C+D visited Whitworth Chemists in Murton to see first-hand the results of the refit that won them the C+D Pharmacy Design Award 2017
It seems fitting to pass by Antony Gormley's famous 'Angel of the North' sculpture on the way to the Whitworth Chemist in Murton, County Durham, as the pharmacy's C+D Award-winning redesign has allowed the team to really spread its wings.
Recently more commuters have moved into the area – a small, former mining town in the north-east of England – bringing new customers and more demand for healthcare services. "More customers are willing to pay for our services," says pharmacist manager Mike Morton.
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Whitworth Chemists is a chain of 35 pharmacies across the north of England. The team at the Murton branch, which dispenses around 15,000 items a month, is well-known in the local community. Area development manager Andy Watson (far right) says: "I'm surprised if the team doesn't know a person that comes into the pharmacy by name."
Left to right: pharmacist manager Mike Morton, accuracy checking technician Joanne Ayre, dispenser Elsa Mahoney, medicines counter assistant Sarah Cockroft, dispensers Amy Robson and Lynn Greenfield, medicines counter assistant Lorraine Dixon, and Mr Watson
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Before the redesign, the business was split across two premises, located across the street from one another – about 100 yards along the same road as the refitted building. The previous pharmacy housed a small dispensary, a consultation room, and pharmacy-only medicines, while the other ‘shop’ (pictured) housed the retail sales area.
"I had to take a table home with me and cut it in half so it would fit the [shop] space," Mr Morton recalls. The need was clear: a bigger pharmacy to bring the team in the two premises together, and more room to meet their target – doubling their prescription volume over five years.
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The refit was completed in September 2015, for a final bill that was £5,000 less than the budget of £160,000. The sleek, ergonomic design increased the dispensary space four-fold, and housed the whole team. The building is also more accessible to patients, has more space for consultations, and provides an interesting and welcoming working environment for staff.
"You can't make people fit your design, you have to fit your space to suit people," Mr Watson says.
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The pharmacy team uses a whiteboard, called "the wall of wisdom", to keep up with what different team members are up to.
Watch Mr Watson's explanation of how the pharmacy combines "a great space and a great team" below.
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Although the pharmacy is now more spacious, after the refit there was around 10 metres less shelf space. But retail sales have not suffered: in fact, the team grew sales by 70% in the two years after the pharmacy was revamped. They have since added more shelving as business has increased.
Features of the redesign include a contrasting floor to distinguish between the clinical and retail areas, curved shelving to make the space friendly and easy to browse, and a large counter that is a hub for customers. "You can't hide here," Mr Morton explains. "While standing in the dispensary, we can make eye contact with every patient in the shop."
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Patients and customers were consulted to gather ideas for the redesign – including suggestions for how it should reflect the history of the area. There are large canvas prints of the local coal mine during its heyday, which hang on the walls in the dispensary and the consultation rooms.
Watch Mr Watson explain how the redesign "serves the local community" below.
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The redesign increased the number of consultation rooms from one to four. There is a discreet area with a two-way entry for methadone dispensing, a new rear entrance with easier, step-free access, and customer parking outside the pharmacy. Patients can park and walk through to the GP surgery across the road, which increases the pharmacy's footfall.
There is also a waiting area for patients using the clinical services the pharmacy offers, but Mr Watson claims the chairs are "the biggest waste of space in the pharmacy". "No one has to sit around and wait," he says.
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Since the redesign, the team has hit its medicines use review targets two years running, and the number of patients reviewed under the new medicine service has increased from an average of two to 11 a month. In 2015 and 2016, the team gave over 350 NHS flu vaccinations, and nearly 100 private flu vaccinations.
Watch the video below to see Mr Watson explain how the cuts to pharmacy funding in England limited the scope of the ambitious redesign.
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The pharmacy is a commercial success story, and "has grown in every performance indicator measured", impressing the C+D Awards judges and bagging the team the Pharmacy Design Award (pictured on the counter, with branch pharmacist Bob Sewell).
Prescriptions grew by 16% in the first year, and are currently growing by 8%. Use of the electronic prescription service has risen four-fold – to cover nearly a third of items. Income from private travel and sexual health clinics has also grown – to over £12,000 of service income because of the increase in consultation space and the team's hard work.
Could you win a C+D Award in 2018? Entries for all 12 categories are now open, so find out more here.
