From part-time sales assistant to store manager, Luke Simmons is leading the way at the LloydsPharmacy in Chertsey, Surrey

Luke Simmons’ work ethic led to him being nominated for an Award by company HQ, which in turn led to him securing Highly Commended in the Team Leader category, which was sponsored by Numark.

He says: “I feel that as a team we provide excellent customer service every day.” This statement is supported by the fact that the branch has a constant stream of customers taking advantage of services such as MURs, blood pressure checks and diabetes testing on top of a busy dispensary, which processes some 600 items a day. Luke says that despite the high footfall, he and his team get involved with every patient, always trying to strike up conversations that make the service more personalised. The pharmacy enjoys a close relationship with the local GP practice, working in partnership on campaigns such as raising awareness of antibiotic resistance. The hard work with the community also extends to local events such as fetes, where staff promote services, and sheltered accommodation to help residents with any medication queries they may have.

Dubbed by LloydsPharmacy area manager Behrooz Vahedifar as “the fastest, most accurate dispenser we have in the area”, there was little debate when it came to promoting Luke to non- pharmacist manager at his branch. This is a role he has taken to like a duck to water, meeting the vast majority of key performance indicators in his first few months, “with his accuracy and level of efficiency never failing to surprise the most competent of pharmacists he works with”, according to Behrooz.