Pharmacy of the Year

Reference: http://www.guild.org.au/sites/The_Guild/tab-News_and_Events/Events/Pharmacy%20of%20the%20Year.page

Top gong goes to Top End pharmacy in 2012

Cape York Guardian Pharmacy in Weipa, Far North Queensland, is the QCPP Pharmacy of the Year for 2012.  The announcement was made by the Minister for Health Tanya Plibersek at the Australian Pharmacy Professional (APP) conference on the Gold Coast today.

Owner pharmacist Scott McCahon, who accepted the award on behalf of his team, explained why he entered this competition this year: “The pharmacy had reached a point where I was proud of where we’d come from.  The community has embraced us since we’ve come here and I wanted to show the town that we deliver a level of service, and a pharmacy, that is comparable with anywhere in Australia.”

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, in partnership with the Quality Care Pharmacy Program, has been seeking out and acknowledging excellence and innovation through the Pharmacy of the Year award for more than a decade. After reviewing all of the entries seven pharmacies were selected as finalists and visited by the judges.

The three category winners in the running for the overall award this year were:

  • Chemmart Superstore Pharmacy, Eaton (WA) – Excellence in business management (watch the video)
  • Martin’s Chemist, St. Mary’s (NSW) –  Innovation in professional services (watch the video)
  • Cape York Guardian Pharmacy, Weipa (QLD) – Excellence in community engagement (watch the video)

Short video presentations of each of the categories winners can be viewed on the Pharmacy Guild’sYoutube channel

The exceptional standard of finalists in this year’s competition so impressed the judges Bill Scott (Chairman of Fred Health) and Patrick Reid (a Guild National Director) that they asked the QCPP to recognise a fourth pharmacy, in the form of an Honourable Mention, which went to Priceline Pharmacy, Kiama (NSW).

As a category winner, Cape York Guardian pharmacy was initially recognised for its outstanding contribution to the Weipa community and the whole Cape region.  Commenting on the pharmacy’s achievements, Mr Reid said, “Australia is a large country and the Western Cape is as remote as it gets. In sometimes trying circumstances, the Cape York team has looked upon problems as opportunities – all while contributing so strongly to their community and its people.”

Pharmacy Guild National President Kos Sclavos said, “This result demonstrates that pharmacies in regional areas can deliver excellent services that are just as good as, or in this case even better than, their metropolitan counterparts.  I find it encouraging that the standard of entries this year was so high, that – for the first time – judges needed to recognise a fourth pharmacy with an honourable mention.”