Peterborough-based pharmacist Gareth Evans has been named Pharmacist of the Year at the General Practice Awards 2023.

Mr Evans, community pharmacist at Wansford Pharmacy, was awarded the prestigious title at a ceremony held at Novotel London West following a year of achievement in helping patients with sleeping difficulties.

Having established a patient-funded sleep apnea screening and testing service at Wansford Pharmacy in January 2023, Mr Evans has reduced potentially year-long waits for initial sleep clinic appointments via GP referral to around eight to 14 weeks.

Mr Evans expressed his delight following the announcement of his win in the Pharmacist/Pharmacy Team of the Year category, emerging victorious from a shortlist of six.

He said: ‘It’s great. It’s absolutely brilliant. We’ve worked hard at this and we’re pushing the boundaries, so to actually get there is fantastic.’

Mr Evans explained that he set up the sleep apnea screening service for patients because the condition is ‘generally not recognised in the whole of healthcare’. This means that pharmacists and GPs ‘are not really highly educated’ in the area.

Having banded together a group of health professionals including sleep practitioners to screen patients, Mr Evans said he was uncovering all kinds of sleep disturbances including insomnia and parasomnia as well as sleep apnea. This work, he explained, is ‘saving a lot of time for GPs, especially’.

Patients can self-refer to the service as well as receiving GP referral, and the pharmacy often engages patients from queries around snoring, reflux, increased night-time bathroom visits, type 2 diabetes and weight management.

Going forwards, Mr Evans is looking to expand the service.

‘Where we are in Wansford is the UK pilot,’ he explained. ‘We’ve got between 40 and 50 people who have gone through it since January, working the sleep clinics locally, and we’re going to collate the data and then hopefully roll it out across the UK for other pharmacists.’

The General Practice Awards – organised by The Pharmacist’s publisher, Cogora – have been running for over 15 years. The 2023 ceremony saw 21 trophies awarded in total.

Rebecca Jolliffe, events director at Cogora, said: ‘The General Practice Awards have highlighted the very best examples of success from across primary and community care, recognising projects, individuals and teams who have gone above and beyond to improve healthcare provision in their area.

‘From those delivering frontline clinical care to administrative and support staff, commissioners and suppliers, we are constantly impressed by the commitment and innovation seen across the UK,’ she added.