Originally from Uganda, Robert Musimbago came to the UK four years ago to begin a career in community pharmacy that has proved to be a source of great joy
Robert Musimbago has come a long way in the last four years – in more ways than one.
Back in 2017, Robert was a research associate pharmacist at a National Institutes of Health Division of AIDs study in
Kampala, Uganda, when he had a change of direction and moved to the UK.
Having arrived in Liverpool, he took the initiative and called a pharmacy in the city, explaining that he was an overseas pharmacist and needed a job. “They took me on as a dispensing apprentice,” he recalls. Now, four years on, Robert works as a dispenser at Elliot Street Pharmacy in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester. “I love working in small, dynamic teams and community pharmacy has been able to offer me that,” he says.
Robert says that their greatest strength is the management team. “They are fantastic; they care about you and not just about what you do for them. They demonstrate leadership that inspires a good work-life balance, and they create a relaxed atmosphere which fosters learning and productivity.”
Recently, the management team made a decision that completely changed their dispensing processes in a wholly positive way - they implemented Golden Tote.
Golden Tote is an automated repeat prescription dispensing solution, designed to radically improve the dispensing process. We spoke to Robert about how it has helped them.
“It has definitely made our jobs easier in terms of reduced time and energy spent for the same work load,” he says. “With Golden Tote, you scan all the items directly from the tote box and bag them there and then, whereas we used to have to keep moving around to pick items before we could dispense them, which wasn’t as efficient.
“Normal dispensing also demands a higher attention to detail, which tends to derail as the day progresses. We have more time to make blister trays now and the dispensary also looks more organised and generally less crowded.”
The thought of moving to an automated system might seem daunting to some, but Robert says it was easy to learn. “It is incredibly user friendly,” he adds. “Immediately after the first demonstration, I was good to go and felt I had a really good understanding of the system.”
Although most of his time is spent in the dispensary, Robert does have regular customers that he knows well. “Good customer relationships should be the wheels that run any business,” he says. “I treasure every encounter I have with our customers. One particular customer picked up their medication which included about 84 bottles of Ensure, Laxido and various creams, which are all quite heavy together. I helped her load them into the car and she couldn’t thank me enough, it’s the attention to detail that matters.”
Robert says customers are grateful that the pharmacy has changed the way it handles repeat dispensing. “They always refer to us as ‘the best chemist’,” he says. “And because most items are dispensed via Golden Tote now, repeat prescriptions are ready on time and there is reduced waiting time for patients who walk in with prescriptions as they receive immediate attention. There are so many positives to take away from this job and feeling able to help people is a massive bonus.”
“I look at it this way, for every monthly prescription I dispense, I have just provided a month of peace and comfort to someone in need, I love dispensing; it is so much more fulfilling now thanks to Golden Tote.”
Want to learn more about Golden Tote and how this could work in your pharmacy?