The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7189 p380
16 March 2002

Tribute

Barnes In a tribute to the late Alan Barnes (PJ, 23 February, p267), DAVID WINSTANLEY (area manager, Boots The Chemists), writes:

The untimely death of Alan Barnes has shocked and saddened everyone who knew him. Alan was a community pharmacist for Boots in Clitheroe for over 21 years. He was only 46 years of age and his loss is keenly felt by many people.

Alan was an exceptional man and to him people mattered most. His family, his colleagues, his patients and customers were what was most important to him. He was genuinely interested in people and everyone felt important when with him. He always put others before himself. It is not surprising therefore to see and hear many tributes to him in Clitheroe and within Boots.

Alan represented all that was good in community pharmacy. Not only was he an experienced and capable pharmacist but he had a way with people. He ran the Boots pharmacy with a family atmosphere that made it a happy place to be and therefore one which was popular with the community and his staff. Nothing was too much trouble or anything too difficult. Going the extra mile was the norm for Alan.

Among his Boots colleagues and health care professionals Alan was universally respected and his contributions valued. He was an exceptional store manager as well as pharmacist and his store had been voted a top store on several occasions. He had made Clitheroe his home and was well known and respected in this country town.

Alan has made an impact on many young preregistration trainees and newly qualified pharmacists over the years. His warm, friendly and caring approach tinged with a sense of humour made his store a favourite place for staff. He has left a real and lasting mark on the younger generation.

I can say without a shadow of doubt that Alan Barnes represented all that was good in a person. He was a credit to pharmacy and also to Boots.

Alan was a devoted family man and always ensured that they got his time and attention. The family spent most of their time together at home on family interests, at church or out on the many beautiful walks in this part of the country.

Alan leaves his wife Janet and teenage daughters Hannah and Rebecca, to whom I express my deepest sympathy.

Brockis In a tribute to the late Eric Hugh Brockis, DERWYN THOMAS and LYNNE PRICE write:

It was with great sadness that we heard of the sudden death of Eric, a dear colleague and friend. He was a competent pharmacist and a true gentleman, and he enjoyed a good relationship with his pharmaceutical colleagues, medical, nursing and other professional staff.

Eric spent the early years of his professional life in hospitals in the London area. He was a preregistration trainee at University College Hospital and held posts at Hertford, Barnet and Acton hospitals. He was then appointed chief pharmacist at St Olave's Hospital. In 1970 he moved to Bangor, as chief pharmacist to Caernarfonshire and Anglesey General Hospital and in the mid-1970s became chief administrative pharmaceutical officer (CAPO) for Gwynedd.

He was the key figure in planning and commissioning the pharmacy at the new Ysbyty Gwynedd and moved the service from smaller hospitals. He developed and introduced new aspects of the service, eg, a designated pharmacist and room for drug information at the new hospital in close liaison with the medical staff and other professions. From the time of his appointment as CAPO until his retirement, he played an active role on committees, alongside colleagues from other areas in Wales, in planning and developing pharmaceutical services across the principality. After his retirement, he was able to continue his love of travelling and made frequent trips to Australia to visit his brother and family. He also formed a branch of the Save the Children Fund and spent his time and energy organising events to raise funds for the charity.

We offer our deepest sympathy to his widow Lynette, son David and family.

EIRA M. JONES (retired principal pharmacist, Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor) writes:

Eric Brockis's sudden death came as a great shock to his family, many friends and former colleagues. I came to know him when he was appointed group pharmacist, in 1970, by the Caernarfonshire and Anglesey Hospital Management Committee, and based at the old Caernarfonshire and Anglesey General Hospital in Bangor. Previously he held the post of chief pharmacist at St Olave's Hospital, London.

He made an impression from the start, being an enthusiastic, forward looking and dedicated pharmacist. His aim was to upgrade the pharmacy services to all the hospitals of the group — the success of his endeavours was a measure of his tenacity and foresight. It was a source of great joy and satisfaction to him when in 1984 the new hospital, Ysbyty Gwynedd, was opened, with a pharmacy department that boasted all the services expected of such a hospital. Under his auspices the hospital initiated a 24-hour pharmacy service — the first such service in Wales. It proved a great success and he was immensely proud of such an achievement. Unfortunately, in time, the service had to be set aside due to the then disparity in salaries between hospital and community pharmacists, and the then Whitley Council agreement, resulting in a failure to recruit basic grade staff.

Eric Brockis served the Pharmaceutical Society at branch and national level. He chaired the Caernarfonshire, Anglesey and Colwyn Bay branch (1972–74) and the Gwynedd branch (1974–75). He was elected to the Welsh Executive in 1976 and re-elected in 1979 and 1982. He was secretary of the Welsh Pharmaceutical Committee from 1975 until 1977, and was also a member of, and had held offices in, the local pharmaceutical committee. He was chairman of the Guild of Hospital Pharmacists committee responsible for arranging the weekend school held in Bangor in 1989.

Eric was a man of considerable integrity, kind of heart, full of energy, loyal to and supportive of his staff and enthusiastic about the value of pharmacy as a profession. He was proud of his department and of his staff and delighted in the successes of his students, both pharmacists and technicians. He was a great exponent of the spoken word — not for him the writing of reams of letters: he much preferred, where possible, the face-to-face approach. I can visualise him now, walking briskly down the corridors of the hospital (he never strolled), his face almost ferocious in its concentration and determination, on his way to convince someone of the justice of his view of the pharmaceutical service and its needs. It was nigh on impossible to resist him on such occasions. The happy and gleeful look on his face on his return to the department was a clear indication of his success.

On his retirement his staff greatly missed his energising presence and his distinctive laugh. Their loss was his extracurricular interests' gain. He formed a branch of the Save the Children Fund and was instrumental in raising revenue on its behalf. He was chairman of the Gwynedd branch of the Coeliac Society from 1980 and many benefited from its services. He indulged in his hobbies of photography, cricket, maritime history and, especially, travelling. Eric was a faithful member of the Presbyterian Church in Menai Bridge and he showed his practical support by giving much appreciated travel talks to raise funds.

His colleagues, past and present, at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Llandudno Hospital and of the old Caernarfonshire and Anglesey General Hospital, St David's and Bryn y Neuadd Hospitals, mourn the untimely passing of a vibrant and valued friend and mentor.

Our deepest sympathy go to his wife, his beloved Lynette, to his dear son and daughter-in-law David and Samantha, to his adored grandchildren Gabrielle and Nial and to his brother in Australia.