Hotspur Hero – Sachin 'Sash' Patel

Wed 24 June 2020, 11:03|Tottenham Hotspur

For our next Hotspur Hero, a desire to help others is “in the family DNA.”

Pharmacist and Spurs fan Sachin “Sash” Patel has worked throughout the pandemic to ensure that people up and down the country can get the medication they need, alongside supporting his local community in Maidenhead.

“The last few weeks have been tough,” he told us. “There was a lot of panic to begin with and an increase in demand – a bit like panic buying in supermarkets. People need their medication and wanted to make sure they only had to go into a pharmacy once, pick up, go home and be safe.”

Sash was modest about his own contributions in the fight against COVID-19 as a senior head office manager at Boots, keen instead to highlight the work of frontline colleagues and friends, who he describes as “the real heroes of this pandemic.”

He said: “Because I’m not working in them directly, I wanted to help the community and pharmacies in my area by doing things like delivering medication.

“For me, it’s a sense of duty. I signed up to be a pharmacist 17 years ago and part of that was to make sure we’re there to support people when they need us… Every single person is entitled to medical help whoever they are and that’s really important for me.”

Sash also reflected on how the pandemic is shifting perceptions towards his profession: “I think there’s a bit more appreciation for what pharmacies do now. They’ve been open all the way through for patients and it’s nice to see pharmacists and their teams being valued alongside the NHS staff working in hospitals.”

Sash’s commitment to the community is shared by fellow Spurs fans in his hometown of Maidenhead.

Maidenhead Spurs have joined many of our 272 Official Supporters’ Clubs around the world in helping others during this difficult time, rallying to raise money for their local hospital, building face shields, cooking meals for the vulnerable and so much more.

“We just wanted to do anything we could to help,” Sash added – a desire made all the more personal after staff at Wexham Park Hospital in Slough helped him recover from a long-term illness in 2018.

“Everyone who has been helping out should be recognised as a hero. Our Spurs fans have gone above and beyond expectations and this has brought out a great thing in our Spurs family.

“I’m really proud to be nominated but we’re all in it together and that’s what has got us through.”

Now a Season Ticket Holder, Sash traces his support of the Club back to an interaction with former captain Gary Mabbutt during a visit to his primary school.

He remembered: “It was amazing and it hooked me in as a six-year-old. Since then, it has built up through my brother, dad and friends and now I’ve got a whole new family in my backyard with Maidenhead Spurs.

“My wife and daughter are very understanding – without their support I wouldn’t be able to devote myself to the community or football!”