A Gwent-based pharmacy group has been recognised for its dedication to improving patient care with two prestigious awards at the recent Welsh Pharmacy Awards.

The Mayberry Pharmacy Group, which has seven pharmacies including chemists in Pontypool, Trevethin and Newport, was praised by judges for its use of innovative technologies to help patients in care homes and with long-term medical conditions.

Its Newport pharmacy in St Julians was honoured with the award for Pharmaceutical Excellence within the Care Home Sector where managing the delivery of medicines is recognised as being very difficult.

Head pharmacist at the branch Jonathan Smith has developed and used new technologies that allow his team to track in real time any issues arising in both the prescribing and administration of medicines to care home residents. This includes being able to a scan a patient’s prescription and using that patient’s data be able to determine the appropriateness of the prescribed medicines for them and reduce the number of GP prescribing errors.

The group’s head office team was also recognised with the award for Delivery of Pharmaceutical Care. The team helped develop specialist analytic technology which allows them to analyse patients’ prescription patterns and highlight whether they are taking their medicines properly. If they are not they are then able to perform Medicine Usage Reviews so the patient can better understand their medication.

The Welsh Pharmacy Awards panel said: “Mayberry Pharmacy has developed a unique way of delivering pharmaceutical care, incorporating several new technologies, along with a proactive, rather than reactive, approach, which is helping the patients they serve.”

Paul Mayberry, managing director of the Mayberry Pharmacy Group, said: “We are delighted to be recognised by the Welsh Pharmacy Awards in this way. Patient care is paramount to all of our pharmacies and the teams that lead them. We have invested hundreds of thousands of pounds developing new technologies to help improve the way patients understand and take their medicines. Being on long term medicines is never easy, but at Mayberry Pharmacy we have support services, technologies and pharmacists that can ensure a patients gets the very best from them and I think this is what has been highlighted by the judges.”