Ms Lewis was announced as the winner of the ‘News Story of the Year (specialist audience)’ trophy at the Medical Journalists’ Association Awards on Wednesday evening (June 20).

Her exclusive story last year was based on confidential government documents, which Ms Lewis used to demonstrate that detailed proposals for pharmacy technicians to supervise prescription-only medicine supply had been produced for the Department of Health (DH).

The resulting backlash across the sector sparked by Ms Lewis’s coverage ultimately led the government board behind the controversial proposals to admit it was going “back to square one”.

Explaining their decision, the awards judges said: "This was a solid scoop based on leaked documents. Simply a great story that demonstrates old fashioned journalism."

“It raises real concerns and is extremely relevant for the audience.”

It marks Ms Lewis’s third award win of the year, after she was crowned Pharmacy Writer of the Year at the Avicenna Awards in January, and then named one the 30 best journalists under 30 years old at the Professional Publishers Association ‘New Talent’ awards in March.