Pharmacy profile: Leading the way in Great Barr

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Ever since he can remember, Sunny Ubhi has recognised the fulfilment that a career in pharmacy can bring. He observed it first hand as a child watching his father at work in the family pharmacy business. “Dad was always happy at work, and it seemed like a good environment to be in,” says Sunny.

Choosing pharmacy as a career made perfect sense to Sunny, who is someone who enjoys helping people. “Community pharmacy is rewarding,” he says, “and when people show appreciation, you get more fulfilment in your job as well.”

Now an independent prescriber specialising in common ailments, Sunny took over BSB Pharmacy in Great Barr, Birmingham, from his father in 2018. Already, his career has been marked by notable achievements. 

Less than 10 years after qualifying, he is running one of England’s top performing pharmacies for clinical services. BSB Pharmacy is ranked in the top 1 per cent for delivery of hypertension checks and Pharmacy First. 

The pharmacy completes an average of 200 Pharmacy First consultations a month and around 200 monthly hypertension consultations, including ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The team also provides around 100 contraceptive pill supplies every month, placing them in the top three for the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service. 

To increase awareness, whenever Sunny receives a prescription for oral contraception, he makes a note to speak to the patient about the service. Alongside this, BSB Pharmacy now ranks in the top 10 providers of the New Medicine Service in England, with 100 consultations a month. 

Hard work and strong relationships

Sunny puts his achievements down to hard work – he starts his day at 4am – and building strong relationships with patients and GPs. 

He also credits his family for the pharmacy’s successes, drawing inspiration and support from his father Makhan, his brother Karanjeet (who runs another high-performing clinical services pharmacy, Michael’s Chemist in Smethwick, West Midlands) and his mother Amrit, who is a key member of the pharmacy team. 

Sunny’s parents were both happy that he was following in their footsteps and those of his brother. He completed his four-year pharmacy degree at Aston University, then spent his pre-registration year in community pharmacy in Birmingham. 

Having decided he would eventually go into the family business, Sunny wanted to gain insight into how different types of pharmacies work, so he became a locum pharmacist, “travelling up and down the country, getting experience, and seeing how other pharmacies operated”. 

After spending two years as a locum, Sunny joined the family business in 2018. 

BSB is a suburban pharmacy with a team of two pharmacists – Sunny and a locum – and eight dispensers. Since 2014, it has been co-sited with a GP practice in The Oaks Medical Centre. The team has been working closely with the GPs here to make Pharmacy First a success. “We are in constant conversation about how we can tweak the service,” Sunny says.

He believes good doctor-pharmacist relationships are key to the success of Pharmacy First. “You need a good relationship with doctors and for there to be open communication,” he says. “If something is not working, you need to discuss what can be done. You’ve got to help each other.” 

Overcoming hurdles

Becoming an independent prescriber before the launch of Pharmacy First helped Sunny to prepare for what was ahead. “It made me more confident in assessing patients and in consultations, and what to look for, “ he says. “I’d recommend other pharmacists take this training as well.” 

One of the biggest hurdles facing the sector in developing clinical services is patient perceptions – and changing them, believes Sunny. “One patient was referred by a GP practice to us recently,” he says, “and the first words the patient said were, ‘I don’t know why I’ve been sent to you’. 

“As it turned out, the patient had cheilitis, which we couldn’t treat as part of the referral, so I went to see the GP and they quickly provided the care the patient needed. We didn’t benefit from a service fee but the patient left understanding that there is much more to pharmacy than dispensing.” 

“Good doctor-pharmacist relationships are key to the success of Pharmacy First”

Sunny also highlights the importance of technology in maximising pharmacy efficiency and revenue. A new digital process for handling NMS interventions from Cegedim Rx has enabled him to quadruple the number he can handle from 15-20 a month to 80-100. “Being able to work with NMS patients online has made my life so much easier,” he says. “Under the paper-based process, it was a nightmare; it felt like it was more work than it was worth. 

“When we started using Cegedim’s Pharmacy Manager for NMS in 2023, we increased cases to 80-100 a month in just six months. The process was so much easier and the workload much more manageable.”

Fostering a positive future

Sunny hopes to expand the pharmacy’s private services and has installed a second consultation room in readiness. Already, he offers weight loss injections as a private scheme. Introduced eight months ago, it is now used by around 80 patients.

Sunny would encourage other pharmacists to try to adapt to new services as soon as possible. However, to avoid becoming overwhelmed, he suggests focusing on one thing at a time. “Don’t try to introduce all the services at once,” he says. “I’ve been wanting to do ear wax removal for a long time, but I’ve been focusing on core NHS services first. If you try to introduce too many services in one go, you won’t be successful because the quality won’t be there. And if someone has a bad experience, they won’t come back to you.”

Fostering trust and long-lasting relationships is crucial, and is something that has been instilled in Sunny since his formative years. 

“I’ve refined how the pharmacy works, but how to cater to patients’ needs comes from watching my mum and dad, and following their example,” he says. “Nothing is too much effort. We try to go the extra mile – not just once a day, but for every patient who needs it. That’s how any pharmacy will be successful. Don’t think about the business; think about the patients, their needs and their safety, and the business will look after itself.”

There are generations of families who come to see his family at the pharmacy, Sunny says. “I know a lot of my patients so well, it is almost like they are my friends. Some of my patients have known my dad longer than I have been alive. They trust us, know we’re there to look after them, and that we’ve got their best interests at heart.”