The pharmacy team at Orpington PCN is celebrating a major win after being named Pharmacy Team of the Year at the Cogora General Practice Awards 2024.

The award was collected by other members of the PCN on behalf of the pharmacy team last week, pictured above with with host John Robins, stand-up comedian, presenter and podcaster.

The Orpington PCN Pharmacy Team has grown from a group of five to a thriving team of 13 over the past 18 months, comprising both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

This expansion has allowed for a transformation of patient care within the PCN, introducing new processes and ensuring the entire team works to its full potential.

The team also set up a wellbeing café to build trust with older patients, and allowing for the provision of medication advice in a relaxed setting.

After collecting the award, Orpington PCN care coordinator Cheryl Nicholas, told The Pharmacist how the pharmacy team met with 'a lot of patients' in the 'relaxed atmosphere' of the PCN's wellbeing café, rather than in a general practice setting.

'They're very proactive in finding out AF patients, so spotting those sort of patients and then dealing with those medication reviews. They're amazing,' added cancer care coordinator Vienna Griffiths.

The Orpington PCN team shared that they were excited to continue working on some 'amazing cancer projects', work around learning difficulties and serious mental health that they had recently won funding for.

The wellbeing café was introduced to build trust with elderly patients. For many patients, especially those with a dementia diagnosis, this informal approach made it easier to ask questions, improving both their understanding of medications and their overall care experience, the PCN said in its award nomination for the GP Awards: Pharmacy Team of the Year category.

It also shared how ‘PCN days’ - one day each week for pharmacists and technicians to focus on broader PCN projects rather than practice-specific work - created a more flexible and resilient team, allowed cover for absence and enabled time for audits, including a statin audit for patients with chronic kidney disease and an opioid management project.

In addition, an antipsychotic audit focused on ensuring that dementia patients over 65 are prescribed antipsychotics in line with national and local guidelines, identifying opportunities for deprescribing where appropriate.

Speaking to The Pharmacist after the awards event this week, Emilia Kurdziuk, Orpington PCN pharmacist, said the team was ‘thrilled and honoured to have won this award’.

‘It was a wonderful surprise and means so much to see the team’s hard work being recognised. Everyone has worked so hard, and this is such a rewarding moment for all of us,’ she added.

When asked what the future holds for the team, Ms Kurdziuk said: ‘'Looking ahead to 2025, we’re excited to build on what we’ve achieved this year.

‘We’re planning to launch new clinics for both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, which will allow us to expand our services and continue supporting our patients, community and general practice team.

‘It’s a fantastic opportunity, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.’

The pharmacy team won the GP Awards category from a shortlist of exceptional pharmacists and pharmacy teams, including:

The General Practice Awards, hosted by The Pharmacist publisher Cogora and held on Friday 6 December in London, have been running for over 16 years.

In total, 19 trophies were awarded on the night, including GP of the Year and Practice Manager of the Year.

Head of event marketing at Cogora, Jess Cornish, said: ‘The General Practice Awards are an opportunity to shine a light on the incredible teams and individuals who work tirelessly to ensure that their patients and the wider community have access to healthcare services that meet their needs and offer real support.

‘We were blown away once again by the entries received, with nominations for GPs, nurses, reception teams, pharmacists, digital innovators, social prescribers and counselling staff as well as industry suppliers.’