The report published on the 11th June which can be viewed here, The CQC carried out the announced comprehensive inspection at NationWide Pharmacies LTD, an online GP consultation and prescribing provider located in Buckinghamshire on 30 April 2019.

'This inspection was part of the digital and online providers inspection programme to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008' and we are very pleased to receive an overall rating as 'Good'.

NationWide Pharmacies have been working very closely with the CQC since early 2017 and are very proud with the progress which has been made since and we intend to continue to strive for excellence in the digital healthcare sector.

However, it doesn't mean that everyone is the same, in fact it can be quite the opposite. For example, UK Online Pharmacies who have chosen to not register with the CQC, often operate outside of their regulations as they are not obliged to be inspected.

A legislation loophole which has made this possible is that prescriptions can be issued in other EU countries such as Romania which are then sent back to the UK to be dispensed. Subsequently, this means that these pharmacies are not subjected to the CQC's inspections and can, therefore, operate outside of their regulations despite their patients being UK residents, and thus, potentially putting patients at risk.

This was exposed in a BBC Panorama documentary 'Online Doctors Uncovered' in 2018 which you can watch here.

Watch Dr Faye Kirland explain on BBC Breakfast News what to look for when deciding whether or not to use an online pharmacy.

 

BBC Breakfast News - Dr Faye Kirkland talking about online pharmacies