Warwickshire Freemason awarded the British Empire Medal

The current Senior Warden of Boldmere Lodge has been honoured with the British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. The award specifically recognised the setting up of a team of volunteers to support shielding and vulnerable patients – as well as ensuring the delivery of more than 3,000 prescriptions a week.

Nigel Dugmore, who is also a Telford & Wrekin borough councillor, also shopped for patients, while his pharmacy has remained open seven days a week – with him working six – throughout all the lockdowns.

The Worshipful Master of Boldmere Lodge, W Bro Graham Holt commented, "I am delighted that W Bro Nigel's professional dedication and community involvement have been recognised with this prestigious award. It not only reflects highly on him but also on his wife Lisa and their family and, of course, on his supportive staff at the Donnington Community Service Pharmacy. I look forward with much anticipation to installing him, in October, as my successor as Worshipful Master of Boldmere Lodge."

Nigel was keen to emphasise that this is recognition of a real team effort in difficult circumstances, "I was surprised and delighted to be recognised in the Queens Birthday Honours for services to pharmacy and the local community. During lockdown the pharmacy continued to trade normal extended hours 7 days a week and around 3,000 patients a week had prescriptions delivered. I was concerned for the health of the staff, yet we were fortunate that no staff contracted Covid and that is still the case today."

"It is such an honour to receive this award, but I also accept it on behalf of the fantastic team of people that I work with. Community Pharmacy is the ‘cinderella’ of the NHS, we are often the public face of the NHS and have to deal with patients who are frustrated and wound up by the ‘system’ so I am particularly pleased that Community Pharmacy is being acknowledged and rewarded in such a public manner."

Our thanks and congratulations to Nigel on his hard work and for receiving this prestigious honour.