A Soham pharmacy was inundated with entries after it launched a healthy eating initiative in local schools that involved designing a healthy eating plate.

Staploe Pharmacy says it received 150 entries and was so overwhelmed with winning entries they called upon Tesco in Newmarket to help with the provision of extra prizes

“These prizes included scooters, bats and balls and skipping ropes, all in keeping with the health campaign,” said pharmacy manager Hazel McIntyre.

Staploe Pharmacy is situated within the Staploe Medical Centre practice within the heart of Soham. It is one of the first pharmacies in Cambridgeshire to be accredited as a ‘Healthy Living Pharmacy’ by the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH).

Hazel said: “This new criteria means that we are taking pharmacy a step further in that we are taking public health messages out to our local community and getting involved in helping to raising funds to support local initiatives.

“We believe that by supporting and educating the community with public health information we can help to address local health inequalities in our area and help to reduce the strain on the NHS.”

She said her team of 20 employees, have been working hard to get involved within the community and have already set up a free fruit scheme in conjunction with the Co-Op in Fordham to supply patients attending the medical centre with one of their recommended 10-a-day.

The latest event has been the healthy eating initiative across the three primary schools within Soham. (St Andrews CofE Primary School, The Weatherall’s Primary School and The Shade Primary School).

It involved a competition to design a healthy eating plate in conjunction with their health topics at school.

Hazel and the pharmacy health champions, Jade Youngman, Kyla Trushell, Jacqueline Green and Annette Scott were welcomed to the schools assemblies last week to award the prizes and discuss this important topic.

Hazel said: “It has been fantastic to be a part of the healthy living initiative and to gain this accreditation. We can’t wait to get more involved and see this develop,”