At our last inspection in September 2013 we found that the provider was non-compliant with standards relating to the management of medicines. During the inspection we found that on nine occasions the temperature of the fridge, used to store vaccines requiring cold storage had exceeded the maximum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius. For vaccines to be effective, it is important that they are stored within the temperature range recommended by manufacturers to ensure that they remain effective. On those occasions we found no information had been provided as to why this rise in temperature had occurred or what actions had been taken to address the temperature increase.
We spoke to staff about their recent training in the management of the cold chain. A practice nurse was able to explain best practice as recommended by the Health Protection Agency and what to do should the fridge exceed the maximum temperature of 8 degrees Celsius.
At the inspection in September 2013 we also found that although the majority of drugs were in date, three medicines had past their expiry dates when checking medications stored in the fridge.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made. We checked the fridge temperature recording information recorded since December 2013. We found on three occasions the temperature had exceeded 8 degrees Celsius. We found that on each occasion the reason for this was noted along with the time and date.
We looked at vaccines held in the practice fridge. We found all vaccines to be in date. We also found that the stock management of the fridge was being maintained.