Breakfast With Bristol24/7: Ade Williams

Smartly dressed behind the counter and laughing with a customer when I poke my head into Bedminster Pharmacy, Ade Williams is unmistakable for the sheer positive energy he exudes.

The community pharmacist and south Bristol celebrity is known for not only handing out prescriptions but also speaking up in national, regional and local media for a community-minded approach to healthcare.

His commitment to this during the pandemic earned him an MBE in 2022 and just before that he was selected to have his portrait taken by acclaimed photographer Rankin to mark the health services 72nd birthday along with other workers including a nurse and a paramedic.

But Ade is still not accustomed to the limelight, he tells me as we settle down over coffee and poached eggs in Hippie Flower Cafe on East Street after wandering down together from the pharmacy on Cannon Street.

“It’s very conflicting for me,” says Ade. “But a patient said to me that I got the MBE because I helped people realise that they can make a difference. So if that means that another community pharmacy is inspired to think, ‘what are they doing in Bristol?’, then it’s a win.”

Ade is the superintendent pharmacist at Bedminster Pharmacy – photo: Betty Woolerton

Ade came to work at Bedminster Pharmacy ten years ago and is now one of the most recognised faces in Bedminster, evidenced by the many smiles and nods from passersby during our time together.

“When I arrived, I was very conscious that my identity did not reflect the common demography of the area,” Ade admits. “But the only reason people might not like me is because I’m always pushing them to get healthier or nagging about something. What a privilege to come into a community and be welcomed and have that kind of fellowship.”

Pharmacy and its potential have excited Ade since he was a teenager when he came to Hove from Nigeria in 1997 to live with his auntie. He walked into a pharmacy in the seaside resort as a 16-year-old wondering what to do with his life and never looked back. He recalls: “I used to go in for medicine for my auntie and I loved this idea that there was a person who seemed to be able to help everybody.”

It was in his formative years at a pharmacy placement exchange in Richmond, Virginia, and time spent in Canada learning the trade that a life-long appreciated NHS was instilled.

“On my very first day somebody came in with no insurance and I could only give them enough antibiotic treatment for a day, which was completely pointless,” he remembers. “And I looked around and everybody just shrugged their shoulders and said ‘That’s how it works here’. Ever since I’ve felt the NHS is so unique and precious and the alternative is not an option.”

Ade very much clings to the idea that things can always be better if doors are opened for people. His pharmacy has won multiple awards for its dedication to bettering people’s health and well-being, whether that’s through raising money, offering vaccinations, providing blood pressure checks or increasing awareness.

The superintendent pharmacist’s urge to break down barriers goes back to his childhood. “For 11 years, my mum never had a promotion,” he tells me. “The reason for it was that she had to go on a course to get the promotion but she couldn’t, you know, as she had four kids. Somebody only needed to ask her how they could help her but they didn’t. So my challenge has been, can I do something to help open a door for someone?”

He recalls vaccinating people in car parks during Covid-19 to get around their phobias of needles. “They didn’t know that we had to do a whole risk assessment for that one person and we had to make sure three people were present. But it’s the effort it takes for that investment to make a difference.”

“For us, it’s how we can do our best to accommodate and make situations better” – illustration: Lucy J Turner

Ade is passionate about the role pharmacies can play in keeping people healthy – not just physically, but also socially – and the key to making a difference when it comes to health inequalities is to get out into the community.

“If you sit in the pharmacy and just respond to what’s coming in, you are never going to fix the problem,” he explains. “To do your best you need to understand the social determinants behind health inequalities. People can be so disempowered in health care systems. If you have a low level of literacy or English is not your first language or you don’t have much flexibility in your job when you can step out to look after your health, well, that means you won’t understand the letters or make your appointments.”

Pharmacists make up the third-largest group of NHS clinicians after nurses and doctors, and, during the pandemic, Ade said a newfound public appreciation for community pharmacies. Now, upon exiting Covid-19, the new challenge is affecting businesses and communities across the country. He suggests community pharmacy “has been let down”.

“We are losing pharmacies,” said Ade. “This year has been the record number of closures of Lloyds Pharmacies. So much happens in community pharmacies, but the frustration is that we don’t have the financial settlement to make us sustainable.”

He admits it feels like an uphill battle and can be “emotionally draining and physically exhausting”, but adds on bad days: “All it takes is one bit of humour and it lifts you”.

“Humanity itself is complicated so we don’t expect people to not bring their complications to us,” he says. “For us, it’s how we can do our best to accommodate and make situations better.”

This feature originally appeared in the latest Bristol24/7 quarterly magazine, available free across our city

Main illustration by Lucy J Turner (@lucyjturner), an artist, digital illustrator, activist and workshop facilitator who creates bold and bright artworks as a way to heal from trauma

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