North Canterbury News: May 05, 2022

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4 North Canterbury News, May 5, 2022
Kaiapoi pharmacist awinner
By DAVID HILL
Thursday,August 2, 2018 | Issue808 | www.ncnews.co.nz
NORTH CANTERBURY
The North Canterbury Rural
Support Trust has been gifted
$700.00 from Glenmark Rural
Women to assist ayoung woman
from the Hurunui District to further
her tertiary education or training.
Please write to us telling us about
your aspirations and how this
one-off sponsorship would make
the difference between your
being able to engage in further
education, or having to let an
opportunity pass you by.
Please address your
correspondence to The Trustees,
include your address and phone
number, and send via email to
Arni.Smit@ruralsupport.org.nz.
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Clean water and vaccinations are ‘‘the
two most important things to stay
healthy’’, says Kaiapoi pharmacist Rob
Fenwick.
The Unichem Fenwicks Pharmacy
owner was recently named Prospa Local
Business Owner winner for 2022, thanks
to one of his customers writing
‘‘something nice about us’’.
‘‘It was very nice. Iobviously spend my
day trying to look after my customers.
‘‘If someone comes in and they need
help you just get it done,’’ Mr Fenwick
says.
The pharmacy is an old Kaiapoi
business dating back to the 1800s, with
Mr Fenwick’s father taking the reins in
1948.
When Mr Fenwick began training as a
pharmacist in the late 1970s, it was
predicted robots would take over alot of
the work.
‘‘They spoke about the four day week
and robots back in the 1970s, so Ithought
Iwould be retired now.
‘‘We’ve got arobot here, but they let
you down, so you still need people
overseeing it all.’’
He took over his father’s half­share in
the business in 1985, going into
partnership with his brother Peter, who
retired five years ago.
‘‘I have dispensed afew prescriptions
in my time,’’ he says.
‘‘Being agood pharmacist is alot of
hard work.
‘‘There’s alot of financial pressures
and you have to be pretty positive and
keep your chin up.
‘‘It can be quite depressing at times.
It’s like anything in health, it gets quite
complicated with all the extra training
and courses you need to do and keeping
your ticket up to date.’’
Today Fenwicks Pharmacy employs 10
Dispensing wellbeing ... Rob Fenwick has been serving the Kaiapoi community for 37
years.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
staff and has had anumber of long
serving staff over the years.
He says the attraction of having lunch
by the Kaiapoi River helps to keep
people loyal and local.
Mr Fenwick had been starting to think
about retirement, but Covid has forced
him to ditch any thoughts of easing back.
He says the last two years have been
particularly challenging and several of
the staff have come down with the virus
in recent weeks.
‘‘It’s been shocking really and Ithink
everyone is sick of wearing masks.’’
Fenwicks Pharmacy was one of the
first chemists to offer Covid­19
vaccinations, which required
completing special training.
Coming on the back on the Canterbury
earthquakes, Mr Fenwick says it has
been aparticularly challenging time for
young people, on top of concerns around
social media, mental health and drugs.
‘‘You shouldn’t need arecreational
drug to keep being happy in life.’’
The best tonics for wellbeing are
sunshine, clean water and keeping
vaccinations up to date, he says.
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689 Ferry Road
Friday 6May, 3-6pm
New World Ravenswood
10 Bob Robertson Drive
Friday6May, 1–7pm
Saturday 7May, 11am–5pm
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Broadlands Drive
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Getting your booster? Tamariki aged 5to11can get their
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CDHB04May22 BC