2 April 2015
A long-serving pharmacist who dedicated his whole career to hospitals in Sheffield has retired after 42 years in the job.
Steve Dorey, 64, retired from his role as Information Management and Technology Pharmacist, based at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, on March 26th.
He saw many major changes during his long career at what is now Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, including the opening of the Royal Hallamshire Hospital and the introduction of computerised and robotic systems in the pharmacy.
He met his wife, Mary, when she worked as a pre-registration pharmacist at the Sheffield Royal Infirmary in 1975.
“I’d better say that is the highlight of my time here or I might be kicked out the house,” he said.
“42 years is a long time, but being a pharmacist is quite a specific career. I always preferred hospital to retail and I have stayed in Sheffield largely for family reasons.
“Of course there have been challenges along the way and I have done a variety of different jobs within the pharmacy, but overall I have very much enjoyed my time here.”
Steve started out at the Royal Infirmary, on Infirmary Road, in 1972, while the Royal Hallamshire was still being built just down the road from his accommodation on Beech Hill Road.
After qualifying as a pharmacist he was in charge of the production unit and then moved to the Royal Hallamshire when it opened it 1978, where he worked in non-sterile production making creams and ointments.
He had an interest in computing and was heavily involved in implementing the pharmacy computer system, and also witnessed the increase in the use of robotic systems for sorting drugs. Both represented a big change from the traditional paper-based and manual systems which were still dominant when he started his career. In more recent years he helped set-up Boots Pharmacy in the Royal Hallamshire.
Steve said: “There has been a lot of change over the years, both in terms of technology and political reorganisations of how the organisation is run.
“But the biggest changes have been technological. When I started we didn’t use computers or robots, and doing so enabled us to expand our work out into the Trust a lot more. I spent a year building files and working on putting the whole thing together. It was set up at the Hallamshire first and then rolled out to the other hospitals in the city.”
Steve reduced his workload to three days a week at the end of his career and said he was ready to hand over to someone new.
“It will be strange not getting the bus in every day,” he said.
“I think I will miss the people more than anything else. But there is still a huge amount of change and I have reached the stage now where I wish it would slow down a bit to let me catch up. I am quite happy to step aside now and let someone else do it.
“My main hobby is photography and I am looking forward to having more time to spend doing that.”
A celebratory buffet was held for Steve and attended by colleagues past and present.
Pharmacy Information Services Manager Dave Smith said: “Steve was a stalwart of the pharmacy for many years; he saw in the development and use of computers and was a wealth of knowledge and assistance throughout.
“His expertise, experience and in-depth know-how will be sorely missed.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
John Birch, Communications Officer
Tel: 0114 226 8989
Email: john.birch@sth.nhs.uk