England's chief pharmacist presents the 2015 Independent Pharmacy Awards

Dr Keith Ridge (pictured), chief pharmaceutical officer at NHS England told winners and guests at the London Waldorf on October 2 that they were at the Independent Pharmacy Awards ceremony to celebrate great practice by independent pharmacy and he offered his congratulations to the winners.

He had noticed several themes:

• Seven day services (a topical subject, and rightly so)
• Prevention being better than cure
• Integration of care within and across professions
• Helping people in the community who were experiencing difficult times (for example patients with cancer)
• Caring for vulnerable patients (those in care homes, for example)
• The importance of the whole pharmacy team working together
• The importance of utilising the skills and leadership of individual staff
• Working effectively and efficiently to create and develop a good business.

What was that all about? The clue was in two words: “community” and “pharmacy”. It was about practising pharmacy excellently, with compassion and “doing that for the benefit of individuals and the local community”. It was also about serving those communities through the values, skills and commitment of the pharmacy profession, working closely with patients, the public and across the professions.