Letchworth Pharmacy has taken home two prize gongs from a Hertfordshire-wide awards ceremony.

The Pharmacy was named Community Pharmacy of the Year, being selected from among hundreds of pharmacies by a panel of four independent experts.

It also won in the Pharmacy First service category, and came runner-up in the contraception service category.

Linda Fourie, head pharmacist at Letchworth Pharmacy, said it was "wonderful that the hard work of the team has been recognised".

"We always strive to provide the best service possible for our customers," she added.

Letchworth Pharmacy was named Pharmacy of the Year.Letchworth Pharmacy was named Pharmacy of the Year. (Image: Letchworth Pharmacy)

Explaining their success, owner and pharmacist Graham Phillips said “because we are independently owned, we don’t have shareholders to please and we don’t have to worry about our share price! We just focus on providing the very best of care to customers and our patients”.

Cutting-edge technology is used by the pharmacy to speed up the dispensing process and minimise the risk of errors, with more than £150,000 invested in 'Spencer the Dispenser' - their dispensing robot - and two prescription collection points.

READ MORE

Prescriptions are dispensed by the robot, double-checked by staff, then placed in Amazon-style lockers ready for collection. Customers then receive a text as soon as their prescription is ready, so they can collect it whenever they like.

Qualified pharmacy technicians oversee the dispensing, freeing up pharmacists to provide services such as NHS Pharmacy First, Travel Health, blood pressure testing and ear wax removal.

Letchworth Pharmacy received their award at Community Pharmacy Hertfordshire's awards evening on July 4.