Interview: BEM awardee Amish Patel reflects on royal recognition

The Pharmacist speaks to recent Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) awardee and chair of Kent local pharmaceutical committee (LPC) Amish Patel on the changes he has seen at his Kent pharmacy and how his and role has evolved.

When community pharmacist Amish Patel BEM went abroad to celebrate his 40^th birthday, he never imagined he’d return home to a royal recognition. Director of Hodgson Pharmacy in Kent and chair of Kent LPC Mr Patel was awarded an BEM in June for services to community pharmacy in the King’s Birthday Honours 2025.

He recalls the moment he found out that he’d received the accolade awarded for 'meritorious service, particularly in community-based roles'. 

‘When I got back home and opened the letter, I was over the moon. My wife said it was the best birthday present I could have received. It was incredible,’ he says.

Having qualified in 2008, Mr Patel immediately took over his father’s Kent pharmacy. As a second-generation pharmacist, business owner and father of two, he has been a long-time advocate for community pharmacy.

‘My dad sort of stepped away from it at the same time. I’m fortunate to be in the position of managing, owning and running a pharmacy from the grassroots level,’ he says.

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One year after qualifying, Mr Patel joined Kent LPC and later became chair in 2022.

As LPC chair, he says that advocating for community pharmacists is at the heart of his role. ‘I'm certainly a bit of a fighter; I don't like the easier route. I will do what's right, and what's right doesn't always mean it's best for me, you've got to do what's best and what’s right for the majority.’

He says that there ‘has been a continuing funding struggle’ for the last 10 years resulting in a ‘slow death for pharmacies’.

While we've seen an uplift in our funding, it's not enough. It's a slower death...Pharmacies are still closing and it's not good enough

‘While we've seen an uplift in our funding, it's not enough. It's a slower death, rather than a quicker death. Pharmacies are still closing and it's not good enough. The government needs to recognise this and if they want to move towards pharmacy as a big solution, they need to fund it,’ he says.

Hodgson Pharmacy in semi-rural Kent plays a vital role in the community where the next closest pharmacy is miles away. Mr Patel’s patients rely on him not just for medicine, but for everyday health advice. The pharmacy offers services tailored to patient’s needs, and Mr Patel develops his offerings based on local demand.

‘We are highly depended upon by the community around us, but I think we've grounded ourselves in it. It's always been - for Dad and then for me – about a quality service and being there for patients. Every person that walks through the door gets a family-like service.’

You can't take supply out of community pharmacy; it does not work

With his patients in mind, Mr Patel is crystal clear about the hub and spoke model being impractical for them. ‘You can't take supply out of community pharmacy; it does not work. Some patients will still want their medication the same day because they were late in ordering it, so you still need that supply. Other countries and bigger companies here have tried it and they're not able to make it work. And the number of staff you need in the pharmacy would not change just because you shifted a few dispensing items out of the pharmacy.’

Patients are at the forefront of his pharmacy, but he says interactions have sometimes not been without issues, particularly during Covid, where the team experienced aggression and frustration from patients because of stock issues.

‘As pharmacists, we're more visible to the public and pharmacy is at end of the chain. The patient requests their medication from their GP, and from the GP it comes to the pharmacy. From the pharmacy, it's back to the patient. There is no one else in the chain. So, who else do you blame, but the end of the chain?’

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We have a zero tolerance to abuse policy, and my team will face patients with a smile, but if it's not getting resolved, I will come out and have that zero tolerance with the patients

And he is always ready to defend his team. ‘We have a zero tolerance to abuse policy, and my team will face patients with a smile, but if it's not getting resolved, I will come out and have that zero tolerance with the patients. We tell them we are here for them, that it’s in our best interest find the medicines and get it to them, not just because we get paid, but because we genuinely care. Patients need to understand that my staff are in the pharmacy because they care.’

Moving to private services is what’s keeping me afloat. If I didn't have a private sector business, it would be loss after loss

Over the last ten years Mr Patel has developed his business and has ventured into private services.

‘Moving to private services is what’s keeping me afloat. If I didn't have a private sector business, it would be loss after loss after loss, because the NHS is so badly funded.’

His drive to evolve his business is rooted in constant improvement and striving to better himself.

‘It’s a business balancing act. I fill a lot of my time doing things that make the highest profit and that are fully booked, such as medical aesthetics, ear wax removal and phlebotomy testing. All the other services in the pharmacy mostly get done by my second pharmacist.’

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Looking to the future of pharmacy and its front-facing role within the community, he says there is still much to be done.

‘Without a doubt, pharmacists can do more. If the government was to expand Pharmacy First to include more conditions, that's a great starting point. But primary care in general needs a whole shake up and that's why I need colleagues in on that discussion. There's such a disconnect between doctors, pharmacists, dentists, dental hospitals and patients and it just needs much better, more collaborative working.’

Mr Patel says that although his BEM is recognition of his work to date, there is still more to reach for. ‘There are still people I aspire to in the industry. I look at my peers, and think, I really want to do more of what they've done or be more like them. So, I'm still aspiring.’