Article was unfair to local pharmacy

Poor John Karagianis. He took one of his medications and became dizzy and nauseous, so he took a nap. When he awoke, he "discovered" that the pharmacy had made a mistake and put his meds in the wrong bottles. (Telegraph, Nov. 30)

Why didn't he seek help when he began to feel unwell, was he too confused? What was the other med? Was he confused and took the wrong med to begin with? How long has he been taking these prescriptions? I saw a lot of inconsistencies and unanswered questions.

If the Board of Pharmacy could substantiate the allegations with any credible proof of the pharmacy's error, I am quite sure that they would have pursued the matter. But wait, along comes ace reporter Albert McKeon of the Nashua Tabloid, ready to protect the public's right to know by exposing Wingate Pharmacy's error because the proper authorities failed to do so (according to Mr. Karagianis).

Hmm, people find razor blades in their Big Macs, too.

As a former employee of Wingate's Pharmacy, I can attest to the rigorous protocol involved in the filling of prescriptions. The work is consistently checked by several employees at each stage of the process to ensure that human error is minimized, if not eliminated completely. Mistakes can certainly be made, but frankly I cannot see how this particular label-switching error could even be possible.

What I find deplorable is the way the article attacked the reputation of a local business that has provided a service to the Nashua area for so many years.

Wingate's is among a handful of family-owned businesses left in the area that has a sense of community and civic responsibility by working closely with city agencies and charitable groups to provide quality health care to individuals who often need a bit more help than others, whether it is free meds and health-care supplies or helping an illiterate patient understand how to take their pills safely.

This isn't seasonal charity – it goes on all year. Gary and Brenda Wingate don't do these things for recognition; they do it because it's the right thing to do. Try asking a chain pharmacy to go above and beyond and see how far you get.

Now they have to deal with slanderous yellow journalism, propagated by the local hack newspaper. Not exactly the "thank you" that they deserve.