Young Kaikohe pharmacist a taonga in her community

WINNER

JILLY WILLIAMS

Clinical excellence, kindness and devotion to her community are just a few of the qualities that make Northland pharmacist Jilly Williams (Ngāpuhi) stand out.

Since graduating from the Auckland School of Pharmacy in 2014, Ms Williams has been working at Unichem Orrs Pharmacy in Kaikohe.

Over her nine years with the pharmacy, she has impressed and inspired her colleagues with her commitment to learning and improving her clinical practice.

Ms Williams’ employer Alex Graham says, “During her time in Kaikohe, Jilly has come up with a number of innovative tools to assist, not only our community, but the pharmacy staff in providing an excellent service.”

Some of these initiatives include developing her own laminated booklet specific to Northland’s Stop Gout programme to educate patients about gout, allopurinol and the programme.

Another is the “counselling label” attached to patients’ prescriptions, which includes information specific to the customer.

“This could simply be informative, or could be a prompt for the pharmacist to discuss certain aspects of care with the patient. It becomes a permanent part of the patient’s health record and provides credible evidence of the work our pharmacy does in the community,” Mr Graham says. As an example of her connection to the community, Ms Williams also set up and maintains a give-away table at the pharmacy, which includes pre-loved clothing, homeware and linen free to anyone who needs it.

A dedicated member of the Ngā Kaitiaki o te Puna Rongoā (Māori Pharmacists’ Association), Ms Williams regularly contributes to the association’s clinical symposia and volunteers at MPA events. Kevin Pewhairangi, MPA president, describes Jilly as a “taonga in our organisation”.

“Jilly shares our association’s values of working towards health equity for Māori and being the Māori voice in the sector. As per tikanga Māori, Jilly has taken her knowledge and skills back to where she comes from to ensure the prosperity of her hapu and iwi.’’

Ms Williams says she is “humbled” to have been nominated for the award, and that the number of years she has worked in the Kaikohe community should serve as evidence of her satisfaction with the role.

“Each day, I feel more accomplished and more proud of the ability we have to help patients on their health journeys. In return for my service, I receive so much aroha and respect from the wonderful people in our community.”

Judges' comments:

The following whakatauki is very apt for you: “Kei ōu ringaringa te ao – the world is yours. The sky is the limit and the world is yours. All you have to do is dream and persevere. Make the most out of all the opportunities the world has to offer! Mauriora

FINALIST

VIBHUTI PATEL

IMPROVING EFFICIENCIES so that pharmacists have “more time to care” is what drives Canterbury pharmacist Vibhuti Patel.

Since becoming co-owner of Rangiora’s Unichem Medical Corner Pharmacy in 2018, Ms Patel has introduced changes to improve efficiency, freeing up pharmacists’ time to ensure patient safety. During Alert Level 4 lockdown, Ms Patel ran the pharmacy’s flu vaccination programme, going above and beyond to vaccinate 1680 members of the community between March and June.

Outside of the pharmacy, Ms Patel is vicechair of the Pegasus Health Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Population Health Advisory Group, where her leadership has resulted in projects to improve equity for the Indian community.

These include a strength, balance and yoga programme delivered in collaboration with Sports Canterbury, a diabetes education and awareness programme, and work with Canterbury DHB to improve maternity outcomes for Indian women.

“Improving maternal outcomes for migrant women is something that’s particularly important to me because of my own experiences [of] having children in New Zealand. I had the most empowering maternity journey and I would like the same for others,” Ms Patel says.

Judges' comments:

A fascinating journey and a clear passion for helping the community through improved efficiencies and many outreach activities. Working with a population that often has many unmet needs, particularly around diabetes, is important in reducing inequity