A RETIRED pharmacist from Harpenden has been named as the runner up in a national award for outstanding achievement from the leading charity Coeliac UK.

Tony Cartwright impressed the judges with his work into improving the system for prescribing gluten-free foods for those with coeliac disease.

Sponsor of the award, managing director Steve Timms of Fayrefield FoodTec said Tony had invested his skills, his time and resosurces to the charity and proved tireless in his attempts to improve the current system.

Tony, a member of Coeliac UK’s Watford and Hemel Hempstead local voluntary support group, was delighted with the award and said: “I was extremely surprised but very pleased to win this award. I wanted to develop a business case for changing the way gluten-free foods are supplied from GP prescribing, to direct supply from pharmacies.

“When the business case is complete I intend to help roll it out widely to Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) so that the scheme is available to as many people with coeliac disease as possible”.