The pharmacy was given full accreditation by the Quality Care Pharmacy Program (QCPP), which aims to raise the standard of customer service and care in individual pharmacies across Australia.

White's Pharmacy underwent a rigorous assessment procedure which evaluated its customer service, occupational, health and safely issues, the presentation of the business and a whole range of other issue relating to the general operation of the pharmacy.

Particular attention was paid to distance dispensing, because of the amount of customers the pharmacy had who were in isolation or a considerable distance from town.

Each staff member was individually interviewed and assessed to ensure a high standard of performance.

By passing the assessment the pharmacy is accredited as a member of the Quality Care Pharmacy network.

Rhonda White said the assessment and subsequent accreditation was an excellent milestone for the pharmacy.

"It's a very good thing to have. It's made us more aware of safety issues and made us look at things we would never have looked at.

"It was a lot of hard work but it was worth it," she said.

The QCPP was developed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia in consultation with the key industry and professional bodies, we well as practicing pharmacies and their staff.

It was designed to help pharmacy teams understand and consistently meet the needs and expectations of their customers, and to regulate pharmacies across Australia.

There are 5000 community pharmacies across Australia and more than 96 per cent are either fully accredited or are undergoing accreditation.

Accreditation hopes to achieve increased customer satisfaction with the services provided, improved job satisfaction for staff and improved business management practices and profitability.

Another main aim of the Quality Care Pharmacy Program is to achieve a uniformly higher standard of service to customers, professional care to patients, build morale among staff and provide a clear performance benchmark for the industry of community pharmacy.

Pharmacies must conduct a self-assessment every year to ensure that the standards are still being maintained.

The accreditation lasts for three years when the pharmacy and its staff are assessed again.