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A journey of discovery

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A journey of discovery

Spending his days managing a team and caring for others, Saeed Behbod has come a long way since he first walked into a Green Light Pharmacy as a rebellious teen

Saeed loves to talk and listen to people, which makes pharmacy life perfect for him

 

Saeed Behbod’s pharmacy journey began by chance when the bus he was travelling on broke down outside a pharmacy on his local high street in Shepherd’s Bush, west London. At the time, Saeed was looking for a part-time job to fund himself through a sports science course. As he had some CVs on him, he decided to chance his luck with the shops on his way home, and was offered a few hours’ work at Green Light Pharmacy on Uxbridge Road.

As a people person who loves to both talk and listen, it wasn’t long before Saeed realised that pharmacy life suited him perfectly and gave him a sense of satisfaction. “I never expected to get the job as I was young and stupid like a typical teenager and I wasn’t even dressed appropriately,” recalls Saeed. “But I have always been a hands-on, streetwise kind of person with good common sense and I’ve never shied away from hard work. I got stuck into everything from serving customers to cleaning shelves.”

Part of the community

When a full-time post became available at Green Light Pharmacy’s Euston branch, Saeed decided it was time to leave college and embark on a career in pharmacy. He stayed at the Euston branch for two years, training as a medicines counter assistant and a dispensing assistant. Around 10 years ago, the Shepherd’s Bush branch reopened in another location along Uxbridge Road, and so Saeed returned to his neighbourhood, where he has been helping to care for the local community ever since – in several different languages.

The pharmacy serves an ethnically diverse community. Saeed, whose background is Iranian, speaks both Farsi and Arabic, has a good grasp of German and Albanian, and is currently learning Spanish. He is also involved with local Sudanese, Eritrean and Algerian community groups, plus, he has a friendly, approachable manner and is always ready to help. All of this means that he is perfectly placed to break down cultural and language barriers with customers and fully engage with them about their health and wellbeing.

“I love learning different languages and cultures and interacting with different people; I believe it is the best way to get rid of racism and discrimination,” says Saeed. “Because I’ve been here for so long, and I live here and speak the same language as lots of people here, they trust me and often ask for me directly.”

Putting customers first

Now a branch manager, Saeed’s role includes overseeing the medicine dosage system (MDS) dispensing service, running the stop smoking service, providing travel health advice and delivering blood pressure and cholesterol checks. He is also in the process of completing his pharmacy technician training. Saeed says that the pharmacy gets quite busy, not just because of prescriptions, but because the team strives to make the most out of every customer interaction and to sign up people who could benefit from Green Light Pharmacy’s range of services.

Customers also come in regularly to use the travel health clinic, which includes vaccinations as well as advice on keeping healthy while abroad. Saeed, whose favourite travel destination is his wife’s native Albania, has travelled extensively and says that the customers appreciate his first-hand travel tips.

“Our pharmacy is not just about prescriptions, we are about health. We are here to help with anything to do with the patient’s health or that of their partner, family members or friends,” says Saeed. “We think of the patients and the customers first, always.”

Green Light philosophy

During his 13 years at the company, Saeed says that he has “fully adopted the Green Light philosophy”, which centres on working as a team and caring for communities. The company is an employee owned co-operative with all staff members offered the opportunity to purchase shares in the business, and also operates as a democracy, involving everyone in key decisions, and even showing the staff the company finances so they can agree on salaries.

“We feel ownership towards the company. What better way to invest your money than in somewhere you work and love and have a future?” asks Saeed. In line with their strong community focus, Green Light Pharmacies are involved with various initiatives, including a Walking for Health scheme, while the Euston branch has gained healthy living pharmacy (HLP) status, with the other branches soon to follow.

The Shepherd’s Bush branch also has a student exchange system with the University of Navarro in Spain and provides work experience opportunities for local schoolchildren. “I’ve come to understand that we are slightly different here at Green Light; everyone who works here soaks up the Green Light ethos,” says Saeed. “We have a great team; it is really enjoyable to work here. It is like a little family, not just this branch, but the whole company.”

Forward and back

Looking to the future, Saeed is hoping to train up to deliver travel health vaccinations to customers embarking on the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage, while he also dreams of taking the Green Light philosophy to other countries one day. Yet when he looks back to his early days, he can’t believe how far he has come. “I have a poor background and I got into trouble a few times,” he says. “I never expected myself to be in this situation with a job like this, caring for others, listening to other people’s problems.”

I’ve come to understand that we are slightly different here at Green Light; everyone who works here soaks up the Green Light ethos

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