Delivery driver to dispensing assistant isn’t the most obvious career pathway, but it’s the one Abi Wattleworth has taken since starting work at Well in Barley Clough, Lancashire.

Abi is keen to learn, having completed her medicines counter assistant course and level 2 Healthy Living Champion qualification in a staggeringly short period of time, something she says she was only able to do because of the support and motivation she received from her branch colleagues.

Abi’s dedication and passion for her patients shone through in her Awards entry, which was packed full of examples of her going the extra mile. From persuading the pharmacy’s regular wholesaler delivery driver to change his route so a woman could get the medicine she had run out of and desperately needed, to spotting that a customer’s self-harming was spiralling out of control and – with the GP’s support – persuading her to admit herself urgently to hospital for her own safety, no situation is too difficult for Abi to tackle and find a solution for.

This is not to say that Abi can’t see the bigger picture. She promotes healthy lifestyles and wellness, and works hard to raise awareness of conditions such as stroke, as well as fundraising in store for several charities including Cancer Research UK and Save the Children. This is simply another part of her role, says Abi, who views it as integral to improving the health of her local community.

Abi’s tireless efforts have caught the eye of Well’s head office staff, who named her customer service champion for her region. Now she can add RoE Rising Star 2017 to her trophy cabinet. Fittingly, also at the Awards ceremony was her branch manager Sian Blackshaw, who has encouraged Abi every step of the way during her short but already stellar career in pharmacy.

Tess Fenn, Awards judge and president of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK, described Abi as “genuinely inspiring”, with Deborah Evans, healthy living pharmacy guru and managing director of Pharmacy Complete, in full agreement, saying: “She has made a real difference to the patients she serves.”

Although Abi has already done so much – as well as passing so many pharmacy qualifications, she is also studying part-time for a degree – she has her eyes firmly fixed on the future. Next up she hopes to do a management course, supported by Well, and once she has her degree under her belt, she can see herself going on to the NVQ3 pharmacy technician course. Abi comments: “I suffer a bit from lack of confidence, but filling in the entry form for the Recognition of Excellence Awards made me realise how much I had done in the year since I joined Well and how much more I can do.”