What types of deficiency might the Department of Health issue after an inspection, and how should you respond?

After the site inspection, the Department of Health’s inspection report will usually classify findings (deficiencies) into three levels, in ascending order of severity: 1. **Other**: The least serious level, usually covering observations or recommendations that do not directly breach GDP but indicate room for improvement. 2. **Major**: A deficiency involving failure to comply with GDP principles that may result in medicines not being handled in accordance with their approved conditions, or pose a potential risk to patients, but is not life-threatening. Examples include missing temperature and humidity records for some periods, or incomplete cleaning records. 3. **Critical**: The most serious level, referring to a deficiency that may threaten patients’ lives or cause serious harm to health, or involve fraud, falsification or similar conduct. Examples include finding expired medicines in the released goods area, a complete break in the cold chain, or falsified records. The response should be as follows: on receipt of the report, you must submit a written corrective and preventive action plan (CAPA Plan) within the specified period (usually 1–2 weeks), explaining in detail how you will correct the deficiencies identified and what measures you will take to prevent them from recurring.