The 21^st Pharmacy Business Awards saluted the achievements of community pharmacies across the UK on an unforgettable night of celebration even as the health secretary assured his department’s steadfast support to the sector.

The awards themselves, which were postponed due to Covid-19 pandemic, made a resounding return on Wednesday (23 March) to their usual glitz and grandeur at the plush Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel in central London – an ideal setting for what turned out to be a truly eventful night.

Speaking as the chief guest, health secretary Sajid Javid said he would like “pharmacies to reach new heights in a post-pandemic world,” arguing that the Covid-19 crisis couldn’t have been “the high-water mark for community pharmacy.”

“I really want to work with you to see how we can embrace much more new ideas and do things even better. You have my full support,” he told pharmacists.

The health secretary added that he would like to see community pharmacy represented on all boards of the upcoming integrated care systems which form the basis of new reforms at the NHS.

The changes will promote more joined-up services with a focus on improving community health and bringing providers and commissioners of NHS services across a geographical area together with local authorities and local partners for better health outcomes.

Earlier in the evening, delivering his opening remarks, Shailesh Solanki, the executive editor of Pharmacy Business, highlighted the plight of community pharmacy.

He said: “For years community pharmacy has suffered from under investment. The stark reality is that pharmacy finances are in a perilous state. Hundreds of pharmacies have closed over the last few years and with nearly a decade of flat funding, community pharmacies are now facing rising costs of staff, energy and business rates.”

Solanki added that all these ever-increasing cost pressures would require a meaningful response from the government for the sector to sustain itself.  However, he agreed that with the right investment, community pharmacies could do so much more.

“From treating minor ailments to clinic checks for patients with hypertension to detecting early stages of cancers and dementia, community pharmacy can play a vital role in the wider NHS and in the prevention agenda.”

Restating how important it was for the NHS to deliver a lot more on prevention, Javid said community pharmacists could “play a reinvigorated role in the prevention agenda.” He commended pharmacists for their “hugely important and a starring role” in vaccinating “millions of people across the country”.

Javid also praised the brave Ukrainian pharmacists who continued to bring pride to the profession by battling it out in a bloody war. He said: “Throughout the world and throughout history, pharmacists have always performed such a vital service, I want to commend all the pharmacies in the UK who are supporting their counterparts in Ukraine in all kinds of ways.”

The ceremony witnessed the great and the good in the wider sector come together to hail the achievements of community pharmacy. Awash with accolades for community pharmacists and their teams, the evening saw a total of 14 awards being handed out, including the inaugural Pharmacy Business Ram Solanki Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to academic pharmacist Professor Mahendra G Patel OBE.

An 80-year-old community pharmacist, Nizar Mawani of Haydons Pharmacy in south London, won the Community award, while David Parker of Church Crookham Pharmacy in Hampshire beat off some tough competition to win the Local Health Initiative of the Year award.

The headline award, the Pharmacy Business of the Year, went to Newdays Pharmacy in Buckinghamshire for its outstanding all-round service throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Its owner and chief pharmacist Olivier Picard was praised by judges as being a “community pharmacy visionary”.

Other Winners

Pharmacy Business Technology Award – Mark Hopkins of Hopwoods Pharmacy, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff.

Pharmacy Business Public Health Pharmacist of the Year – Raj Rohilla of Midhurst Pharmacy in West Sussex.

Pharmacy Business Pharmacy Team of the Year – Craig Hinks and team at New Inn Pharmacy in Pontypool.

Pharmacy Business Natural Healthcare Pharmacy of the Year – Elegant Health at AR Pharmacy, Totton, Southampton.

Pharmacy Business Innovation Award –Khizer Qureshi of Allen & Barnfield Chemists Ltd.

Pharmacy Business Pharmacy Assistant of the Year –Karen Sirrell of Day Lewis Pharmacy, Henbury, Bristol.

Pharmacy Business Independent Prescriber of the Year – Joanne Hope of Barnton Pharmacy and Travel Clinic in Edinburgh.

Pharmacy Business GP/Primary Care Integration Award – Mohammed Ramzan of Buxton & Grant Pharmacy in Clifton, Bristol.

Pharmacy Business Community Pharmacy Heroes Award – Sobha Sharma from Woolwich Late Night Pharmacy.

Pharmacy Business Enterprise Award – Martin Stratton of Appleton Village Pharmacy in Cheshire, Widnes.