Debbie Baker
Pharmacist, St Anne's Pharmacy

The business is run by me and Karen Smillie. We first worked together at another pharmacy in the town: Karen was the manager and I joined as a technician when I was 16. After several years I left to do my pharmacy degree but eventually we got together again and agreed that Lewes needed another pharmacy, so we put the wheels in motion. We’ve just celebrated our tenth anniversary of being in business.
 
Being an independently-owned pharmacy is unusual these days. There's a huge amount of background work, whereas the multiples have a head office that deals with all the red tape and that sort of thing. But they haven't got the flexibility we have. Most of our business is from prescriptions, not over-the-counter sales. It’s different for the multiples because they have a huge retail side.
 
We buy all the drugs. A lot of people don't realise this. So if you go into a pharmacy with your prescription and they've got your medication on the shelf, it's because they've ordered the products and are hoping someone will need them. We can buy thousands of pounds of drugs but it comes out of our pocket. The NHS will only pay us when we've given a patient the medication that’s listed on their prescription.
 
People tend to contemplate New Year's resolutions in January, so it's a good time of year to think about health: diet, exercise and giving up smoking. It’s relatively quiet for us, although the lead-up to Christmas is absolutely manic. Some people get in a panic about having enough medication because we're closed for four days, which causes a horrendous workload.
 
There's a lot we can do to help people manage their medical conditions. Often your pharmacist can help with extra information about your prescription. We also provide a particular service called a Medicine Use Review, where patients can discuss how they're using their medication and what problems they're having. You can come in and have a completely private consultation with a pharmacist.
 
I wish people would keep their medication in its original packaging. The appearance of tablets and packaging can change, which means people can get muddled up and start taking the wrong amounts. And please don't order things you don't need. The NHS pays for the medicine - and if it's not used, the NHS also pays to have it incinerated.
 
Sometimes I cringe when people come in and say "I've got flu". It's very unlikely you'd be able to walk in if you actually had flu. I'm a big fan of those fizzy vitamin tablets like Berocca if you have a cold or you're surrounded by people who have colds. And Difflam Spray for really sore throats. But ask your pharmacist first!
 
As told to Mark Bridge
 
50 Western Road, Lewes  BN7 1RP  01273 474645
 
First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 112 January 2016

On a small industrial estate at the edge of Ringmer is a company that proudly claims to produce the widest range of wheelchair platforms and recliners in the world. For example, they make a portable device that tilts a patient in a wheelchair, enabling that person to receive dental treatment without being transferred onto a dentist’s couch. And there are motorised chairs that’ll adjust to fit bariatric patients weighing over 50 stone, making it easier for medical staff to transfer and treat people on a single piece of equipment. It means undignified and potentially dangerous hoists can be confined to the past.
 
The company was born from a project at the University of Brighton. Richard Fletcher was leading the MSc Product Innovation and Design course when a London hospital asked for help designing a wheelchair recliner platform. Not only did Richard’s solution win an award, it led to the creation of his own business almost 16 years ago. He’s CEO of Design Specific Ltd, working with a dedicated staff of five who cover all technical aspects as well as marketing and support.
 
In its way, Design Specific is a very traditional firm. Every new product starts with a pencil-drawn sketch. Components are ordered from local suppliers where possible, with all assembly – including circuit boards – taking place on site. Yet the results are perfectly suited to 21st-century medicine. Instead of inconvenient cables and noisy motors, there are silky-smooth castors, rechargeable batteries and quiet hydraulic lifts. What’s most notable about the products is how attractive they are. “We like to make things that look good”, Richard explains. “You can have style as well as function.” Meanwhile John Walters, Design and International Marketing Manager, talks about a compliment he was paid at a European trade show. “The Germans said ‘It looks German’. That was high praise, as far as I was concerned.”
 
Last year, Design Specific won the coveted Award for Business Innovation during the Lewes District Business Awards. The company sells its products around the world, so why did it enter a local competition? “I don’t chase awards”, Richard tells us. “It was for everyone here. These guys work hard, they put a lot in. I wanted to give their efforts an airing.”
 
“Some people who look at our chairs wouldn't say that's innovation. I think it's innovation because it's a development of something that's never existed before in that form.”
 
And what’s planned for 2016? Richard points to the motorised ‘fifth wheel’ hidden underneath their latest bariatric conveyance chair. At the moment it’s ordered from Germany but will soon be replaced with a home-grown design. “They use cams; we'll be using linear drives. We’ve done a lot of sketches.”
 
Design Specific, Caburn Enterprise Park, The Broyle, Ringmer BN8 5NP
01273 813904
 
First published in Viva Lewes magazine issue 112 January 2016