THE countdown has started and the sense of anticipation is growing: There are just 10 days to go until the South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards 2020, held in association with t2 group.
The judges have deliberated, the finalists know who they are, and on Tuesday December 29 we’ll be revealing the winners during a star-studded online event.
Celebrity GP Dr Hilary Jones will be our host and there will be appearances from a number of household names, all of whom will be applauding the real stars of the show - the men and women who work hard day in day out, to keep us safe and well.
We will be honouring the doctors, nurses, carers, pharmacists, surgeons, support staff, GP surgeries, paramedics and specialist teams, along with people who have come up with innovations throughout 2020, a year that will go down in history as a time when everybody in our health and care sector has been hugely tested but more than risen to any challenges thrown at them.
Don’t miss the awards as they happen, by logging onto the South Wales Argus Facebook page [https://www.facebook.com/southwalesargus/] just before 7pm to enjoy the action.
A team that fully enjoyed the South Wales Argus Health & Care Awards in 2019 was the staff from Lloyds Pharmacy in Griffithstown, Pontypool, which won the ‘Pharmacy of the Year’ accolade.
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Customers nominated them for the way they go ‘above and beyond’, something they have certainly continued to do throughout 2020.
“We’re one of the bigger Lloyds serving our medium-sized village, which also has its own doctors’ practice,” explains supervisor Rachel Price.
“Our nomination last year came from a lady whose husband was having a lot of operations and treatments. Our pharmacy goes above and beyond for everybody, and for him we made sure we got hold of all the dressings they needed.
“On her Facebook page she wrote about how she did not know what she would have done without our help, and a lot of other customers jumped on board to put us forward.”
Ms Price says the team at Lloyds Pharmacy at Griffithstown (above, at last year's awards ceremony) has a real rapport with its customers.
“Our team includes our manager Jennifer Jones, who has worked here for 16 years. She knows people quite well, which is lovely,” said Ms Price, who has herself worked there for 15 years.
“We’re in a village setting. If we know somebody is struggling to get dressings or medication for a long term condition we will order in quite a bit to keep them going, and if something is missing off their script we tell them to leave it to us and we will call through to the surgery and get it sorted.”
This level of service has continued throughout the pandemic, especially during the first weeks of lockdown when staff gave up their time off to come into work to make sure customers got their medication.
“Patients who used to collect their prescriptions themselves were self-isolating and had to have them delivered, but we banded together and got through it. I don’t think anybody went without," said Ms Price.
“Our continued aim is to look after people and keep them safe."
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