Meet the woman who has worked at the local chemist for over 40 years

Susan Thomas has worked at Jolleys Chemist on Newton-le-Willows High Street for 44 years and is not planning to leave anytime soon.

She started working there at the age of 21 and is turning 66 this year.

Susan said: "I started at the age of 21 as a Saturday girl in the shop and then eventually two years later, Mr Jolley asked me if I wanted to do a bit of dispensing and I said yes.

"Now I’m serving the young customers that I used to see come in with their children and they say to me  'I remember you when I used to come in with my mum’. I loved it."

Committed to the job and changes to the qualification requirements in the field, Susan bagged her first three A levels at 50.

She has always loved working at Jolleys and couldn’t see herself working anywhere else.

She added: "I’ve seen the community grow up and grown up with them, and I’ve got the respect off the customers, GPs, and all the care workers so I’m proud of myself for getting that far.

"I’m going to stay on as long as I can; it’s like my home."

The chemist was recently taken over by Paul Doherty and his business partner Martin Stratton. 

Sue pictured with Donna, Arthur Jolley, and Paul Doherty (Image: Paul Doherty)

Following joining the team on the high street, Paul, from Liverpool, said:  "When we looked at it, we fell in love and just saw the potential in it on the high street as well.

"The shop we’ve bought is lovely and is in the heart of the community.

"The staff are brilliant; I can’t praise them enough. They’ve been fantastic since I took over and to get there as a team, we can make some amazing improvements."

Paul also described his first encounter with Arthur Jolley, who was handed the chemist from his dad when he passed, as "meeting an icon of your profession."

Arthur is widely known in the community, with many describing Paul as the young Arthur.

Arthur Jolley comes to visit the chemist once a month

Arthur visits the shop once a month and is happy with how things are going with the business.

He said: "The people who have got it now have literally turned the years back. It’s as good as it ever was and probably better.

"It’s what it needed. The future lies in that doorway."

When told of Paul’s resemblance to him, he said: "I’d like to think so as that would be a compliment to me because if I would’ve been that good at his age, I would’ve been working with the big boys."

Frontline workers

The team at Jolleys, alongside many other pharmacies across the UK, have been at the forefront of the pandemic and were described as key workers.

According to evidence submitted by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee on the UK Parliament website, when the COVID-19 outbreak first began to peak in England, community pharmacies saw an increased demand for medicines and healthcare advice in March 2020, with 93 million prescription items dispensed.

Demand for healthcare advice from pharmacies was also high, with a total of 198,043 patient consultations recorded by 9,441 pharmacies.

This indicated an average of 15 patient consultations per day for the average pharmacy.

Paul and his business partner Martin, who also own other pharmacies across the country, received the Pharmacy Business Award in 2021 for their efforts throughout the pandemic.

Paul added: "We were the first of the six community pharmacies in England to provide a vaccination centre. We did about 100,000 vaccinations whilst completely maintaining the pharmacy’s services.

"When we set up the vaccination centre, we didn’t know the cost of it or anything and in the back of the pharmacy, there was a building we spent £30,000 converting it.

"At one point, pharmacies were the only thing open where people could walk into during the pandemic.

"It was great to be recognised not just us but also representing community pharmacies in that way was really nice."