Mayo siblings strike gold at Pharmacy Excellence Awards

THE team at Higgins Pharmacy in Sligo, which is owned by Mayo twins Deirdre and Ann Butler, is celebrating after it took gold in the Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Award at the Pharmacy Excellence Awards.

The award is recognition for the pharmacy’s community outreach efforts, including its work with charities and volunteers who support international protection applicants in Sligo. The honour also recognises the team’s support for programmes to help new mothers and the pharmacy’s commitment to development and training.

Deirdre Butler, co-owner of the business with twin sister Ann, collected the Gold medal award at a ceremony in the Mansion House in Dublin.

The sisters are from Ballina, where Deirdre still lives with her family. They own the two Higgins Pharmacies in Sligo town - on Teeling Street and at Market Cross.

Deirdre and Ann took over the Higgins Pharmacy outlets in 2016. The pair have since overseen a period of innovation for the business through the introduction of a platform for online sales, information and appointment booking for many pharmacy services. They have also introduced services for vaccinations and blood testing, along with a popular Pharmacy app.

One reason for the award win was the fact that the pharmacy has a relationship with Diversity, a charity that receives HSE funding for pharmaceutical products like vitamins, ointments, creams and children’s medical products to be used by residents of Globe House, an international protection centre in Sligo town.

Higgins Pharmacy has become a key supplier of health and sanitary products to Globe House and the business has since developed a reputation as an understanding and compassionate place for international protection applicants with limited English to come in search of advice.

Award judges also took account of Higgins Pharmacy’s mentorship of a pharmacist qualified in her native Sudan who approached Deirdre hoping to get a work placement as part of her bid to become registered in Ireland. Deirdre committed to the project by undertaking an Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIoP) training programme to become an accredited mentor and helping her prepare for the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) registration exams. She is now registered a pharmacist in Ireland.

Also recognised by the award’s judges was the pharmacy’s support for a new breastfeeding initiative, which now comes recommended by lactation consultants from Sligo University Hospital. Their commitment to upskilling and training was also a factor.

Deirdre Butler said she was delighted that their efforts to instil a culture of empathy and compassion for staff and customers had been recognised.

She said: “I’m delighted to collect the Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Award on behalf of the team at Higgins Pharmacy. We have a reputation for care - regardless of your background, religion or ethnicity. Everyone needs our empathy and support and we go to great lengths to instil that culture of understanding in our team.

“I take great pride in seeing the potential in people I employ. We have supported a number of employees’ progression to technician to qualified pharmacist and manager. This award is due recognition for those efforts and we look forward to celebrating this victory with our charity partners, volunteers, and team in the near future.”