“I love the fact that this just isn’t any job. You can actually see that you make a difference to people’s lives by helping them,” says Margaret Ashley

Having entered the world of pharmacy some 12 years ago, at the age of 53, she says she feels incredibly lucky to have been able to make such a wonderful career change at a late stage in her working life. Since then, Margaret has made it her mission to support everyone in the pharmacy, whether that be customers or colleagues, and the senior lead counter assistant Samantha Ebdon, who nominated her for the Outstanding Contribution Award, says: “Margaret is my absolute rock and an absolute pleasure to work alongside.”

A large part of Margaret’s job as lead counter assistant is to manage all the initial and ongoing training for the team. “Once we have identified those who would benefit from training, we work on what kind of support they would need to be successful,” she explains.

The RoE judges commented on Margaret’s impressive list of examples of when she went above and beyond, including one where she supported an elderly customer to do the tests she needed to visit her husband in his care home during the pandemic. “She has shown true support to not only the community, but her team too,” says Richard Stephenson, chief operating officer at Right Medicine Pharmacy.

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