UniChem Pharmacy Awards 2008

The annual UniChem Pharmacy Awards 2008 held last month in London were attended by over 450 guests. Hosted by David Gower, former England cricketer currently working as a cricket commentator, the award ceremony comprised a total of 14 awards being handed out.

Commenting on the Awards, Mike Smith, chairman UniChem, said: ‘Tonight is a celebration of all that is good about pharmacy and a clear demonstration of the commitment that all of us at UniChem have to excellence in community pharmacy. I said at the convention in Oman that we have tremendous opportunity in community pharmacy, but we need to get of our backsides to take this opportunity. Tonight you will see outstanding examples of pharmacists who have done just that.’

Jeremy Main, UniChem’s managing director, in his speech, emphasised the challenges faced by pharmacists and across the supply chain need to be tackled as a united force. ‘We have emphasised the importance of partnership at this year’s awards and I truly believe that if we are going to take the challenges presented to us head on, we need to really embrace this partnership approach across the industry.

‘It doesn’t matter whether you are an independent pharmacy with a single shop or global manufacturer, at the end of the day we all have a common goal and that is providing the best level of service and care to our patients.’

Prestwich Pharmacy, Prestwich, ran away as the big winners of the night as they scooped the Community Pharmacy of the Year and Pharmacy Retailer of the Year awards by ‘demonstrating
how an independent pharmacy can really raise the bar within its community’.

The Awards consisted of frequent breaks for food and drinks, allowing Gower to entertain the attendees with cricket-related anecdotes and with a live band and post-Awards entertainment, it was not just the winners that went home happy.

© Faras Ghani 2008.
Published in Pharmacy Business Dec 2008.