Ella Walker speaks primarily in the “we”.
Given that she won this year’s C+D Pharmacy Staff Member of the Year award aged just 21, she’d be forgiven for a smidge of arrogance - but no. For Ella, it is very much a team win.
“I think that’s how I even managed to get nominated for this award,” she tells C+D. “It’s because of the people that I work with”.
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Ella has worked at Cadbury Heath Pharmacy for five years, recently qualifying as a pharmacy technician after starting out as a Saturday assistant at 16.
“We all look out for each other,” she says. “It’s a really nice environment.
“You hear some horror stories about other places, and you think, ‘oh my gosh, how do people get up every day?’”
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While Ella is hesitant to sing her own praises, it soon becomes clear why her boss nominated her for the award.
“People come into a pharmacy for a reason, and it’s not always a positive reason,” she says. “You can’t expect them to be happy and positive all the time”.
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Her approach to patients is one of empathy. She understands that “everyone’s different” and stresses that “communication isn’t just the way that you speak; the majority is body language, and just having a smile on your face”.
Ella likes to take her time with each patient, instead of being preoccupied with the queues at the counter or the prescriptions piling up behind her.
“I don’t feel like I ever rush an appointment, because that’s the worst thing,” she says. “If you go in wanting help from someone, you don’t want to be rushed.”
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As a pharmacy technician, Ella has built up experience across a range of services, including microsuction, phlebotomy and otoscopy.
She believes being part of pharmacy’s evolution from dispensing to services gives her more opportunity to build rapport with patients.
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“Going out and giving them their prescription, you’re just asking their name and address. You’re not finding out any more about them,” she says.
“But when you’re sitting down in a consultation room, you’re finding out what might be playing on their mind. It might not just be earwax, it could be something else.”
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She says many patients now travel specifically to Cadbury Heath for ear services.
“Hearing is such a huge part of our everyday life, and I’ve had people get really emotional after it’s been done, because they can hear again,” she says.
“You’re not alone”
Two of Ella’s colleagues are currently doing their technician apprenticeships, and she says she’s at hand to offer them tips and tricks for managing workloads and understanding the job.
“I basically just said, ‘look, we’re all here for you, reach out if you need’,” Ella says. “Keep on top of things, but also everyone’s here to help. You’re not alone”.
She instils that “the job is about the patient” and emphasises that even things as small as saying “I’ll be there in a second” during busy moments makes a difference.
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“They appreciate that so much more than being ignored,” she says.
Ella also recognises that to do the job effectively, balance and respite is much needed - especially as an apprentice juggling both working and learning.
“You want to be able to switch off,” she says.
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In this spirit, the team now plays badminton weekly and takes part in a running club on Fridays.
“We were finding that the boss, Simon, wasn’t getting a work-life balance, so we said ‘look, you need to leave!’”, she says.
“It’s a way of getting out, exercising and just finishing the week off on a bit of a high.”
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Half a decade ago, Ella had no idea she’d be working in a pharmacy today, never mind winning a national award for her work.
“It wasn’t my goal at all, but after being a counter assistant, I found a love for it,” she says. “A lot of my friends were just in office jobs, they were bored.”
“Every day is a different day [in the pharmacy]. You don’t get a normal day at all in this place.”
The C+D Pharmacy Staff Member of the Year Award 2026 was sponsored by AAH.
