A Northern Irish pharmacy has won a lifetime business award for its services to the local community.

Hughes Pharmacy was crowned by the Fermanagh Herald at its 2024 Business Awards earlier this month (October 11) for its ‘Lifetime Achievement for Business Commitment Award’.

Read more: Pharmacist nominated for NHS lifetime achievement award

Pharmacy owner Paul Hughes said the award is “recognition of both me and my mother before because this is a family business”.

He told C+D that “it’s always nice to be recognised” and that he has felt at times that community pharmacists’ efforts were not always acknowledged, such as during the pandemic when doctors and nurses were clapped and praised while pharmacists were “opening for extra hours” and “delivering medication” to the public.

Family traditions

Hughes’ mother Laura Joan Hughes set up the pharmacy originally in 1955 “from scratch” as “she was from the town of Enniskillen and wanted to work with her neighbours to provide a service for them”.

After the Second World War, Hughes said his mother saw “the opportunity to provide a very worthwhile health service” and growing up he remembers hearing a “knock at our door” most nights during the week when a local would be asking for something after hours.

“My mother would never turn anybody away and she was appreciated for doing that,” he added.

Read more: Ex-pharmacist wins best pub award after career change

Hughes was brought up knowing what it was like to run a community pharmacy and after working for a few years in England where he managed a pharmacy in Durham, he returned in 1985 to run the pharmacy with his mother.

In 1989, the mother and son duo expanded the business by buying a second pharmacy about 20 miles away in Newtownbutler that helped them “to see both the urban and rural side of community pharmacy”.

Hughes worked between the two pharmacies and “ended up running the business” after his mother semi-retired in the ‘90s. 

Laura Joan died nine years ago but “she was always in the background up until she died…for advice and for her experience”, Hughes said.

Together, they developed the pharmacy by including more community services such as giving regular free talks at local community Alzheimer’s and diabetic groups, he told C+D.

Read more: Pharmacist wins Prix Galien award 'equivalent to Nobel Prize’

The pharmacy offers a free collection and delivery service - something they began “long before the pandemic” - and Hughes says they are the “only pharmacy in the town” that does so.

The family tradition has continued as Hughes' brother used to work in the business as a pharmacist, and he has a nephew and niece who are both pharmacists too.

“Pessimistic” about the future

It’s not the first time Hughes and his pharmacy have been up for awards, as he has been nominated three times for a pharmacist of the year award for Northern Ireland and won a pharmacy of the year for Northern Ireland award in 2017, among other accolades.

“We’re also very proud of the fact that there are seven community pharmacies in the town of Enniskillen and we’re the only one that has been continuously in the same family since its inception. 

“It’s the only one now that’s actually owned by an Enniskillen family. We do feel we know the needs, the shortages and the shortfalls because we’re living in the community day on day,” Hughes said.

Read more: Aston uni pharmacy team win HE award

But looking at community pharmacy’s future, he told C+D he’s “not hopeful at all – I’m very pessimistic”.

“As far as I know, something like 14 pharmacies have closed in Northern Ireland over the last year or so, which is unheard of…a lot of pharmacies in Northern Ireland find it very difficult to be able to pay their bills and beat their overheads,” he added.

“I think all the pharmacies are excellent, provide good service and they do look after their customers, but we have a serious issue with underfunding… [and] the government doesn't seem to be prepared to try to face the issue. 

“There is definitely a cliff edge being reached here” Hughes said. “It's going to get worse [and] there are going to be more closures.”