Pharmacies band together in Hawke’s Bay

Efforts are under way to get pharmacies in Hawke’s Bay open, after Cyclone Gabrielle cut power, internet and telecommunications to much of the area.

Green Cross Health regional manager Bronwen Shepherd says she is “blown away” by the response of pharmacies in the area, who are collaborating in the face of a huge challenge.

“The teams on the ground are working phenomenally well together; different pharmacies are pooling resources and medicines,” says Ms Shepherd.

“They instinctively know what to do for staff and the community.”

National electricity operator Transpower says the damage, caused by a power substation being flooded near Taradale, will take “days or weeks” to repair.

“I can’t wait…to jump out and help and roll up my sleeves”

Ms Shepherd says all pharmacies on the Hastings side are open and operating, but those in Napier face a lot more challenges. Ms Shepherd’s only way of contacting some of these is via satellite messaging.

She managed to get a couple of generators through a friend at the Port of Napier. Unichem Munroe St Pharmacy in Napier South is open because it has one of them and Unichem Greenmeadows Pharmacy is getting one today.

Staff at Unichem Taradale Pharmacy and Life Pharmacy Napier City are working behind closed doors but to be fully operational they need power sources.

RNZ reports State Highway 51 (Napier-Hastings through Clive) is open to the public. The expressway SH50 will open from Pakowhai north towards Napier within the next 24 hours. Fernhill Bridge is still closed.

Ms Shepherd says she looks forward to visiting colleagues once access is easier: “I can’t wait…to jump out and help and roll up my sleeves.”

She says her heart goes out to colleagues: “Inevitably people in the pharmacy network will be out of their homes; everyone knows people who have been affected.”

Pharmacy’s role in this emergency is to maintain good medicines access to community members, prisons and resthomes and to support people to maintain their health as best they can, amid the higher risk of outbreaks of diseases like COVID-19.

Demand on pharmacies in Hastings is high because 9000 people around Hawke’s Bay are displaced and didn’t have time to pack anything before fleeing their homes. It means a relatively small community is looking after a large number of evacuated people.

Most people seeking healthcare can’t attend their usual practice, and their latest health records can’t be accessed. That means healthcare services will be less efficient than normal.

Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay has enacted emergency power so people can access medication without scripts, excluding controlled drugs, says Ms Shepherd. She adds pharmacy is very grateful for that, especially as it is fully funded.

Ms Shepherd is appealing for pharmacy volunteers from across New Zealand to go and help with the clean-up once access to the area has improved: “We will need volunteers to give pharmacy support to get on their feet and meet the high patient needs over the next month.” She can be contacted on: Bronwen.shepherd@gxh.co.nz.

Although her role does not cover Gisborne, she says she is enormously concerned about people there and hopes there can be wraparound support for them.