Canterbury Pharmacy wins national awards

Canterbury Pharmacy wins national awards

A Canterbury pharmacy has defeated 300 pharmacies around New Zealand to take out two coveted awards for contribution to the community and profession.

Bishopdale Unichem Pharmacy took out 2014 Green Cross Health Pharmacy of the Year and Unichem Pharmacy of the Year at a conference in Australia, taking home two of the four awards on offer.

Celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, pharmacy owners Maria McIntyre and Amanda Nuttall said it was a shock and privilege to receive
the awards.

The pharmacy – built by Amanda’s father Keith Nuttall who was Bishopdale’s community pharmacist for more than four decades – has recently participated in a Canterbury demonstration project aimed at supporting community pharmacies to explore ways to work differently and free up more time to spend with patients.

Ms McIntyre said the key drivers of the Canterbury demonstration project – focusing on patients and collaborating on patient care – were the same contributors to winning the awards.

“One of the key enablers to our success, apart from our amazing team, was being part of the demo site project,” she said.

“We were ranked very highly in customer feedback. That recognises customer care throughout the entire pharmacy and is what we’re probably most proud of.

“We want outstanding customer care and service, every customer, every patient, every time.”

“Any services which community pharmacy can provide, we would like the people in our community to be able to access through us.”

The pharmacy’s growing services range from blood pressure checks to Warfarin INR testing and medication use reviews.

From left: Pharmacist and Dispensary Manager Anna Harwood with Pharmacy Owners Maria McIntyre and Amanda Nuttall.

Canterbury Clinical Network pharmacy leader, Jacqui Lawson said Bishopdale Pharmacy shows just what a pharmacy can offer their community.

“Their work with General Practice and the rest of the health care team has helped them provide well appreciated patient care,” Ms Lawson said.

“We’re proud and excited that they have been recognised and can represent the hard work and achievements of pharmacies participating in the project across Canterbury.”

Ms McIntyre said the pharmacy’s biggest gain has been working more closely as part of the health care team to improve care for patients.

She gave the example of an occasion when, contacting a Practice Nurse for an update before seeing a regular patient, she was advised that the GP had referred the patient to a Diabetes Nurse Specialist.

“When the patient came in she brought [the referral] up herself. Because I knew it was on the cards I could say to her, ‘That is brilliant. I really encourage you to do this as it is so good for you and you will find it so valuable.’”

“So she was a bit ambivalent to start with, but having heard it from a second health professional, now she’s looking forward to engaging with that Diabetes Nurse Specialist. That purely came from the connection with the GP Practice,” she said.

Ms McIntyre pointed out that Canterbury’s recognition of pharmacy in the health care team is incredibly valuable.

“Canterbury is quite a forward thinking region and in the Canterbury District Health Board there are some very active, strong leaders in pharmacy.

“The feeling, certainly from within the pharmacy world, is that we are leading the way.”

Co-owner Ms Nuttall agreed.

“Dad has always said that as long as he’s been in pharmacy, Canterbury has always been ahead of the game when it comes to change and innovation.”

ends

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