Pharmacist David Adams has been working fulltime to keep the Hastings UFS dispensary open, but his departure means the 101-year-old store will close. Photo / Warren Buckland
Pharmacist David Adams has been working fulltime to keep the Hastings UFS dispensary open, but his departure means the 101-year-old store will close. Photo / Warren Buckland
A Hawke's Bay dispensary has been through World War II, the Great Depression and several recessions, but is now unable to prescribe the cure to its own dire skill shortage.
John Thew, vice president of the Hastings United Friendly Societies, said the United Friendly Societies unanimously voted at their SpecialMeeting and AGM on Thursday last week to shut down the Hastings UFS Dispensary after it has operated for 101 years.
He said the dispensary has been unable to find a replacement after pharmacist David Adams handed in his notice and the ageing UFS membership had declined by a quarter of its total in the last decade.
"We've lost 250 members in 10 years, but we will also lose more once people go into rest homes and hospital care. We lose all their scripts because rest homes put it all through their own pharmacy."
He said it did not feel good to close the dispensary, but UFS needed to look at the big picture to make the decision.
"Some people are upset, because we've shopped there all our lives. When I first went, I used to go in with my grandmother when I was still in school."
At least three pharmacies in Hastings alone have been advertising for a pharmacist in the last month. Photo / Warren Buckland
Three dispensaries/pharmacies are advertising for a fulltime pharmacist position along the length of Heretaunga St, Hastings,Hastings UFS dispensary, Unichem Stortford Lodge Pharmacy and Green Cross Health Life Pharmacy.
Adams said he came from Manawatu and began at the Hastings UFS dispensary in November last year, intending to work part-time for three days a week.
"I came here for a three-month, fulltime stint, then I was going to cut down to three days a week, but there are no pharmacists around to do the other two days so I have been forced to do fulltime up to this point," Adams said.
He said he felt obligated to help, but eventually he felt like he was burning out and he decided he had to hand in his resignation.
He said he was still unable to find any pharmacists available to take on the role due a shortage of pharmacists across the country.
He said that with Covid, District Health Boards at the time began to employ pharmacists to help the shortage of vaccinators during the Covid pandemic.
"Generally every province has half a dozen locums who are there as relievers so pharmacy managers can take a break," he said.
Pharmacist David Adams said there was a nationwide shortage of pharmacists due to most now working at medical centres or at larger outlets. Photo / Warren Buckland
"A lot of those locum vaccinators got employed by the DHBs, got paid more money and therefore it sucked the pool of pharmacists out."
He said another factor which had made it difficult to find a replacement was most young pharmacists wanted to be in a team rather than the sole manager of a dispensary.
"Younger pharmacists tend to go into a medical centre or have a team where there is two pharmacists and three techs."
Nicole Rickman, Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand membership and professional services general manager, earlier told NZME in September that the guild was continuing to raise the issue of shortages with the Government and officials from the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora.
She said earlier that there had been a shortage of pharmacists, particularly in rural areas, for many years.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson told Stuff earlier that analysis by the ministry last year showed the number of pharmacists in New Zealand was forecast to increase by about 500 during the next decade, in response to criticism more needed to be done to address the staff shortage.
Adams will stay on as a locum at Hastings UFS dispensary until the end of October, while Hastings UFS decides on an official closing date for the dispensary at a meeting this week.
