Pharmacists Charlotte Ransom, Louise McLean and Stacey Fuller have purchased Miller’s Pharmacy through Capital Group, the parent company of Capital Chemist.

Charlotte, who will stay on-site as manager, said Capital Group is very individualised as each store is independent but belongs to a larger community of pharmacies.

Louise and Stacey were previously Charlotte’s managers at Southlands Capital Chemist in Mawson and will continue working there for the time being.

They spent a few years looking for the right fit but once they found Miller’s Pharmacy, she said it was a no-brainer.

“It’s a beautiful pharmacy,” she said. “As soon as we got the paperwork, we saw that it’s a really good pharmacy.”

Charlotte said Miller’s Pharmacy just needed some consistency after previous owners Peter and Angela Miller had to sell to focus on their family and Peter’s health.

Hopefully, by being on-site full-time they can give the business a little bit of love she said.

“I’ll be here, I’ve been saying 24/7 because I believe that’s going to be the case.”

The 27-year-old has been a practicing pharmacist for just over four years and said it can take a village to run a pharmacy and the staff at Miller’s Pharmacy are amazing.

But Charlotte said she will have support from Louise and Stacey any time she needs it.

Peter and Charlotte didn’t meet personally until she began working at the pharmacy during the changeover.

Peter said they knew quite a few people involved in Capital Group. “We felt that they’d be a really good fit for Yass.”

“They operate their businesses in a similar fashion that we do,” he said. “They’re service-orientated, professional type businesses.”

“We were confident that they would step in and carry on with running a similar sort of business and look after all our customers.”

Charlotte said great patient care and organisation make a good pharmacist.

“I think it’s just that face-to-face value that you get when you want help and then you know they’re going to do everything they can to get you what you need.”

She said pharmacies have also changed a lot over recent years after the coronavirus pandemic allowed pharmacists to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

Charlotte said she always knew she wanted to go into community pharmacy but also liked the variety of avenues pharmacists could pursue in their profession.

“I just thought it was so interesting,” she said. “Then as soon as you start learning, it’s just this whole other world.”

“Just all the information that you need, all the pharmacology, how drugs work, how our body works in relation to drugs,” she said. “It’s just incredible the depths there, it’s really interesting.”

Currently living in Canberra, Charlotte said she was planning to eventually look for a house in Yass with her partner but one big purchase at a time.

“It’s beautiful here,” she said. “The people are beautiful here.”

Charlotte said Yass was a different pace and the people were friendly. “You can really tell where you are when you’re just talking to people, and it’s really nice.”

“It just means you can connect with people a lot more straightaway,” she said. “It’s really nice. I’m very excited to be here.”

By Brianna O’Rourke