Peak Pharmacy

Peak Pharmacy
Pharmacy Team of the Year Award
WINNER

“I believe many community pharmacy teams deserve this award for coping with the unprecedented post pandemic pressures,” says Peak Pharmacy nominator and pharmacy manager, David Smith. “GPs seem less available to see patients and pass on more work to pharmacies. Over the last few years, two of the local pharmacies have closed on Saturdays and one pharmacy is closed on a regular basis during the week. The result is that our pharmacy is now dispensing more prescriptions that it did at the height of the pandemic.” 

Despite this challenge, the team at Peak Pharmacy [pictured from left to right, Toby Bartlett, head of sales at Viatris, Peak Pharmacy staff members Kim Thornton and Mollie Littlewood, and Monica West, editor of Training Matters] have proven that patient care is at the centre of everything they do, so much so that the judges chose to name them Pharmacy Team of the Year. 

Heart of the community

Unlike the other three pharmacies in Dronfield, which are based next to GP surgeries, Peak Pharmacy is situated in a small shopping centre in an area with a mixture of sheltered, council and private housing as well as two nursing homes. The team is made up of 14 members of staff, ranging in age from 17 to over 60, who work together seamlessly. 

“Dronfield needs a reliable pharmacy service and that is what my team provides,” says David. “It’s hard work, it takes more hours than the pharmacy is open for, but I honestly believe they see it as a privilege to serve the people of Dronfield.

“Our team are well equipped to take on any challenges we face. They have a positive attitude, are eager to learn and adapt to new processes and have a good sense of humour to cope with everyday pressures. I have every confidence our pharmacy will continue to be successful due to their performance and it is an absolute honour to work with them.

“Many pharmacies, during the pandemic had to shut their doors to catch up with the extra workload, but our team has embraced these extra pressures and rose to the challenge of not only dispensing 20 per cent more prescriptions 12 months ago, but also delivering 13 extra services to meet the requirements of our patients,” adds David.

Services offered at Peak Pharmacy include emergency hormonal contraception, flu jabs and needle exchange. Staff are fortunate enough to be able to specialise in different areas, resulting in all work being performed to the best of their abilities. This is certainly something that the judges were impressed by when reading the pharmacy’s impressive nomination.  

“[This nomination] showed that despite being a big team of 14, there is great communication, and they all have the same shared goal of looking after patients and doing what’s best for the business,” says RoE judge and managing director of Pickfords Pharmacy, Mimi Lau.