Salisbury hit the news for an unexpected reason last summer: the poisoning of former Russian military officer and his daughter with a nerve agent

The area that was sealed off included a busy pharmacy, but quick-thinking Gemma McCannon got in touch with NHS England to ensure patients didn’t go without their medication, absorbing 10,000 prescriptions and organising extra staff for nearby branches of LloydsPharmacy where she works as a cluster manager for 21 stores.

This really impressed RoE judge and Well pharmacy superintendent Janice Perkins, who commented: “She hasn’t been fazed by the additional work and responsibility and maintained standards and quality throughout”.

Another factor that led to Gemma receiving a highly commended in the Outstanding Contribution category was the sheer amount of work she manages to get done in the one day a week she spends in the Andover branch of LloydsPharmacy, which she directly manages. As she say: “There is so much more that can be done – exciting times!”