National awards recognise passion and dedication of Rochdale key worker

Abi Wattleworth, pharmacy technician at the Well Pharmacy in Cutgate, was named highly commended in the Covid-19 Hero category

A pharmacy team member from Rochdale has been highly commended in this year’s seventh annual Recognition of Excellence (RoE) Awards.

Abi Wattleworth, pharmacy technician at Well Pharmacy in Cutgate, Rochdale, was named highly commended in the Covid-19 Hero category. Starting work at a new pharmacy the day before national lockdown was announced, the challenges just kept on coming for Abi when, later that week, her pharmacist manager was told she must shield for 12 weeks and other colleagues were forced to self-isolate.

Abi stepped up to manage the store, coming up with strategies to cope with the long queues forming outside and keeping essential items stocked, all while maintaining high levels of customer service. The judges described Abi’s efforts as 'sensational'.

Finalists like Abi would usually be invited to a glamorous lunch event in central London to receive their trophies and prizes; however, as this isn’t possible due to the Government’s social distancing guidelines, they received special deliveries to their pharmacies, including trophies, certificates and posters, as well as bespoke hampers for the winners and bottles of champagne for those named highly commended.

The annual Recognition of Excellence Awards is organised by Training Matters, the UK’s only magazine for community pharmacy teams, and is the sole national awards programme exclusively for community pharmacy support staff.

Editor of Training Matters and Awards host, Helena Beer said: “It’s been a real pleasure to run these awards again in 2020.

“This year we had a record number of entries, all with amazing stories to tell. Our finalists represent the best of community pharmacy and I’m thrilled to be able to reward these individuals for their hard work, dedication and passion for helping the people in their communities live better and healthier lives.

“They really do make a difference, especially during such worrying times as we’re currently living through, and they deserve to be celebrated and recognised for all that they do.”