conducting the Enter and View visit to Massingham Pharmacy was based on data gathered from public engagement, surveys, and online feedback (NHS Reviews and Google Reviews). Compared to other pharmacies in the area, Massingham Pharmacy received a substantial amount of feedback, with the majority being highly positive and only a small number of negative remarks.

The primary aim of the visit was to observe how Massingham Pharmacy operates and to understand the factors contributing to the diverse range of feedback from the service users. Questions for staff and patients were designed to address these concerns while incorporating the standard Enter and View observations.

Overall, our visit to Massingham Chemist was deemed a positive experience with some areas of improvement identified. The practice excelled aspects such as staff conduct, information displayed, the quality of environment and their external signage. The following were the recommendations for improvement, to which the pharmacy manager has responded to within the full report:

1. Widening aisles and removing obstructions to improve wheelchair access.
2. Install a feedback box or QR code in a visible location.
3. Reconfiguring or expanding seating arrangements to accommodate more patients comfortably.
4. Relocating COVID-19 safety information and lowering fire exit signs to eye level for better visibility.