Jayne Cawthorne extends the core values of Day Lewis Pharmacy to every customer by taking the time to listen, help and assist each and every one, even in her own time

Such was Jayne Cawthorne’s outrage at how so many people – in particular the elderly and vulnerable – are not given the support they need that she set herself to righting that wrong through her work at Day Lewis in Monkwood, South Yorkshire. Living by this ethos quite rightly earned Jayne a highly commended in the TENAsponsored Customer Care Award.

There are many examples of how Jayne looks after her customers. For instance, last year she asked all vulnerable patients for their numbers so that she could phone and remind them to order their prescriptions in the run-up to Christmas, spurred on by the fact that the local surgeries had banned pharmacies from ordering prescriptions on behalf of their patients. She then followed up with another call to make sure they had everything they needed before the pharmacy closed for the festive period. Another instance was when a customer arrived at the pharmacy after the pharmacist had left for the day, desperate for a medicine for a dying relative. Jayne took the prescription to a nearby supermarket pharmacy for dispensing, then delivered it to the patient’s home. A third case saw Jayne sourcing a particular insulin from a pharmacy four miles away, obtaining it and then delivering it to the patient’s home as he didn’t drive and she was worried about him trying to do it himself using an unreliable bus service. 

Awards judge and 2014 Spotlight Award winner Leanne Beverley was impressed with how Jayne provides support for customers on their terms, even if it means going outside of her working hours or immediate role as a trainee pharmacy technician. APTUK president Tess Fenn agreed, saying: “In Jayne’s nomination, what really shone through was the empathy she has for the pharmacy’s customers and patients, and her dedication to ensure their personal needs are met.”