In Pharmacy Awards

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The winner of the Independent Pharmacist of the Year Award was Sandra Cooke of the Whitehouse Pharmacy, Derry.

Left to right: Dr Keith Ridge, chief pharmaceutical officer at NHS England, Sandra Cooke of Whitehouse Pharmacy, John D'Arcy, chief executive of award sponsor Numark

When she opened her pharmacy in 2010, Ms Cooke surveyed local GPs, politicians and the providers of out-of-hours services to find out what their needs were. She found that all wanted a pharmacy with extended hours. The result is a pharmacy that is open every day of the year and until 9pm from Monday to Thursday, 10pm on Fridays, 8pm on Saturdays and 6pm on Sundays.

The pharmacy has recently opened an e-commerce website to provide an additional income stream. Ms Cooke says that she sees her pharmacy as more than just a business and her role as more than just a pharmacist. €We genuinely care about our customers and go out of our way to help them,€ she says.

Whitehouse pharmacy is widely involved in public health issues. It promotes smoking cessation within the pharmacy and through external events at venues such as local supermarkets. Talks have been given at local schools on healthy eating and dental health. And participants at a local children's drama group have been addressed on dangers that can arise from too much exposure to the sun. The pharmacy promotes responsible drinking by participation in Derry's Drink Think Project.

 Working with a body called Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership, which supports pharmacy links with local community groups, the pharmacy has targeted men's health issues at local basketball groups. The main aim has been to raise awareness of testicular cancer.

Charity partnerships

Whitehouse pharmacy gets involved with local charities, raising money through coffee mornings, Halloween events, charity casino nights and sponsored walks. Charities that have benefitted include Foyle Hospice, Concern and the Northern Ireland Cancer Fund for Children.

When the minor ailments service was extended, the pharmacy approached the local Sure Start mother and toddler group to make them aware of what was available; this now includes treatments for oral thrush, mouth ulcers and cold sores, as well as remedies for head lice and threadworms. The pharmacy has provided speakers for local groups for the elderly on dangers arising from unwise sharing of prescription drugs. Ms Cookes has spoken about the availability of gluten free products at an event for suffers from coeliac disease. And she has built relationships with social workers at a nearby children's home, providing medicines and advice as necessary.

Whitehouse Pharmacy takes on work experience students from local schools. Miss Cooke is a Queen's University of Belfast pharmacy placement mentor and a preregistration tutor. She is a member of the Education, Standards and Regulatory Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, where she is an appointed Council member.

Presenting the award, John D'Arcy, managing director of sponsor Numark, said: €Numark, as an organisation, is a virtual head office for independent community pharmacists so we are on all fours with the ambitions of this award and we are delighted to be involved.€ He commended the pharmacy for surveying local need and going on to provide the access to services that the community sought. Sandra Cooke said she had been surprised to get the award as she was at the start of her career and had much more to achieve. She thanked her staff, partner and customers for their support.