GWENT-based pharmacy group Mayberry Pharmacy was the toast of the UK pharmaceutical industry after being recognised not once but twice at this year’s Chemist and Druggist Awards in London.

The awards are the most prestigious in pharmacy sector.

The group had to beat off stIff competition from the likes of Boots and Lloyds to win the titles of Public Health Initiative of the Year, for its blood pressure campaign in partnership with Wetherspoon, and Pharmacy Team of the Year.

The judging panel, made up of representatives from the NHS, national pharmaceutical companies and smaller pharmacy groups, said the campaign was 'exactly what we must all aspire to do – find new ways to access people we normally find most difficult to engage'.

Paul Mayberry, managing director of Mayberry Pharmacy, said: “We are delighted. The whole ethos of our team and what we do as an organisation is to help people. Our partnership with Wetherspoon saw us think outside the box to encourage more people to think about their health and in partnering with the UK’s leading chain of pubs we were able to reach hundreds of people who had never before thought about their blood pressure.

“It’s fantastic too that our pharmacy team who dispense patient’s prescriptions with our robotic dispensing technology were recognised as Britain’s best too. The team dispenses thousands of medicines every week, which means our pharmacists get to spend more time helping patients."

Mayberry Pharmacy was the first pharmacy in Wales to launch central robotic dispensing technology. The robots work by using the unique patient and medication information stored on a 2D barcode on a prescription. A pharmacy technician at Mayberry Pharmacy’s head office scans this information into a computer allowing the robots to go off and find the relevant medication and provide it to them.

This means that its pharmacists based at branches across South East Wales can then spend more time talking to patients about their medicines and helping them understand them, performing one-to-one health consultations, and screening for conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

The double award win follows on from Mayberry Pharmacy’s success at this year’s Welsh Pharmacy Awards where Paul Mayberry was voted Pharmacist of the Year.

The company now plans to build on its success with a number of initiatives and campaigns planned for the coming months.