Join us in celebrating the best of community pharmacy

It's a dead heat between "elated" and "fantastic". Those are the two words C+D Awards winners most often use to describe how they feel moments after being presented with their trophies.

"Delighted" comes a close third, but actions speak louder than words – and it is the squeals of joy, congratulatory whoops and wolf whistles, hugs and high fives (captured on camera at chemistand druggist.co.uk/last-years-winners) that really sum up what the accolade means to the winners and their colleagues and peers.

So it is a great pleasure to announce that the search for community pharmacy's most deserving champions is back, with the launch this week of the C+D Awards 2012, in association with the NPA. Now in its fifth year, the competition is all about finding and celebrating the best people and services in the sector and it will culminate in a red-carpet evening at a top London venue next May, when the 12 winners will be presented with their trophies at a glittering black-tie dinner.

"Shocked" also features highly in the league table of winners' feelings, which probably exemplifies the oft-repeated maxim that community pharmacists are not typically masters of self-promotion.

But now is not the time to be shy – and not only because the C+D Awards 2012 is open for entries. As the NHS shake-up continues, community pharmacists must find ways to engage with new commissioning bodies and prove what they are capable of – which is plenty, as the C+D Awards have consistently shown.

Clinical commissioning groups and health and wellbeing boards looking to tackle local health priorities within tough budgets could do worse than to look to the impressive achievements of previous C+D Awards winners and finalists for a showcase of the sector's potential – from Technician of the Year 2011 Lynn Kennywell's warfarin and lithium management to Pharmacist Prescriber of the Year 2011 Kaushik Patel's diabetes clinic.

And, in fact, previous winners have testified that the award itself can catch the commissioner's eye.

The C+D Awards categories have been refined for 2012, with some new ones introduced to reflect the changing roles of community pharmacists and their teams across all areas of practice. So, whether you're a clinical, business or management star, the C+D Awards 2012 is your chance to shout about your achievements – and it could be you enjoying the elation when the winners are revealed next year.

Good luck.

Jennifer Richardson, Deputy Editor