The awards judges were impressed with Brown’s independent prescribing service which delivers audited consultations and has taken the pressure off local GPs, while ensuring patients are appropriately escalated because their conditions required secondary care.

The scope of her service is remarkable. Chest infections represented almost one-third of consultations, alongside otitis media, tonsillitis, urinary tract infections, sinusitis, skin infections and numerous other acute presentations that would otherwise have added pressure to already stretched GP and urgent care services.

Brown has also demonstrated that independent prescribing is as much about recognising serious illness as it is about treating common conditions.

Throughout the year, she has identified and rapidly escalated multiple life-threatening presentations that might otherwise have experienced dangerous delays in diagnosis.

These included newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in a patient presenting with profound hypoxia, airway compression caused by a thyroid tumour and sepsis identified through subtle changes in a patient she had known for years.

Independent prescribing is embedded throughout the pharmacy’s services, allowing investigations, medicines optimisation, prescribing, monitoring and follow-up to be delivered within one continuous episode of care.

A standout example is Brown’s weight management programme which combines prescribing with regular reviews, blood testing, body composition analysis, behavioural support and ongoing coaching.