By Julie McLaughlin
A KILKEEL pharmacy has received an award for its work in the community with a local organisation. Gordons Chemists in Kilkeel was the winner of an award on 21 March at the Pharmacy In Focus Awards 2026, alongside Kingdom Youth Club in the town.
The Pharmacy In Focus Awards are given out annually to pharmacies and pharmacy teams across Northern Ireland in a variety of categories to recognise excellence in their field.
The ceremony took place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Belfast. Gordons Chemists in Kilkeel received the Working in Partnership Award for their pharmacy team’s work with the Kingdom Youth Club in Kilkeel.
This award ‘recognises pharmacists and pharmacy professionals who demonstrate outstanding collaboration with external organisations to improve patient care and community health outcomes.’
“We’re absolutely delighted,” Ellie McDowell, a pharmacist at Gordons Chemists in Kilkeel, said.
“It’s a brilliant achievement and it’s nice to be recognised for the work that we do.” Gordons Chemists co-founder, Robert Gordon, said that he was pleased to see the Kilkeel branch receive this award.
“I am absolutely delighted for Ellie and the team! This award is recognition for all the hard work our Greencastle Street branch have put into their partnership with Kingdom Youth Club and working together within the community to support families caring for children with additional needs,” he said.
Pharmacy in Focus managing director Richard Stephenson said: “A deserving winner, our judges were impressed by a powerful partnership between Gordons Chemist, Kilkeel, and Kingdom Youth Club, which delivers a weekly support programme for families of children with additional needs.
“By combining pharmacy expertise with trusted community support, the initiative strengthens referral pathways, improves access to healthcare advice, and significantly increases confidence in accessing pharmacy services, demonstrating the impact of true community collaboration.”
Ellie said that she got involved with the youth club through a ‘Building the Community Pharmacy Partnership’, which she said was a way “to sort of bridge the gap in health care and be more accessible”.
Kingdom Youth Club youth worker in charge Orla Flanagan Baldwin said this has been “a partnership programme” for the youth club and Gordons Chemists in Kilkeel.
She said she applied for funding to have a pharmacist come to a weekly group she was starting at the youth club in 2025 for parents of children with additional needs.
She reached out to Ellie, who has been a pharmacist at Gordons in Kilkeel for six years, to see if she would be able to be the pharmacist for the programme.
Ellie was willing and able to be a part of this, attending weekly and meeting with the local parents and hearing about health-related issues that their family members may be experiencing.
“It was very valuable to me, as well as the parents,” Ellie said. “I didn’t realise the daily struggles that they would face, so it’s helped me to become a better pharmacist too.”
Orla said it was great to see Gordons Chemists and Kingdom Youth Club recognised in this way.
“Our goal was to support our parents of kids with additional needs,” Orla said, but adding that it is nice “just to be recognised for the work that is being done”.
Orla said that the weekly programme was so popular that she applied for further funding and was able to host it a second time with another group of parents of children with additional needs and another pharmacist from Gordons in Kilkeel, Kathryn Spiers.
Ellie said that even though she is not involved with the programme currently, some of the families and people that she met through the programme now visit their local Gordons Chemists and feel comfortable asking about any health concerns or issues.
The award organisers said that Gordons and the youth club established a partnership that has ‘delivered measurable outcomes’ for those who participate.
‘By working alongside additional agencies and adapting delivery to participant needs, the collaboration reduced barriers to care, strengthened referral pathways and empowered families to engage more confidently with healthcare services, demonstrating the power of integrated, community-based partnership working.’
Gordons Chemists in Kilkeel was also a finalist for a second award, the Commitment to Health and Well-being Award, again for its work with the Kingdom Youth Club parents’ group.
This award ‘celebrates exceptional contributions that improve health and well-being outcomes through safe, accessible and innovative pharmacy services,’ the award organisers said.
‘Judges look for clear evidence of how pharmacy-led interventions enhance patient outcomes, increase access to care and respond effectively to local health needs.’ Gordons Chemists in Kilkeel was a finalist for this award due to its ‘compassionate, community-based support for families with additional needs’ and in particular, the work of Ellie was highlighted.
‘Through a long-standing partnership with Kingdom Youth Club, Ellie has delivered weekly well-being sessions, creating a safe, trusted space for parents to share experiences, build resilience and access practical support.
‘Her work has significantly improved confidence in accessing pharmacy services. Ellie’s empathetic, person-centred approach has strengthened community connections and delivered lasting improvements in mental health and well-being,’ the award organisers said.
The Kilkeel branch of Gordons Chemists was not the only one up for an award this year, as Gordons Chemists in Saintfield was a finalist for the Customer Award. The pharmacies up for this particular award were nominated by and voted on by customers.
‘This approach ensures the outcome reflects collective patient sentiment rather than professional judgement alone,’ the awards organisers said.
This award ‘acknowledges pharmacy teams who consistently deliver compassionate, patient-centred care, often quietly and without expectation of recognition’.
Gordons Chemists in Saintfield received ‘overwhelmingly positive feedback from patients who value its friendly, approachable and dependable service’.
