Celebrating our teams...Benjamin Fell, Pharmacist at Carnforth Pharmacy

There are a variety of roles across BHCP and other organisations we work with in the community. Here we shine the spotlight on the people who carry out a range of roles to keep our communities healthy and supported.

Benjamin Fell is a Pharmacist at Carnforth Pharmacy. The pharmacy is in the centre of Carnforth opposite Ash Trees Surgery. 

He has been in the role for just over two years since he and his wife bought the pharmacy. 

The couple have a fabulous team of five people helping in their aim of improving the health of the Carnforth community. Their team ranges in experience from five months to almost 30 years! 

How did you get your role?

Benjamin said: "I’ve been a practising pharmacist for 13 years and never thought I’d own a pharmacy however, when the opportunity came I just couldn’t pass it up. I’d spent my entire working life employed by corporate chains and liked the idea of being able to make a difference without being held back by the red tape and slowness of the corporate world. I’d also been an active member of our representative committee and latterly their treasurer - it’s great to be able to see all of the good and varied work done by our local pharmacies in Lancashire: from basic health advice and provision 365 days a year, to identifying cardiovascular disease risks in unaware patients, to going the extra mile sourcing desperately needed medicines in the midst of production issues, Brexit and even Suez Canal blockages!”

What does your role involve?

Benjamin said: "As Owner, Manager, Superintendent and Responsible Pharmacist my role is quite varied and I’m indebted to my team for giving so much to our community. It’s my desire for us to improve our community’s health and wellbeing but despite being personally present on site most days I try to spend my time enabling the team to do a better job than I can by myself. This might look like investing in market-leading barcoding technology to make our prescription process the safest and most efficient around, or looking to the future to find the best ways of developing their skills and then the hardest part: ensuring time is made for them to use those new skills, to go out and make that difference to someone’s day, or occasionally their life."

What have been the best bits of your role?

Benjamin said: "While it’s very satisfying to see a clean and empty prescription workbench at the end of the day, nothing beats hearing team member’s relay to one another stories of when they’ve just used their training and come back from really helping a patient or customer."

What have been the challenges of your role?

Benjamin said: "Empowered delegation – letting go. We all talk about it but it’s a step change when you realise you simply can’t do what you want any longer by merely working harder or longer. The flip side of that when you’ve done it right is seeing how someone else is actually better at it than I would have been and I wonder why I didn’t delegate it ages ago!"

Top tips for people wanting to get into a similar role:

Benjamin said: " a) Do your research; b) Don’t give up; c) Lead with integrity; d) You’ll probably have a few setbacks – as my old superintendent once told me: ‘Don’t be scared of making mistakes, just don’t make the same mistake twice!’; e) Follow community pharmacy on Twitter at @lancslpc."

You can find a PDF version of the case study here.