AWARD WINNER


“I HAVE COMPLETE


CONFIDENCE IN ALL THE TEAM’S ABILITIES AND THE SYNERGY THAT COMES FROM THEM ACTING AS A GROUP. THEY ARE MY MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. A GROUP OF


KNOWLEDGEABLE, DEDICATED AND BUSINESS-WISE TALENT”


standards including administration requirements, policies and procedures. Finally, we asked staff to rate how they think their pharmacy would be rated if an inspector arrived tomorrow. The majority of the staff expected their branches to be awarded a ‘good’ grading, whilst there was a handful of staff expecting a ‘satisfactory’ and also a few very optimistic staff expecting an ‘excellent’.


“Time has been invested in ensuring our pharmacists and staff are fully aware of the show me tell me principle and how this should be used to ensure we demonstrate to the best of our abilities how our pharmacies work hard to meet the premises standards. We have developed multiple tools to provide the operations team with feedback, including;


• An email invitation sent to external locums every week containing a link to an online form asking for feedback on their days spent in our branches - how they found the staff and operations.


• A form available via our intranet for staff and branch managers to provide me with feedback on relief mangers and external locums.


• Customer and patient surveys are available in paper form and via our internet page.


• Comments from patients surveys are shared direct with branches as appropriate, and monthly we collate a summary of comments from all completed surveys and share with all.


• Action and changes are routinely made as a result of this feedback.


“Another method was set up this year to allow us to listen on our staff. We actively encourage staff to share their ideas to improve services or operations. We have set up a staff suggestions reward system were we reward any adopted suggestion with £25 reward, and the top suggestion(s) will earn a staff member an extra days annual leave.”


In order to improve communications within branches, the team introduced the concept of holding mandatory monthly meetings around twelve months ago. Branches are asked to complete minutes of the meetings and fax them onto Head Office to be logged. On receipt at Head Office, the minutes are briefly summarised into a spreadsheet which is accessible to all branches via the intranet.


By sharing the information discussed at team meetings, it is hoped that this acts as a prompt for topics other branches can discuss at their own meetings. The implementation of the Operational Update has also encouraged discussion at branch meetings and since their introduction; they have seen a rise in the frequency of meetings held.


“Where we think IT could provide us with a more time efficient procedure for some of our administration, we put the effort into developing a solution,” she continues.


“Examples include our intranet which does quite literally have just about everything contained within that our pharmacies need to operate. The intranet is used as a basis for inducting


SCOTTISH PHARMACIST - 35


any new pharmacist that joins us as the wealth of this resource is so extensive.


“We also developed a product search facility that allows us to view stock levels and usage across the branch network. This really does help us to efficiently source product, especially when a product is in short supply from the wholesaler, we can always find it in another branch! Saves staff considerable time. We also have web based branch log which we developed to reduce the amount of paper used within the organisation and the time spent carrying out administrative tasks. It contains some of the things you would expect e.g. ability to log prescription numbers, cash takings, redundant stock and allow stock transfer.


“Additionally a more novel function is our task logging facility. Scheduled tasks are set by head office and every morning the branch teams log on and can see, at a glance, what they are required to complete that day. As Superintendent Pharmacist, I feel it is very important that when an incident happens at one of our branches, and when lessons have and can be learned, that this is disseminated to all staff - to prevent this error occurring at other branches. A very recent example is where we had an incident where a patient took an incorrect dose of a liquid medication via an oral syringe. I highlighted that this had happened to all of our staff including action for future avoidance, and one of our pharmacists came up with the good idea of sourcing dose mark labels for use on oral syringes. This has now been implemented company wide.”


Teamwork never operates more efficiently than when employing excellent communication facets. “On a monthly basis we hold a team meeting in our training room at Head Office. We go through every branch highlighting outstanding issues, ensuring that everything to do with the running, compliance, financial and personnel matters are discussed. It is


agreed who should look after each identified action. This ensures that we all know it will be addressed and dealt with. The meeting also has a benefit in that we all, as a team, are able to discuss and put our opinions forward and gain agreement in moving the pharmacy forward.


Says Allan Gordon, Managing Director of Davidsons Chemist, “The Operations Team play a pivotal role with the Davidsons Chemists Group, they are responsible for ensuring that the company runs like a well-oiled machine and for ensuring that the company improves its profitability.


“I have complete confidence in all the team’s abilities and the synergy that comes from them acting as a group. They are my magnificent seven. A group of knowledgeable, dedicated and business-wise talent. They have an excellent track record of ensuring that company policy and strategy, in whichever field, is rolled out and adhered to and for being able to think on their feet and offer better solutions when needed.


“As Managing Director, it’s important to my role that the Ops Team produce tangible financial benefits. The challenge for any expanding company is ensuring that all branches have the same high customer service and patient focus. So that the patient experience is the same, whichever pharmacy is visited. That way, our Davidsons’ brand of care can be valued and understood and goodwill can flourish. This adds value to our company.


“Ultimately the Ops Team help me to grow the company, ensure that its runs efficiently and produces improved results year on year. To that end the Davidsons Chemist Group has outperformed the industry average over recent years. The Ops Team has played a major part in helping us to this achievement.” •


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