A Winchester pharmacist has been recognised at a national awards ceremony.

Deborah Evans, who runs Remedi Health, in Southgate Street, has been named Independent Prescriber of the Year at the Independent Pharmacy Awards.

The awards ceremony, which was attended by politicians, leading pharmacy organisations and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry, took place on Friday, September 27.

Ms Evans has worked in the pharmacy industry for 35 years and is an independent prescriber, which means she can prescribe medication to patients.

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Deborah Evans, centre, has been named the Independent Prescriber of the Year (Image: Independent Pharmacy Awards) She specialises in women's sexual and reproductive health and offers a range of advanced clinical services.

Her primary focus is on perimenopause and menopause care, where she provides comprehensive management including hormone replacement therapy to improve patients’ quality of life and mitigate long-term health risks.

Her expertise extends to weight management, travel and general vaccinations, dermatological issues, acute illness, vitamin deficiencies, contraception and testosterone replacement therapy for men and women.

She offers detailed consultations followed by a prescription where appropriate.

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Over the years, she has supported more than 275 women and achieved notable health improvements, including a 70 per cent reduction in menopausal symptoms and enhanced management of chronic conditions.

The pharmacy's weight management service has also helped more than 20 individuals achieve an average weight loss of 10kg each.

Ms Evans does not provide any NHS services but offers much-needed private services.

At the awards ceremony, England’s chief pharmaceutical officer David Webb spoke about NHS England's plans to improve digital systems linking GPs and pharmacies to help direct more patients to Pharmacy First.

He said: "Pharmacy First has been incredibly well received by patients and community pharmacy and is delivering real improvements in terms of access to advice and clinical services for patients.

"Thank you to everyone who is making this happen.

"It is always very heartening to see the service being advertised in the windows of pharmacies up and down England.

"There’s a lot more work to do, of course, in terms of supporting implementation but, as we all hoped it would, its success is highlighting the importance of pharmacist professional practice and leadership in terms of ensuring a high quality of service and helping to address some of our (patient) access challenges."

Ms Evans collected her award alongside Sukhi Basra, a board member of the National Pharmacy Association, and Neil Trainis, the editor of Independent Community Pharmacist.