Pharmacists and teams recognised at the Welsh Pharmacy Awards
29 September 2022
It was a night of success for several pharmacists across Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB) with four winners at the 2022 Welsh Pharmacy Awards.
The awards ceremony was held at the Vale Resort in South Wales on September 7, 2022 to celebrate pharmacy professionals including those from hospital and community pharmacy and highlight their various industrious and innovative projects.
Luso Kumwenda, locum Pharmacist based in Llanelli won the Locum of the Year Award. He provides cover for pharmacies around South Wales. He is also a mentor via the Royal Pharmaceutical Society mentorship programme and provides revision for the general pharmaceutical council (GPhC) exams at Focus Pre Reg Revision. He collaborates with pharmacists from Southern Africa via Southern African Academy of Pharmacy (SAAP) where he organises virtual lectures and host other pharmacists visiting the UK. With his wide knowledge and vast skill set, he has been able to support the community as well as his colleagues.
Nrpendra Sing from Borth Pharmacy in Ceredigion won the Innovations in Service delivery in Community Pharmacy (Independent) for development of a delivery app PharmDel (opens in new tab) that streamlines and improves safety for delivery. Due to the location of the pharmacy and the medication delivery need of the elderly population in Borth community especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nrependra was keen to bridge the gap and provided an easy-to-use interface, with booking, scanning and delivery of medication streamlined in one-click. On a daily basis, using the app has freed up at least an hour and a half of the staff at Borth Pharmacy’s time.
Glangwili Hospital Pharmacy Team in Carmarthen won the Hospital Pharmacy Team of the Year Award for great team ethos and focus on the patient’s journey as they move between sectors over a wide geographical area. With a focus always on patient safety and experience, the team has consistently worked together to do the best they can.
Tenby Pharmacy Team won the GP Practice Pharmacy Team of the Year Award. The GP practice team of two pharmacists and two pharmacy technicians focused on improving medicines management in the surgery and focused on the safe use of proton pump inhibitors research. The project has been well received by patients and the result has been the reduction of the risks associated with long term use these drugs. This has enabled the team to work proactively in ensuring a more patient-focussed service.
The 2022 Special Recognition title was bestowed upon Jenny Pugh-Jones, for her extensive contributions to the sector as Clinical Director for Pharmacy and Medicines Management at Hywel Dda UHB. She is a leader and driver for change on a national level. She has been a firm advocate of increasing the clinical and patient facing role of community pharmacy, in addition to the role of pharmacy in and across GP practices as part of a multi-professional approach to patient care. In the hospital sector, she and her team are always working on advancing the delivery of high-quality clinical services across all sites. She has raised the profile and respect for pharmacy right across the health board and beyond.
A special mention goes to Rhian Downs and the Community Drug and Alcohol Team who were in the Management of Substance dependency in the Community Category. As an independent prescriber, Rhian works as part of the MDT approach to substance misuse delivering opiate substitute therapy (OST) to vulnerable members of the community.
Davies and Team Well Pharmacy Llanelli were also finalists, having been shortlisted in the Development in Female Health Category. The team were shortlisted for outstanding patient centred care and advocate for female health.
Director of Primary Care, Community and Long-Term Care, Jill Paterson said: “Congratulations to the winners as well as the finalists. I am pleased that the work of Pharmacists across our health board is being noticed and acknowledged nationally.
I am enormously proud of them, and all our Pharmacy professionals across the health board, for the high-quality of care they continue to deliver every day to the community.”