The much-coveted gong of Pharmacist of the Year went to Karen Kennedy, from TLC Pharmacy, Isle of Cumbrae at the glittering Scottish Pharmacist Awards ceremony held in Edinburgh.

Karen Kennedy, pharmacist in TLC Pharmacy saw her commitment and dedication to caring for her community recognised when she won the prestigious Pharmacist of the Year Award, supported by Teva UK. Karen fought off tough competition from other pharmacists from across Scotland.

The independent judging panel commended Karen for her astute business savvy and her willingness to embrace and lead change, working to achieve greater integrated care. Karen is taking pharmacy into an entirely new place, overcoming difficulties in doing so.

Karen, a former Largs Academy pupil, has shown exemplary commitment to strengthening her community’s health and social wellbeing. She works hard educating patients of the benefits a pharmacy can bring compared to the previous dispensing service.

Karen was unable to attend on the evening as she was on her ‘hen’ party, but speaking after the event she told Scottish Pharmacist, “I was surprised to be nominated and it is a lovely honour to win. We are a new pharmacy on the island and it has been a big job to come in and be part of the change and help people to understand what we do. People coming into the pharmacy have been really pleased for me and it is a good feeling. I am part of a really good team in the pharmacy itself and James and Brendan are great to work for. We are also part of a bigger team in the TLC pharmacy so there is a lot of support behind me.”