On Wednesday (13 October 2021) we were thrilled our team at Neath Pharmacy won the Independent Community Pharmacy Practice of the Year Award at the Welsh Pharmacy Awards, which took place at The Vale Resort in the Vale of Glamorgan. Pharmacists came together in person and were publicly recognised after last year’s awards were held virtually because of the Covid-19 restrictions. We were excited that our own Superintendent Elizabeth Lawless was there in person with her family to receive the award which celebrated the journey our new branch Neath Pharmacy is on in transforming to an innovative Pharmacy of the future.
Director Ali Sparkes, remarked “The past year has demolished traditional health promotion activities and indeed traditional ways of pharmacy working. We saw our primary aim as being reassuring and professional. Our Initiative at Victoria Gardens was to extend out and bring the community in. In terms of design we have done that with a refit squeezed in amongst ongoing work to create a much more welcoming and airy environment.What our COVID-19 experience has done is elevate our standing as healthcare professionals in the community. Patients are now so much nicer to us! We’ve achieved that by rising to the challenge and putting service to the community as our primary aim.”
On the night there was an announcement of the 2021 Special Recognition Award – which, touchingly, was dedicated to the whole Welsh pharmacy community in tribute to their efforts, commitment, and resilience in the face of an unprecedented Covid-19 challenge. The evening also raised funds for the year’s nominated charity Pharmacist Support.
