Pharmacy Technician uses Healthcare Worker Tax Rebate payout to settle bills

 
 

              

Pharmacy technician Maggie Hall has her daughter Emma, a staff nurse, to thank for pointing her towards a tax rebate of nearly £80 for her uniform laundry and registration fees by using Healthcare Worker Tax Rebate.

Emma works on a ward looking after patients who have had stomach surgery and often has to change her uniform several times a shift, so she was delighted herself to find out about the easy-to-use website.

Maggie was so pleased with her rebate that she passed the word on to six of her colleagues working at Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield and they have also received tax rebate cheques.

Maggie spent many years as a retail dispensing technician before moving into the NHS and working at Solihull Hospital before moving to Good Hope Hospital.

“I always wanted to go into pharmacy,” says Maggie. “I love the hustle and bustle. I’ve trained up to do medicines management which means I talk to patients and get their drug histories. It’s clinical and technical work, not simply dispensing tablets, so it’s more challenging.

“I love talking to the patients. For example, I ask how they are using their tablets, teach them inhaler techniques, advise on medicines – doctors often speak in jargon and they may not understand their prescriptions. Some patients may not be able to take pills because of the coating, for example, so I make sure they get them in gel form.

“I’ve seen a few elderly ladies who use their inhalers as air fresheners so I’ve taught them the right techniques for using them!

“Some patients have sight issues and cannot see the labels on medicines. Many don’t know that they can ask the pharmacist to print the labels larger, or use coloured labels, or get them dispensed in blister packs – they can even be delivered to their homes.

“And there are so many different dressings – for burns, bleeding, and charcoal to absorb smell. It’s just so interesting. No two days are the same.

“It’s a very rewarding job.”

Maggie used her tax rebate money to pay her household water bill – she and her husband moved into a much larger house a few years ago and found their bills soared.

She relaxes by jogging – “it eases tension and takes my mind off work” – and has used it to raise money for charity. She has taken part in the Sutton Fun Run, raising more than £200 for the John Taylor Hospice and St Giles Hospice. She also does the annual Macmillan Race for Life.

We wish Maggie all the best for her future fundraising.