From storing medicines in a toilet to the risk of patient confidentiality breaches - here's what's going on inside some of Oldham's pharmacies.
Pharmacies across the country are routinely graded and inspected by the General Pharmaceutical Council against a set of five criteria.
Each pharmacy has the opportunity to be graded with 'excellent' or 'good' - or at the lower end of the scale, simply 'standards met' or the worst possible score, 'standards not all met'.
When a pharmacy is given the verdict 'standards not all met' it is issued an improvement action plan.
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While 13 pharmacies in Oldham have received an inspection report in recent years by the Council, not one has been graded with 'excellent' or 'good'.
So here's how those pharmacies performed.
Ashton Road Pharmacy, 366 Ashton Road
Ashton Road Pharmacy is the only pharmacy in the borough to carry the lowest possible rating.
The premises was visited by inspectors on January 5 this year and was found to be failing in two areas - governance and services - which has left it with a 'standards not all met' mark.
On governance and staff, the inspector found a degree of disorganisation in the pharmacy with records not being accurately maintained and procedures rarely reviewed, posing a risk that team members "might not work effectively".
However, the most damning aspect of the report came down to the cleanliness of the premises.
The inspector discovered stock medicines are "poorly organised" with expired drugs mixed in with current stock while some had fallen onto the floor and were falling out of baskets, which "risked mistakes being made".
Meanwhile, the WC was used to store medicine containers, such as boxes and bags, which the inspector said "risked contamination" and was unhygienic.
The poor grade comes after the pharmacy was found to be meeting all of its standards in its prior inspection in 2021.
Click2pharmacy, 33 Werneth Hall Road
In contrast to Ashton Road, Click2pharmacy was given a slightly higher grade by inspectors in February this year as the Council found it to meet standards.
The report reveals the pharmacy has an effective working practice while staff members have the right qualifications, "work well together" and benefit from ongoing training.
Similarly, the premises was clean, well-maintained and free from obstructions, except for a "quite cluttered" consultation room which posed a health and safety hazard.
However, the inspectors did find that there were risks of patient confidentiality breaches as well as risks associated with the pharmacy's online services.
Oldham Pharmacy, 497 Oldham Road
In its inspection in June last year, Oldham Pharmacy was found to be compliant with the criteria.
In the report, the pharmacy was praised for its governance, from its effective Covid-19 control measures to its record-keeping of mistakes with dispensing medicines, and staff who were found to use their initiative and require minimal supervision.
Unlike Click2pharmacy, Oldham Pharmacy had adequate patient confidentiality measures and the overall premises were found to be clean, tidy and hygienic.
Chemist Corner, 3 Brook Lane
The pharmacy on Brook Lane, which only dispenses and delivers NHS prescriptions to patients' homes, was visited by the General Pharmaceutical Council on December 12 last year.
While the inspector was satisfied with the pharmacy, and issued the grade 'standards met', the new grade comes after the pharmacy fell below expectations in 2019.
At that time, the pharmacy was selling medicines on eBay - some of which the inspector wasn't entirely confident were "appropriate" to be sold.
The inspector wrote that the pharmacy failed to manage the risks involved with selling such items online.
In addition, the Council found not all staff members were qualified for the jobs they were performing - and the temperature was too warm to safely store medicines.
However, Chemist Corner clawed back a higher rating in both its subsequent inspections in 2020 and late 2022.
In the latest visit, the inspector said records are now being adequately maintained, all staff have an appropriate qualification and the temperature is right for the storage of medicine.
Oldham Late Night Pharmacy, 87-89 Lees Road
This pharmacy in Lees has made a dramatic U-turn on its prior poor grade in November 2019.
When inspectors visited a few years ago, the pharmacy was failing in three key areas relating to governance, premises and its services.
While staff failed to follow operating procedures - which were also inadequate - the report reveals the pharmacy had a dirty floor, dirty toilet, cluttered rooms, dusty shelves and bags of rubbish piled high.
One sink in the toilet was also "badly discoloured with what appeared to be mould", the inspector wrote and said that the overall lack of cleanliness and poor hygiene presents a risk of infection and contamination.
The report further revealed Oldham Late Night Pharmacy was not effectively managing its stock, checking expiry dates or monitoring the temperature of the medicines fridge.
Around 30 pots of loose tablets were also spotted on the shelves.
However, in its most recent inspection in April 2021, the inspector found a marked improvement in all areas, particularly in cleanliness as the pharmacy had upgraded a new shop front and ensured the premises were kept clean and organised.
Lifestyle Pharmacy, 160 Trent Road
Lifestyle Pharmacy is the only pharmacy on this list to tiptoe towards the 'good' grade - though it missed out on the higher rating overall as inspectors graded it as 'standards met' in December 2021.
The inspector had a lot of praise for the governance of the pharmacy, writing that staff had appropriate skills, qualifications and "competence" to carry out their roles confidently.
When it came to services, the inspector further found the team "actively promote the pharmacy's services" and signposts to organisations outside the pharmacy, which helps to promote healthy living in the local community.
The premises were also praised for being clean and fitted "to a good standard" while all the areas were "uncluttered, clean and professional".
Suburb Pharmacy, 390 Hollins Road
Inspected in January 2020, Suburb Pharmacy was given the overall rating of 'standards met'.
The report reveals the pharmacy generally manages risks well, but some records that it keeps as required by law has some details missing.
When it came to staffing, the inspectors found the team have the right qualifications, complete ongoing training and "work well together".
Similarly, the premises were clean and tidy, though the inspector found one hand basin was inaccessible due to a large number of medicine waste bins, meaning just one sink was being used for both hand washing and medicine preparation.
"Which was not very hygienic", the inspector added.
Wolstenholme & McDiarmid Ltd, 67 Market Street, Shaw
This pharmacy in Shaw was inspected in January 2020 and was also found to be compliant with expected standards.
On governance, the inspector said it generally manages risks though there wasn't always the opportunity to record mistakes, "so may be missing out on learning opportunities".
When it came to staff, the pharmacy has enough to manage workloads and have the correct qualifications but the inspector said training does not happen regularly, "so their knowledge may not always be fully up to date".
Meanwhile, while the public areas of the premises were found to be clean and modernised by a refit, "the rest of the premises were less well maintained", the inspector wrote, with ongoing maintenance issues such as broken lights in the stockroom and consultation room.
A staff toilet was also out of use due to a leak in the roof which left damage to the ceiling.
Another separate sink was also out of use because it was "blocked".
Since some parts of the pharmacy was unheated, staff were had to wear their coats over their uniform.
When it came to services, the inspector found it was accessible to all but that it fell short at recording the effectiveness of its healthy living advice.
Its equipment and facilities were also found to be adequate.
Westwood Pharmacy, 69-71 Featherstall Road
In its latest inspection in February 2020, Westwood Pharmacy passed the inspection and was given the grade 'standards met'.
But similarly to the Oldham Late Night Pharmacy, it too suffered a blunder in its inspection in 2019, failing in its governance, staff and services.
The inspector had found the pharmacy's records were "not legally compliant" and that it failed to destroy confidential waste or keep reliable audit trails.
As for storage, stock medicines were "poorly organised" and the fridge temperature was not appropriately monitored.
In addition, it also found one member of the team was also not qualified or appropriately trained to carry out certain activities.
However, by 2020, the General Pharmaceutical Council was satisfied that the issues had been addressed with staff now being adequately trained with some even completing additional training in dementia to give them a better understanding of the patients they serve.
Another highlight in the report was around the fact the pharmacy noted patients' preferences for some brands of medicines, especially those who cannot read English and only recognise their medicine by the colour of the package.
Recognising this, the pharmacy records such requests in the patient's record and the team "tries to always obtain these".
Cannon Pharmacy, 5 Manchester Street
In an inspection in February 2020, the inspector gave Cannon Pharmacy the grade 'standards met'.
The report reveals the pharmacy manages risks safely and ensures staff have the right qualifications.
However, to improve, the inspector pointed out that while staff have ongoing training, it is not structured which could lead to "gaps in their knowledge".
It was also found to be generally clean and in a good state, though a consultation room was "cluttered and untidy".
Seemed Pharmacy, 165 Waterloo Street - 'standards met'
Your Doctors Chemist, Howarth Court - 'standards met'
Lees Road Pharmacy, Lees Road - 'standards met'
The final three pharmacies in the borough were each inspected in 2019 and no recent inspection has been carried out.
However, each were found to be meeting the expected standards across each category.
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