Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group supports pharmacists to provide world-class pharmacy care to the Canterbury community.

In South Africa during the 1980s, a young Aarti was thinking about potential careers. Her grandfather suggested pharmacy. The suggestion was a good one as through pharmacy Aarti met her husband; worked with health teams in rural communities to improve care; became involved in initiatives to improve care in developing nations run by agencies such as the World Health Organization; lectured in pharmacy; and ultimately came to Canterbury to lead CCPG and advocate for its members and pharmacists’ role in the health sector

Return your unused or unwanted medicines to a pharmacy where they can be disposed of in an appropriately consented landfill and reduce the risk of harm from medicine overdoses.  That’s the message from the Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group (CCPG) and Pegasus who have teamed up to launch the Read, Remove, Return unwanted medicines campaign.  

The launch of the campaign coincides with World Pharmacy Day on 25th September, which encourages activities by pharmacists to improve health in every corner of the world.  

A Health Research Council-funded study is trialling the effectiveness of providing evidence-based information and pathways to care for those with knee osteoarthritis through their community pharmacy.

Lead researcher Associate Professor Ben Darlow of the University of Otago, Wellington, says knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects one in four New Zealand adults. Surgery is an option for some, he says, but there is a gap in the provision of accessible, ongoing care and advice for the majority of people living with knee OA.

More than 7000 Canterbury families have got free advice and treatment from their community pharmacy for things such as skin and eye infections, acute diarrhoea and headlice under a government-funded scheme to give families more access to consultations for common conditions over the winter months.

Patients will no longer have to ration or miss out on essential medicines because of cost now the $5 per prescription charge has been dropped.

In my job I have the privilege of visiting people to discuss their medications. They share with me what they like and dislike about their medications, when they take them (or forget), and if they think they are working. I am also able to clarify what their medications do, strategies to remember taking them, and how to dispose of them once expired.

Like other pharmacies in Canterbury, Life Pharmacy Barrington have completely changed the way they do business to help stop the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

A young Riccarton pharmacist is helping his local Cantonese and Mandarin speaking community understand their medications and take them properly.

Aston Yiu from Remedy Pharmacy in Riccarton sees a diverse range of people from different ethnicities and age groups come through the door.