Changing health contracts will see the Castlecliff Pharmacy in Wanganui close its doors for the last time tomorrow.
Litia Katonivere, who has owned and operated the pharmacy for more than seven years, said the closure was sad but inevitable.
"Things have changed in the pharmacy business in the last couple of years, and it's certainly become more difficult to stay trading," Ms Katonivere said yesterday.
She said closing the doors "hasn't been an easy decision for us, but changes in pharmacy contracts over the last few years have finally taken their toll". While she would have more time for a family, she said she would not look to own a pharmacy in the future. Ms Katonivere said the seaside pharmacy had "thousands of customers" from across the city and beyond and its database would shift over to Radius Pharmacy in Springvale the night the doors close. But she said it would be customer choice where they eventually went for the medicines. Melina Holmes, who with her husband Adam, operates Radius Pharmacy, said shifting the database on Friday night would mean Castlecliff Pharmacy customers' medication history and repeats would be available from the Springvale outlet from 9am Saturday.
"It's sad when you see any business close, and we certainly wanted to help Litia out as much as we could. We all studied at pharmacy school at the same time," Mrs Holmes said. She said while it would be difficult for Castlecliff residents, the Springvale pharmacy was closer to that area than other city pharmacies.
