A NEYLAND pharmacist has won a prestigious Pharmacy Business Award for 2013.

Jon David triumphed in the Patient Services category during a glitzy celebration of pharmacists at the Park Plaza Hotel in London last month.

It was in recognition of his work on a cardiovascular project last year. It saw community pharmacists across west Wales run a bespoke programme to help members of the public understand whether they are at increased risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke – the two biggest killers in Wales.

Recent figures show that cardiovascular diseases are the most common avoidable causes of death under the age of 75 in the UK and are more common in Wales than England.

Mr David said: “Out of the 120 people that we saw, 30 per cent were found to have serious cardiovascular problems, and 50 per cent had serious cardiovascular markers.”

He added that he was delighted to win the award.

“It was a lot of hard work. I funded the study myself and it involved initially 12 pharmacies, which were whittled down to eight. The project was in conjunction with a professor from Cardiff University.

“We’d now like to do a 1,000 patient study now in west Wales, leading to hopefully an enhanced service in the next two to three years. It think it’s an ideal opportunity to show what community pharmacy can do for the public good.”

The award rounds off a busy year for Mr David. In March he won the Welsh Pharmacy Public Health award and was also shortlisted for a Royal Pharmaceutical Society award.

And in September he was part of the Killer Wales team which successfully completed the English Channel swim. The group was made up of Welsh cardiologists and doctors who were aiming to raise £100,000 for the Heart Research Fund for Wales.