Unichem Simon's Pharmacy

It's Ants last week at Simon's and as sad as we are, we'd love it if you were able to pop in and help us all celebrate him and his incredible contribution to the health and well being of Tawa locals, wish him a fond farewell or let him know what a decent bloke he is.

💊 Please leave him a message, memory, anecdote or what ever you fancy in the memory book in store.
💊 Have a guess how many days have past since Ant started working full time In Tawa!!
Closest guess wins a $50 voucher from Urban Eatery. One guess per person. (clue - the number is huge!)
💊 Come in for a piece of cake and a last hoorah on Friday.

Any help sharing this to folk far and wide would be greatly appreciated. Those that have known Ant for a very long time are less likely to use socials - Thanks in advance.

We look forward to seeing you during the week 🥳🎉🎊

With a mix of gratitude and emotion, we have important news to share. After 64 years under the ownership of the Simon family, it's time for me to move on. My father Derek founded Simon’s Pharmacy in 1960 at the location now known as The Borough. Since then, it has been a cornerstone of Tawa. I started working here as a student in 1981, and except for a 2.5-year stint in Auckland, I've dedicated my career to serving the Tawa community.

Emma, who began working with us in early 2007 and became my business partner in 2015, will also be stepping down from the responsibilities of ownership. However, I am delighted that she and our fantastic team will continue to provide the same caring, friendly, and professional service you’ve come to expect. I will be moving on in August after handing over to the new owner/operator, Justin Williamson. He is a fellow pharmacist whose family has also been in the pharmacy business for many years, and his values align perfectly with ours—caring for both the team and the community.

I want to acknowledge our team – both current, and the people that have worked with us over the years – and their important role in making Simon’s a great place to work. We owe so much of the pharmacy’s decades of success to our hardworking, talented, and loyal team.

We are also profoundly grateful to all of you—our community. Your unwavering support, especially during the difficult lockdown days, has been invaluable. Whether it’s through friendly chats, smiles, treats, or silent support, you have made this journey possible. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It has truly been an honor and a pleasure to serve you.

As we transition, we are confident that we are leaving the business in capable and caring hands. We wish Justin, our team, and our community all the very best for a bright, happy, and healthy future.

Thank you for everything.

Warm regards,

Ant Simon

It is with great disappointment that today - July 1st - we resume our mandatory duty of collecting a tax on behalf of the government.
This is the reintroduction of the prescription co-payment. In most cases $5.
This goes straight into their coffers, as it always has, not ours.

We still look forward to providing you with the best care and advice we can. Rest assured, if we had our way, that process wouldn't be interrupted collecting this tax on their behalf.
Please bring your community services card if you have one, as proof of exemption.

For more information, please take the time to read -
https://info.health.nz/conditions-treatments/treatments-and-surgeries/prescription-charges-and-the-prescription-subsidy-scheme/ -charges

Business as normal today and Friday 8.30-5.30.
We will be shut all day tomorrow to reflect on those who fought so hard to offer us the freedom we enjoy today.

Hi Friends of the Pharmacy!

Thank you all so very much for your understanding and patience this week, we are extremely grateful for you and your loyalty!
We are hopeful that today will be our last day of trading from the front doors 🤞
📌As always, we continue to triage work as soon as we receive it and we are well and truly on top of all our acute work.
📌 Less acute wait times are a bit longer than normal.
📌 We are behind with our text reminder repeat service, the texts are how ever sent to you a week before your meds are theoretically 'due' so we have time up our sleeve here.
📌 You can always call us if you need something urgently.
📌The blister packs we normally have made up for you at least a week in advance will get done before your start date but are a bit more down to the wire at the mo.

The team make us so very proud and are working so so hard. We have staff working extra hours, coming in on their day off, starting early, finishing late. We have been at work on the weekend, working until 11pm and our Covid plagued pharmacist even managed some work from home yesterday.

We are apologetic for the inconvenience caused and don't take these decisions lightly. For the very small minority that are less supportive of our current predicament and operations, please know our only other option was to close the pharmacy.

We have nearly survived the week! We are proud, tired and grateful for our team and community.

Emma and Ant

💥 Current supplies of Estradiol patches from our supplier are extremely bad at present. It is, has been, and will remain a global problem but rest assured we are checking supplier stock multiple times a day to secure whatever we can whenever it becomes available.

Dear Friends of the Pharmacy,

We trust you had an awesome Easter.
Owing to an acute staff shortage including an uninvited Rona arrival this evening, we will be operating from the front doors tomorrow.
We don't have enough trained staff to provide all our normal services safely so will focus solely on acute prescriptions.
We also need to protect our precious gang from any more illness.
These short weeks are tough for us when we have a full crew but tomorrow we are down from 6 to 3 dispensary staff.
As always, we will all be doing the very best we can for you and working our wee hearts out.

Many thanks in advance for your understanding and patience and we'd be grateful for you passing this message on.

Much gratitude, Emma, Ant and our dwindling gang.

Remembering March 15 2019
You are us
As-salaam 'alykum

🌟CALLING ALL SUPERSTARS🌟

We are looking for our next smart, friendly and professional retail superstar!
What we are looking for-
✨a bright, bubbly, enthusiastic person to join our amazing team.
✨someone who is self motivated, enjoys learning, thrives under pressure during busy times and loves working as part of a hard working (and hilarious) team.
✨a proven track record of excellent customer service.
✨someone to work full time (NO weekends, late nights or public holidays!)
✨someone who is competent and capable of learning and using our straight forward point of sale software.
✨someone who loves helping people and going the extra mile for them.

Is this you? Or do you know someone that knows someone??
Please message the page introducing yourself and attach your CV.

Most of you will know our beloved Anita. She's our retail manager and has been a KEY member of the Simon's family for years. We found her via a Facebook add so we are confident that our new superstar someone is our there somewhere close.
GET IN TOUCH NOW!!!

Our holiday hours for Waitangi weekend:
Saturday 3rd Feb closed
Sunday 4th Feb closed
Monday 5th Feb closed
Tuesday 6th Feb closed
Wednesday onwards 8.30-5.30

Friends of the pharmacy, meet Lisa! She is an absolute Godsend. A talented, hardworking and hilarious checking technician that joined our fabulous team last year, we'd be lost without her.
She needs your help! Her beloved hubby of 15 years, pictured here, has lost his wedding ring which you'll see in this photo, he wears it around his neck and they are desperate to get it back. Ring and cord missing.
Reasonably confident it has been lost locally.
Get your sleuth on, magnifying glasses and metal detectors out.
Many thanks and we look forward to solving this mystery together 🧐💍🔎

Often stuff happens that melts our heart and makes all our very hard work so very worth it.
Here's one we'd like to share.
We met an amazing local lady earlier this year, we'd never met her before, she didn't need us (and she actually still doesn't.) Her utterly adored husband and soul mate was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer earlier this year. As the tragic situation unfolded, we saw more and more of her as they fought the battle of their lives. They lost that battle a few weeks back, her husband we have never met.
This wonderful woman has been nothing but inspiring. Always smiling, always positive, always brave, always up for a chat, so grateful for the time she had, not the time she would miss out on.
Life can be so tough, as we all know but there is always someone with a similar story or indeed a far worse one that we can learn from.
When her husband passed, I thanked her for letting us be part of her horrific journey (and was lucky enough to hug her) She showed me the true meaning of courage and bravery.
Last week she baked us the most delicious carrot cake I have ever eaten (with cream cheese icing!) and her card bought a tear.
I truly felt like it should be us thanking her.

Dear Friends of the pharmacy,
Now we know it's not you specifically that we need to tell but we're hopeful this friendly reminder will reach far and wide!
📍 If you are unwell, please wear a mask when you come in
📍 If you have Covid - please don't come in!! (we had multiple folk come in collecting antivirals for themselves last week with only paper masks on, it's too late by the time they reach the counter) Call us, we are experts at delivering and car park roof drop offs!

We have 2 pharmacists off sick today, one with covid, the other has all the symptoms but testing negative, we have only one left. The minimum required to open but not operate safely with our level of busyness. One of our retail champions is in bed with Covid too. Because of this we will be operating today - Mon 13/11 from the front doors, to protect us and you. We can still meet all your needs, just from the front doors.
We will survive this, we have survived far worse, we can adapt.

Please bear with us, be patient and we thank you as always for your continued loyalty and understanding.

Emma (and the fallen soldier Ant)

Have you ever been to a Flu Jab Party?! Neither have we but we are hosting one this Thursday June 1st in support of Aotearoa Immunisation Week.

Whats in store for you if you come in for a jab on Thursday-
🎉A cuppa and a cupcake/ muffin on us!
🎉A free sample of Liposomal vitamin C
🎉Lolly pops for the little people
🎉An entry into the draw for an amazing basket of winter welless goodies.

We are so greatful to our friends at New World Tawa for their help and support getting our first ever jab event off the ground.

Getting immunised is one of the best things we can do to protect ourselves, our whānau and our communities from a range of preventable diseases that can cause serious illness and even death.

Did you know the free flu jab has been extended this year to our most precious little people aged 6 months-12 years?
Please call if you require further info on eligibility.
First in best fed for the morning tea treats - limited supplies.

See you on Thursday! 🥳🧁☕🎉🎈💉

We are beyond delighted to let you know that the $5 prescription co-payment will be abolished from July 1 2023!

Many of you will not be aware that the $5 fee you pay us is effectively a tax we collect on behalf of the government, it goes straight back into their pockets.
It has created significant and devastating barriers to healthcare for many many people.
You will know that big box retail focused pharmacies that have crept into town have been able to absorb this fee/ tax offering 'free' prescriptions' by paying it out of their own coffers in efforts to attract customers to buy 'stuff'.
We have always strived to be so much more than a 'shop'.
Independantly owned pharmacies such as ours would have had a very quick demise had we followed suit.

Thank you from the very bottom of our hearts to you local, loyal legends, for sticking with us, for trusting our care and advice. We have worked tirelessly and done everything we can over some extremely testing times, to keep you well and provide the best professional heathcare services we can.

As a profession, we have been fighting so hard for this for so long and we have won!
We have been heard, we have been recognised and appreciated and we are delighted!

Ant, Emma and our beyond spectacular hard working gang.

💄We're so excited to have Ethiques NEW range of lippies in store now! 💄
Ethique’s new lipsticks combine vibrant colour with nourishing lip care thanks to a combination of naturally occuring mineral pigments and nutrient-rich moisturisers.
They’re also palm oil-free, cruelty-free, vegan and made with ethical ingredients and the entire packaging is home compostable!
Come in and try them out.
If like me you're not a lipstick wearer, come in and try a lip balm instead.

As a special pre Christmas treat for you or someone special, if you spend $30 on Ethique products, we will give you a FREE pink in shower container!
(while stocks last)

We're super proud to introduce you to our amazing Retail Team! The coolest gang we've ever had the pleasure of working with!

Anita (left) although not new to us, takes over the Retail Manager role. She's doing a brilliant job and is full of enthusiasm and fresh ideas (feel free to share any you may have with her!) She radiates friendliness, brightness and bubbliness!
🥇' I've been in Tawa 11 years and am a busy mum of 3. I always keep things positive and love helping customers in any way I can'

Sara (right) did a huge amount of volunteering for us during the early lock down days of 2020 which we will always be eternally grateful for and we just couldn't let her go! Aside from loving a good laugh, she's unflapable when things get beyond chaotic and she brings a level of calm we wouldn't be without.
🥇' I've been in Tawa 26 years and am married with 2 grown up boys. I enjoy meeting customers and helping people and enjoy a good book and a glass (or 2!) of Pinot noir.'

Marius is a hard working machine! Nothing is ever too much trouble for him and if you don't see him front of house, he's my wing man beavering away out the back. Flitting between the shop and dispensary, his acute level of organisation (and dry sense of humour!) is a huge asset.
🥇Tawa has been my home for 14 years and I'm the proud dad of the best dog in the world. I enjoy playing music and trying new things, especially food.

Camera shy Rob is part of a Tawa 'famous' family and part of our Vax team and only to happy to help out in the shop when we get busy. He's cool as a cucumber in more ways than one!

Proudly supporting Gumboot Friday raising funds to provide free counselling for young people struggling with their mental health.

We'll have our Gummies on and we hope you do too! Give as much or as little as you can manage and if you can't manage a donation, we'll settle for a smile or a high 5.

For every person that comes in wearing their gumboots, Simon's will put an extra dollar into the collection gumboots.

See you tomorrow!

Are you having problems controlling seasonal allergies?
Runny, stuffy, itchy nose. Itchy eyes, sneezing, scratchy throat, blocked sinuses?
Come in and have a quick chat with us to see if a FREE sample pack of Labixten is right for you.
Non drowsy, rapid action within an hour and relief for up to 26 hours!
Tried and tested by us!
If it works well for you and you come back and buy a 30 tablet pack size, this cute little pooch is all yours - FREE! (also tried and tested by us!)

Always read the label, use only as directed. Hurry- stocks limited.

⚠️Postive Covid Cases are currently spiking in TAWA⚠️

📌Free Oral anti-virals are available for people at risk of becoming very unwell from covid. They can help people become less sick and keep them out of hospital.
Eligible people include -
▪️ everyone aged 65 and over
▪️ Maori and Pasifika people aged 50 and over
▪️ anyone 50 and over with less than 2 vaccinations
▪️ anyone with a significantly weakened immune system or high risk medical condition
📌 Medicines must be started within the first 5 days of symptoms starting.
📌We are an acredited provider of antivirals and your GP practice can issue a prescription too. We are also able to provide a free courier service of your covid medicine to your home.

We are a RAT collection site, please call in and pick some up or order online at https://requestrats.covid19.health.nz

📌Are you up to date with your vaccinations?? We are still offering a walk in vaccination clinic. If you are unsure, please call Rob and he can let you know.

As always - KEEP CALM and CARRY ON and we would be really grateful for your continued mask use in store so we can keep doing what we do best.

Ant, Emma and our awesome team.

Please call if you require more information. 232 8314

Send a message to learn more

‼️ FLU VAX UPDATE ‼️

We cant underestimate the importance of getting your flu jab this year, even if you never have before. It's a really nasty season.
If you haven't already, pop in when you have 10 spare minutes, no appointement necessary.

Criteria widened on Friday:

Flu vaccinations are free for:

⚠️People aged 65 years and over
⚠️Māori and Pacific people aged 55 years and over
⚠️Pregnant people People who have a long-term medical condition like diabetes, asthma, or a heart condition (ages 6 months+)
🚸Tamariki aged 3 - 12 👫🌈
⚠️People with serious mental health or addiction needs

Please get in touch if you require further info.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful and relaxing Easter break.
Enjoy the sun and some time out with your nearest and dearest.
Well be back on deck Tuesday, refreshed and ready to go and don't forget to pop in for your flu jab if you haven't already.

Hi Tawa!
Another precarious week ahead in the dispensary but our fabulous Covid Vax team are at this stage, all fighting fit, armed and waiting to give you this years FLU VACCINE!

See previous post for more info.

⚠️Flu Vaccination's on now @ Simon's⚠️
📌No appointment necessary
📌13 years and up
📌FREE! Government funded vaccines for 65+, pregnancy, Maori and Pacific people 55-64 years of age, under 65's with eligible medical conditions
📌$40 non funded
📌Wait time post vax 5 minutes for the majority
📌No gap required between covid jab/booster and the flu vax.

Protect yourselves and your nearest and dearest NOW.

For more information see https://www.fightflu.co.nz/

If you are part of a community group, would like to get your staff vaccinated, are part of an organization we could come to for an onsite clinic, please contact us for more info.

⚠️(LACK OF) SERVICE UPDATE!!

🔹We are down to TWO dispensary staff today 28/3 This is a new record for us! Ant and I (don't laugh to loudly!)
🔹We will be triaging and prioritising acute work.
🔹Apologies in advance if we can't take your call or provide as much face to face care as we'd like.
🔹We will try our very best to get as much done as we can.

🔹NO VACCINATION SERVICE TODAY DUE TO OUR VACCINATOR ISOLATING

With the support of our outstanding team, we got this, and thank you in advance for you understanding and patience. 🍀

We will be vaccinating kids all day today!
9am - 5pm
Walk ins, jumps ins, skip ins, dance ins all welcome.
No bookings needed but if you would like to secure a time slot, please call Ruben on 232 8314
Business as normal for adults.

We have also secured some medical grade kids sized face masks, available in pink and blue.
$6.00 for a pack of 5 masks.

Happy Friday!

R.A.T's in store for purchase NOW!

🔹 5 test kits for $50
🔹20 tests kits for $200

First in first served.
Holds only taken only if card payment is made over the phone.
Please call 232 8314

CALLING ALL THE COOL KIDS IN TAWA!

‼️Kids (5- 11) Covid Vaccination Clinic‼️

🔹 Friday 18/2 9 am - 5 pm
🔹 Call Marius on 2328314 to book your time slot
🔹 Please do not book on book my vaccine
🔹 Walk in's welcome but priority given to bookings
🔹 Business as normal for adults

Lolly pops at the ready! We hope you and your cool kids can make it!

‼️ FFP2 masks IN STORE NOW ‼️
European Standard
Individually packaged
$3.00 per mask
Limited stock. Call now to reserve your order. 232 8314