Guild asks pharmacists to step up and be bold

MEDIA RELEASE

21 February 2011

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) is holding events for its members in the main Divisional centres with the goal of helping community pharmacists raise their professional profile with patients, politicians and the wider community.

These events form part of the Guild’s Be Bold political campaign which will run throughout the year and into the future. The campaign backs up the public action of the Guild to prove the value of community pharmacy within the primary health care team. This campaign is also part of the Guild’s work to raise awareness about the unfairness of patient funding without regard to need, as well as the difficulties this is creating for the funder.

The events provide members with the opportunity to learn how to improve their public image with the help of campaign strategist, Ali Undorf-Lay. Members are given the tools to build their confidence and learn ways to become more visible to the public so that their important role is recognised. Members also learn ways of approaching their local MPs about pharmacy issues.

“Pharmacy is undervalued and unrecognised because it is largely unseen by the patients who benefit from it. Getting community pharmacists to step up and be noticed is a good opportunity for them to prove their value, especially as the Pharmacy Services Agreement (PSA) is being circulated for discussion,” says Guild Chief Executive, Annabel Young. “The actions of our individual members feed into the wider strategy of this campaign which is to achieve a PSA that reflects the valuable work community pharmacists do every day as the medicine experts.”

The events are being held in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin from 16 – 24 February.

ENDS

Media Contact: Annabel Young - 027 440 9160 or 04 802 8201
Ian Johnson – 021 621 592

For additional information: Julia Paterson-Fourie – 04 802 8211

Notes:
• The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (Inc) is a national membership organisation representing community pharmacy owners. We provide leadership on all issues affecting the sector and we advocate for the business interests of community pharmacy.
• For additional information on the Guild and community pharmacy please go to www.pgnz.org.nz.