A shortage of pharmacists is being blamed for the delay in opening the pharmacy at the Canada Safeway store here but the company’s public affairs manager is optimistic it will be up and running by the end of January.
“It has been going a bit slow for us,” admitted John Graham. “There is always a lot of things that have to be done when you are in the process of hiring people.
“We simply want to find the best people for the positions and that may take some time,” he stressed.
There’s been no confirmation the hiring process has actually begun.
“There is a lot of things you have to do when you are hiring people,” Graham noted. “We have been very busy trying to find the staff contingent. Basically, we just want to do our best to meet the needs of our staff and our customers.”
Dale Fortes, assistant manager of Safeway here, isn’t surprised by the time it’s taken so far to open the new pharmacy.
“Actually, we expected that it would take this long,” he remarked. “From what we know, there have been a few things that they have had to work out, especially with regards to Ontario regulations.”
For his part, Graham said the delay has been due to hiring staff only.
“Maybe we have not heard the same things but really, the only thing that has kept us from opening the [pharmacy] earlier has been that we have not been able to find the pharmacists,” he explained.
Right now, Canada Safeway is aiming to open early in the new year but due to the shortage of pharmacists across Canada, no firm date has been set.
Graham assured there have been no complications and, in fact, the process of getting things together has run quite smoothly.
“The only problem we have come across has been trying to get people who want to come out to the area,” he noted.
“We have a visible shortage of pharmacists right now and as a result, we are having a hard time getting the people we need–the best qualified–into these positions,” he stressed.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
