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Pharmacy stars shone at this year’s TM Recognition of Excellence Awards, as finalists, sponsors and the industry joined together to celebrate their success

Medicines counter assistants, dispensing assistants, health champions and pharmacy technicians took centre stage at our second annual Recognition of Excellence Awards last month, as their hard work and achievements were rewarded at a celebratory lunch at the Landmark Hotel in London. Sponsored by TENA, Kellogg’s and SMA Nutrition, the awards set out to find pharmacy team members who go above and beyond their duty for the benefit of their customers, patients and pharmacies – and the finalists didn’t disappoint.

With the entries this year well into the hundreds, our panel of judges – which consisted of Deborah Evans from Balance, Liam Stapleton from Metaphor Development, Mimi Lau from Numark, Joanne Taylor from Vittoria Healthcare, Helen Darracott from the PAGB, Noel Wicks from Right Medicine Pharmacy, Salim Jetha from Avicenna, Mike Holden from MH Associates, Leyla Hannbeck from the National Pharmacy Association and last year’s Spotlight Award winner Leanne Beverley from Monarch Pharmacy – had tough decisions to make to ensure that the finalists really were the best of the best.

Cream of the crop

Accuracy checking technician (ACT) Annie Clarke from City Pharmacy in Portsmouth saw off stiff competition to scoop the overall Spotlight Award for the pharmacy team member of the year, after also being named as a finalist in a staggering four categories. Winning the Retail Skills and Infant Care categories, the judges believed that Annie showed initiative and is “an example to the rest of the profession”. Annie was also highly commended in the Counter Intelligence and Healthy Living Advisor awards.

Training Matters editor Gemma O’Sullivan told guests: “Annie has delivered outstanding results and is committed to making a positive contribution to community healthcare. Her passion for pharmacy and dedication to training was evident in her entries, where she demonstrated care, compassion and knowledge in all aspects of pharmacy.”

Another high-flyer was pharmacy technician and ACT Myra Battle from Boots UK in Sudbury, who took home both the Customer Care Award and the Pharmacy Technician of the Year Award. Myra was praised by the judges for her excellent examples of going the extra mile to develop herself and deliver outstanding customer care. She was also highly commended in the Healthy Living Advisor category.

Healthcare consultant Deepali Bij from Boots UK in Derby took home the Counter Intelligence Award, which recognises a pharmacy team member who excels in their product knowledge and is highly skilled at recognising symptoms, while Pamela MacPherson from Rowlands Pharmacy in Portsmouth won the Healthy Living Advisor Award for her work in providing health checks and services to improve the health of her community.

Nicola Swan, a trainee pre-registration pharmacy technician at Southmead Hospital pharmacy, also triumphed at the awards, taking home the Rising Star Award for excelling in all aspects of her role and embracing training.