Boots was awarded Health Initiative of the Year at Friday’s Chemist + Druggist Awards 2022 for its new Palliative Care Service launched earlier this year.

The free Boots Palliative Care Service began in January in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support and the NHS, aiming to make vital medicines and specialist end-of-life advice and support more readily available to patients and their carers.

New and existing Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists (BMIPs) were trained to be able to deliver the new service to patients. Boots also worked with the NHS to maintain stock of the most vital palliative and end-of-life medicines at more than 2,000 of its pharmacies in the UK. In addition, its national stock checker tool allows patients, carers and prescribers to check live availability of any medicine by simply entering their postcode and required medicine on the Boots database.

On the reasons for the award win, Chemist + Druggist commented: “Boots used its presence on the high street and existing partnerships with Macmillan and the NHS to make palliative care and end-of-life medicines readily available. Judges particularly praised the online stock checking tool and commended the multiple for supporting patients at a difficult time in their lives.”

Marc Donovan, Director of Healthcare Development and Public Affairs, Boots UK, said: “We are incredibly proud that the Boots Palliative Care Service has been recognised as Health Initiative of the Year. The new service this year, in partnership with the NHS and our charity partners Macmillan Cancer Support, now provides vital palliative and end-of-life care to patients, making it more readily accessible to those that need it."

“I thank our incredible Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists and all our team members at Boots, Macmillan and the NHS, who helped put in place this vital service and all the fantastic work it achieves.”