When you win the unexpected

An unexpected outcome of winning the award as the Pharmacy Guild’s Community Pharmacy of the Year 2019 is that it has been as exciting for the pharmacy’s customers as it has been for its staff.

Co-proprietor Sarah Hazell said winning the Pharmacy of the Year had been the most wonderful experience for the whole Flannery’s Pharmacy team.

“It’s a great acknowledgment that we are heading in the right direction in everything we are doing,” she said.

“The team has received a lot of positive feedback from the Forbes community as a result of being named Pharmacy of the Year. The most common theme is that the award was so well deserved.

“The Forbes community were absolutely thrilled when our pharmacy won the award.

“I suppose it gives our patients the confidence that they are receiving the very best pharmacy service in their community.”

Ms Hazell said the pharmacy had received a lot of feedback from its customers.

“A couple of comments were so very touching. ‘When I walk into Flannery’s Pharmacy I feel like I’m visiting family, everyone is so friendly and welcoming’. ‘The team at Flannery’s are harmonious’ and ‘Never in all my years of visiting Flannery’s Pharmacy have I seen a staff member having a bad day’ are just a few of the comments that come to mind,” she said.

The community’s appreciation extended beyond comments with the pharmacy receiving many bunches of flowers, cards and morning tea treats from customers and the wider pharmacy community to congratulate them on their the award.

Ms Hazell said the pharmacy entered the award as a team.

“When we saw the advertisement that applications were open for Pharmacy of the Year, we started making notes to answer the different questions,” Ms Hazell said.

“As a team we built on this over the course of a few months.

“I recommend to everyone considering to apply not to leave it to the last minute as you may miss mentioning some of the amazing things you do in your pharmacy.

“But we found the online process to enter the award to be seamless.”

Ms Hazell said one piece of advice she would give to anyone considering entering was avoiding a last minute rush.

“Just don’t leave the online application till the last minute!” she said.

“Also, it’s quite difficult to keep to the 250 word limit, so utilise the attachments for photos, graphs, testimonials and so on.

“I would also suggest incorporating the Pharmacy Guild’s CP2025 nine growth pathways as they are a useful tool when putting together your application.”

Ms Hazell said that entering the Pharmacy of the Year award was a great way to acknowledge and thank the pharmacy’s “amazing team”.

The competition had also:

• increased its pharmacy networks and contacts in the industry
• allowed the pharmacy and its staff to reflect on what they had achieved and what they would like to achieve in the future
• at times encouraged them to step out of their comfort zones, to challenge themselves, allowing all members of the team to grow as individuals and a team.

The pharmacy is a health hub of the region, with rural doctor shortages in the Forbes area having resulted in residents of the town and surrounding areas often needing to use Flannery’s Pharmacy as their first point of call when needing a health professional.

Ms Hazell said the local doctors now appreciated the role pharmacists played in helping get the best outcomes for these patients.

“We have good relationships with our local GPs,” she said.

“In the past they may have been a bit annoyed as they might have thought we were trying to take over some of their services but they now realise that we are helping them and that we always refer to the doctors when we need to.

“Our acceptance by our doctors was reflected in our vaccination program and we had no opposition at all from GPs when we introduced it.

“The doctors can’t keep up with demand for their services so we are just helping them meet the needs of the community.

“This sort of approach was a factor in our winning the award.”

Think your pharmacy is up to the Pharmacy of the Year challenge? Entries for the 2020 Guild Pharmacy of the Year competition close soon. Enter online at pharmacyoftheyear.com.au

The Guild Pharmacy of the Year 2020 is an initiative of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, sponsored by principal sponsor Care Pharmaceuticals and major sponsor the Quality Care Pharmacy Program.