Page 28 - Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2020

26 PHARMACY PROFILE TERRYWHITE CHEMMART MENTONE, VICTORIA ABy Marcela Araneda. t a time when the Thrift Park Shopping Centre in Mentone, Victoria was the largest shopping centre in Australia, the main pharmacy within the centre was providing first-class services to its community. Fast forward 62 years and the current TerryWhite Chemmart is not only serving its community in the same way, but is also at the forefront of change, offering information, support and guidance at a time when it’s most needed. According to owner Luke Watson, the old-fashioned values of community pharmacy are still central to everything that happens at TerryWhite Chemmart Mentone, in Melbourne’s south-east. “We try to give excellent service and get to know people on a first-name basis, get to know about them and develop real relationships,” he said. This philosophy, mixed with the benefits of what technology has to offer, has been a winning formula for the pharmacy. “We really try and embrace technology, so we’ve been able to use it to really maximise the pharmacist-patient contact time,” Mr Watson said. “As a result, we have a higher ratio of pharmacists per patient that we think is contributing to better health outcomes for our patients.” However, in this Covid environment, most pharmacies, especially in Victoria, are still dealing with the pressures of a second wave of the pandemic while trying to maintain a sense of normality for customers and staff. “For me, this has by far been the most challenging from a management point of view,” Mr Watson said. During the outbreak, his former business partner suffered from a pre-existing lung condition, which prevented him from working as it was too risky. Also, a pharmacist and a retail manager had just gone on maternity leave. “We just weren’t prepared for it,” he said. “I think no one was: the anxiety and demand from our community was on a level that we’d never seen before. It was a stressful situation and I don’t think the wholesalers or any pharmacy were prepared for that, so it was really challenging.” Despite the chaos, having close ties to the community and being a central part of it provided a great advantage. “We’re really fortunate to know most people, so we managed well,” Mr Watson said. “While they’re very nice and understanding, we also saw a side of people that I’d never seen before: some were angry, distressed and panicking. The uncertainty of the situation unfortunately brought out the worst in some people. But on the flipside, we also witnessed an enormous amount of generosity ... we saw the best and worst in people.” While Mr Watson felt the pressure of having to manage an influx of customers in distress while keeping his staff and family safe, he soon implemented procedures that kept his pharmacy going and came in handy when the second wave hit Victoria hard. “TerryWhite Chemmart was quite good in bringing up a five-stage plan with Covid and to continue business,” he said. “They were also very good in keeping us informed on a daily basis and providing us with a wealth of resources such as signage and floor decals to help us communicate with our customers and ensure both our customers and staff were RETAIL PHARMACY • OCT 2020 protected. We just rolled up our sleeves and got on with it.” Mr Watson is particularly proud of, and grateful to, his dedicated staff. He knows that without their support and continued hard work throughout these unprecedented times, the pharmacy would not be where it is today: still trading and doing the best it can for its community. “I explained to my staff the situation and told them that while I was going to try to do everything I could to keep us all safe and healthy, I couldn’t guarantee it,” he said. “I didn’t want anyone to feel obligated to continue working and told them I’d respect everyone’s decision if they decided it wasn’t for them.” Mr Watson also had two immunocompromised staff members whom he advised it would probably be best for them if they didn’t go to work, as it seemed too risky. “But everyone came back and said, ‘No, we’re in, we’re going to help, we’re going to do what we can to keep serving the community’,” he said. “We implemented as many safety measures as we could, restricted the number of customers in the store and