Published in News on Wednesday 24 November 2010

Celebrating the Alliance Healthcare Pharmacy Awards

Over 450 delegates from the world of pharmacy and healthcare gathered to celebrate excellence and innovation in their field, at the annual Alliance Healthcare Pharmacy Awards ceremony, held at the Dorchester Hotel, London, on Friday 19 November 2010.

The awards, now in their thirteenth year, recognised the achievements of pharmacists and manufacturers from across the supply chain in fourteen categories. Winners were chosen by an independent judging panel of experts from across the industry.

Double British Comedy Award Winner and BAFTA nominee, Dave Spikey introduced and presented the awards on the night.

For the community pharmacy awards, new categories were introduced including, Best Small Community Pharmacy, Best Large and Small Multiple, Pharmacy of the Year and an award for Lifetime Achievement was also presented.

In the spirit of continued partnership within the supply chain, the manufacturer awards were voted for by Alliance Healthcare’s pharmacy customers. An award was also presented to recognise the achievements of the growing number of Alphega Pharmacy members in the UK, while the Innovation in Hospital Pharmacy Award was presented in recognition of the work of hospital pharmacists. The next generation of pharmacists were also once again celebrated through the ‘Young Pharmacist Future Vision Award’, in association with the BPSA.

A charity raffle was held on the night in support of three charities backed by Alliance Healthcare and its employees: Clic Sargent – Caring for Children with Cancer, Leonard Cheshire Disability and The Prostate Cancer charity.

Each year we aim to champion the leaders and inspirational figures from not only our pharmacy customers and manufacturer partners but also the rising stars of the future

Jeremy Main, Managing Director, Alliance Healthcare, welcomed delegates and commented on the continued evolution of the Awards, saying: “Each year we aim to champion the leaders and inspirational figures from not only our pharmacy customers and manufacturer partners but also the rising stars of the future. The face of pharmacy continues to change and present us all with many challenges. But as the wider roles of both the pharmacist and team become increasingly significant we felt that this year’s categories allow us to recognise those that have truly evolved their pharmacy’s service provision to customers beyond dispensing.”

Mike Smith, Chairman, Alliance Healthcare, commented on behalf on the judging panel, about the excellent standards of the award entries in 2010, saying: “The event is about recognising excellence in our profession and in our industry. The standard of the entries this year has been higher than ever and I have to make special mention of the entries from dispensing technicians – these demonstrated really new thinking about efficiency, safety and patient focus in a role that is becoming of increasing importance in our pharmacies. I am very proud of our profession and I am also very proud of Alliance Healthcare and our industry. These are undoubtedly difficult times for us all but together we can take pharmacy to a new level and achieve even more next year.”

Award winners

Community Pharmacy Awards

Best Small Community Pharmacy (sponsored by Bristol Laboratories)

Hodgson Pharmacy, Longfield, Kent, represented by Amish Patel

The exceptional development of OTC in this pharmacy has lead to it being appointed as a store ambassador for Procter & Gamble. All staff, both counter and dispensary are fully trained and a full range of services is offered – EHC, NRT, MURs, Methadone supervision and a weight loss programme to name but a few. Newer services include seasonal flu vaccination, and sexual health and smoking cessation clinics are held at a local school. The pharmacy has also developed an online store and is the first to have a “falls” service endorsed by the RPSGB.

Best Small Multiple Pharmacy

Delmergate Ltd, Kent, represented by Jayesh Patel

This group of 18 pharmacies celebrates its 25th year in 2011. The company has a flat management structure and this encourages local managers to develop both their own skills and those of their staff. It offers a wide range of services and was the first in East Kent to be accredited for INR testing. It works closely in partnership with PCTs, Surgeries and Medway School of Pharmacy. The Company has an extensive training programme and a very clear business plan for the future. IIP status will be achieved in Q1 2011, reflecting the quality of the staff and their training. These investments lead to a growth of OTC turnover 13.5% YOY, growth in prescription numbers of 9% YOY and an increase of service income by 20%. MUR uptake has increased from 50 to 85%. The group excels in everything that it does and is driven by a man of exceptional vision who has developed a group which is very professional and consistently meets its commitments.

Best Large Multiple Pharmacy (sponsored by Quantum Pharmaceuticals)

Weldricks

The core business of this multiple pharmacy company was the dispensing of medicines and the supply of OTC medicines. The business has changed with time by, amongst other initiatives, expanding services and health monitoring. The key objectives of the business are the development of professional status, project capacity, investment in service and increased profitability. This is reflected in investment in training of pharmacists, dispensing and counter staff. The company has invested in state of the art distribution and storage facilities along with automated dispensing systems, a centralised delivery system and advanced automated dispensing. This family-owned company operates 58 pharmacies employing around 550 people.

Best Dispenser

Cassie Austin, Niti Pharmacy, Waltham Cross

Cassie has demonstrated a passion for dispensing that is characterised by her determination to make the pharmacy function more effectively, efficiently and safely. She has introduced a whole dosette box dispensing system, a regular and thorough dispensary check to identify and record out of date stock, two separate checking systems for dispensing and an effective repeat prescription service. She is described by the pharmacists that have worked with her as “efficient, honest, sincere and highly professional.”

Best Counter Assistant

Deborah Aris, Day Lewis, Ledbury

Deborah has worked in the same pharmacy for 19 years and has developed firm and trusted relationships with both customers and patients alike. She does excellent work in the area of patient intervention and this is reflected by the quality of the pharmacy referral and advice forms that she completes. She is an integral part of a team which was recognised as “Team of the Year” “by her Company in 2009. She believes that if you “give your best everyday and a little more – then you will succeed”.

Manufacturer Awards – voted by independent pharmacists

Ethical Manufacturer of the Year

Pfizer

Pfizer received positive results across all judging criteria including product availability, training, innovation, patient services and pharmacy services.

Health & Beauty Manufacturer of the Year

GlaxoSmithKline

GSK was praised by independent pharmacists, in particular for the excellent level of retail support they supply, the high standard of communication tools and their strong sales team.

Generics Manufacturer of the Year

TEVA

Independent pharmacists highlighted the excellent quality of TEVA’s communication and sales team and their provision of support to pharmacists. TEVA also gained high feedback on their product innovation and pharmacy services.

Surgical Manufacturer of the Year

Roche Diagnostics

Roche Diagnostics was praised by pharmacists for their commitment to community pharmacy and provision of strong promotional material and good retail training, to support pharmacy teams in developing their surgical product offering to patients.

Other Awards

Innovation in Hospital Pharmacy Supply Chain Award

David Stead, Pharmacy Procurement Specialist

The Innovation in Hospital Pharmacy Supply Chain Award nominations were judged by the members of the Alliance Healthcare Hospital Focus Group, comprising a number of senior NHS supply chain procurement professionals who meet regularly to discuss innovation and the future requirements of pharmacy within the NHS.

Alphega UK – Member of the Year

Fiona and Keith McElrea

Fiona and Keith were recognised for their retail business performance, space, promotions and data sharing compliance levels. They have also had an active involvement in the wider Alphega Pharmacy network.

Young Pharmacist Future Vision Award in Association with BPSA

Emma Harris

Entrants to this Award were asked to submit an essay outlining their vision for the future of community pharmacy, including identification of key challenges and proposed solutions and ideas for succeeding in a challenging climate. Emma Harris, in her winning entry, showed a clear vision for the future of the profession.

Pharmacy of the Year 2010 (sponsored by Actavis)

Delmergate Ltd, Kent

Delmergate was recognised for its strong portfolio of new systems and initiatives and have demonstrated that they go above and beyond the expected standard of service delivery.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Kirit Patel MBE, Day Lewis

Kirit Patel MBE was recognised for making an outstanding contribution to the world of community pharmacy by his personal achievement and he has also demonstrated distinction and excellence in the field throughout his career.

For more information please contact:
Victoria Ferrier, PR Officer, Alliance Healthcare:
Tel: 020 3044 8565, Mail: victoria.ferrier@alliance-healthcare.co.uk