Damien Atherton of the Pierremont Pharmacy in Broadstairs, Kent, was the winner of the Key Staff Award in the Independent Pharmacy Awards for 2014 (ICP, November 2014, p21). A registered pharmacy technician, he manages the pharmacy’s anticoagulation service, which includes domiciliary visiting. Douglas Simpson went to Broadstairs to find out more about Damien’s life and times in pharmacy

Damien’s route into pharmacy was not something that he had planned. Part way through a music degree he realised that he would be likely to end up as a teacher, which was not something that he wanted. So he left and wrote to all the shops in Ramsgate high street asking for a job. He got a reply from Boots the Chemists and began working for them in a department devoted to ‘sound and vision’. The shop manager later responded to his wish to move into the pharmacy side of the business and he transferred to the dispensary and trained as a dispenser.

Damien remained with the company for eight or nine years, before taking two years off to follow a long-standing interest in broadcasting. During his time out, he worked on a radio station in Hong Kong.

But, in Damien’s words, the pull of pharmacy proved too strong and he returned to the UK and began working as a dispenser for a variety of multiple and independent employers. And when the chance came in 2007 of a job with the newly opening Pierremont Pharmacy in Broadstairs High Street he took it.
Pierremont pharmacy started as a 100-hour operation. But things were not easy.

“It was a big ask,” says Damien.“ There were three other pharmacies on the High Street, including Boots. We had to find something to offer to make us stand out from the opposition. So we decided to concentrate on developing new professional services.”

The decision had already been made that the pharmacy would be professionally based.

“The general rule in pharmacies was to have a large shop and a small dispensary. We went the other way, with the dispensary occupying a much larger space than the front shop. We decided to stock a full range of medicines but other items like nappies only in a limited way,” says Damien

The anticoagulation service that Damien is heavily involved with started about a year after the pharmacy opened. The then primary care trust was promoting the movement of such services into primary care. The service began in a small way, after initial training of pharmacy staff, including Damien, and has grown considerably since. Over 640 patients now make use of it. Anticoagulation medicines are supplied by the pharmacy under a patient group direction, allowing medication to exactly match needs.

“We knew there was great potential,” says Damien. “There were a lot of people on warfarin and a few on Sinthrome. The big advantage we had was that we were not a 9-5 pharmacy. Working people on warfarin could come in the evening, tailoring their appointments to their needs.

“We also saw the potential of domiciliary visits, which was a new idea. District nurses were going out taking venous samples and sending them back to the hospital, when it would be easier for us to go out and perform a finger-prick test and have the result straight away. By us doing the tests, it freed up the district nurses to do the work they were best at and it was less traumatic for the patient.

“The service has snowballed. We fostered good relations with John De Souza (a nurse running the anticoagulation clinic at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate) and he would ring us up and say that he had got another patient and we would take them on, even if it meant a 40 mile round trip. We figured if we took on one such patient others in the area might follow. We also fostered good relations with the Kent and Canterbury Hospital in Canterbury and the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford. “We operate within a radius of about 40 miles.”

John De Souza took retirement from the hospital service and now works for Pierremont Pharmacy where he is involved in the provision of the anticoagulation service.

Assistant manager

Damien has helped in the provision of other services in the past but now finds that the anticoagulation work takes up most of the time that he has to devote to them.

He is also the assistant manager at the pharmacy, which involves a lot of administrative work, allowing the pharmacist manager (Peter Bettles) to concentrate on professional matters. Damien’s remit covers staffing issues.

He cut his teeth in the early days making sure that there were always staff on hand to cover the 100-hour operation. The situation has eased slightly in this respect as the pharmacy now operates for extended hours, closing on weekday evenings at 8pm, rather than for 100 hours. This is the result of its owners, the Manor Pharmacy Group, acquiring a contract from Superdrug.

Damien works out the staffing rotas for the business and administers the holiday arrangements. He deals with pastoral care matters, too. His belief is that if staff are well looked after they work better. He is the key- holder in case of emergency.

The staff comprises a pharmacist manager and regular locum pharmacists trained in the services that the pharmacy provides, along with three accredited checking technicians (of which Damien is one), five dispensers, four trained counter staff and three delivery drivers. Some staff are part-time. The pharmacy is also part of the Healthy Living Pharmacy scheme.

Damien registered as a technician with the General Pharmaceutical Council about two years ago. “There was a lot of form filling. They did not make things easy.” Nonetheless, he values the ability to register. “It recognises technicians as a professional body. The next stage for technicians is to build on that, with pharmacists entrusting an increasing amount of work to them. Many  technicians have a lot of experience.”

He acknowledges, though, that he gets plenty of scope at Pierremont Pharmacy to use his skills. “And I am always involved in looking for any new services that we might provide.” Any ideas for that?

“We have had discussions with Kent County Council social services, which is considering using electronic dosette boxes to remind patients when they should be taking a dose and to signal to designated carers or relatives if doses have been missed. This could help patients with, say, early dementia. No decisions have been made about whether or not such a service should be set up but we would want to play a part.”

Has he had thoughts about seeking qualification as a pharmacist?
“Paying the fees and finding the time would be big problems. The barriers for a family man like me are high. The availability of part-time courses would help and I would like some thought to be given to this. There are technicians capable of making the transition and if it were possible I would love to do it.”

Men are the last ones to go to the doctor and men’s sheds are good ways of reaching them

Any interests outside pharmacy? “I have kept up with my broadcasting, and I work on the local commercial radio station with my own programme on a Sunday morning, plus, on occasion, I do a bit of holiday cover outside the area in my spare time.”

What kinds of thing does he broadcast on? “Our Sunday morning show on community radio covers local issues, including health matters. This has included guidance on the proper use of Accident and Emergency departments and the role that pharmacy can play in dealing with emergency needs. I also discussed in great detail a promotional campaign by a mail-order pharmacy dressed up to look like as if it was official when it was a sales gimmick designed to take business away from local pharmacies.”

Hospital radio

How did he get into broadcasting? “I helped out in hospital radio while at
school and, when I went to university, I got involved in a radio station being run there. I have been broadcasting ever since. I enjoy it. I have worked for the Capitol Radio Group and a variety of other commercial radio broadcasters, plus I’ve done a few bits in the BBC.”

Damien also has a role in the Girl Guides, where his wife runs a Brownie unit. “As well as giving Brownies fun things to do, we try to educate them. We show them a lot of science, everything from putting a Polo Mint into Coca Cola, to boiling up milk and adding vinegar to show it separating and creating a mouldable solid. We try to emphasise the importance of being careful with medicines, too.”

Broadstairs shed

Any other ways he promotes pharmacy locally?
“We are involved in the Broadstairs Town Shed, which was set up a year ago. Men’s Sheds are non-profit organisations that originated in Australia to advise on and improve the overall health of all males. It’s a communal meeting point for middle-aged and older men where they can take part in various activities. We did a blood pressure test for them recently. We will be looking at blood sugar tests and giving input on health issues generally.

“Men are the last ones to go to the doctor and this is proving a good way to reach them. The local shed is something that we really want to support.” How does he feel about the future of independent pharmacy? “It is difficult when you are up against the multiples. But independents can lead the way. You have to speculate to accumulate.

“There should be more support from the government. Pharmacies get most of their money through prescriptions. But the government should do more to pay for services. With GPs under pressure, there is so much more that we can do.” Would there be an opportunity to press such views to a wider audience with the general election coming in May.

“With Nigel Farage standing, the spotlight will be on our local constituency of South Thanet, and if I get the chance I will be tackling local candidates about the role that pharmacy should be allowed to play.” Would he be interviewing Mr Farage on local radio?

“I’d like to. I’d like to interview all of the candidates and see what plans they have to give pharmacies greater power, including power to deal with readily treatable conditions under the Health Service. This would save patients having to make an appointment with the doctor and thereby ease pressure in surgeries while benefiting the patient. A national minor ailments scheme is needed in England.” And a bigger role for technicians?

“You have just got to look at the hospital service where technicians do a lot, freeing up pharmacists for work that demands their special skills. We need to see that more in community pharmacy.”