Checking hours…

  1. Home
  2. About us

Two families, one dispensary

A Pharmacy at SPAR on Park Avenue — a dispensary and clinic owned by the pharmacists who work in it, open seven days a week.

How we got here

Medstone Pharmacy, 2016. Park Square Pharmacy at SPAR, 2018. The same people throughout.

We opened in November 2016 as Medstone Pharmacy. Two years later, on 1 November 2018, we joined the Pharmacy at SPAR family and moved into the new Park Square development on Park Avenue — same pharmacists, same patients, a great deal more room.

We are a family of pharmacists rather than a branch of anything. The people who own this dispensary are the people who work in it, which is why the person advising you on a medicine is usually the person answerable for it.

Being part of a national group means we buy at group prices and pass that on, and it means the systems behind the counter — medical aid claims, chronic registers, stock — are the same ones a much larger pharmacy runs on. What the group does not do is decide how we treat you. We know the regulars by name, and any of us will come out from behind the counter and sit down with you if that is what the conversation needs.

Open seven days a week, Sundays included — because the week a prescription runs out is never the week that suits you.

The team

The people behind the counter

Every pharmacist here is registered with the South African Pharmacy Council and completes continuing education every year.

  • Leanne Vallabhjee
    LVPortrait to come

    Leanne Vallabhjee

    Responsible Pharmacist · co-owner

    A pharmacist, entrepreneur, wife and proud mother. Qualified at Rhodes in 2000, interned at Addington Hospital, and a business owner since 2016 — with a deep passion for people and the privilege of serving this community.

    BPharm, MPS · Rhodes University

  • Nandhitha Punwasi
    NPPortrait to come

    Nandhitha Punwasi

    Pharmacist · co-owner

    Known to most patients as Nandy. Over 25 years in retail pharmacy with a strong background in both public and private hospital settings, and a business owner since 2005. Runs the clinic room and the screening services.

    BPharm · Rhodes University

  • Deshlan Chetty
    DCPortrait to come

    Deshlan Chetty

    Pharmacist

  • Mesuli Magubane
    MMPortrait to come

    Mesuli Magubane

    Qualified Post Basic Pharmacist Assistant

  • Time

    Nobody is hurried through the counter. If you have questions about your medicine, that conversation is part of the service, not an interruption to it.

  • Privacy

    We have a private consultation room and we use it. Your condition is never discussed where the queue can hear it.

  • Honest pricing

    We show you the generic option and the price difference every time. Choosing the cheaper one costs you nothing in quality.

  • Knowing when to refer

    A pharmacy is not a doctor’s rooms. When something is beyond our scope we say so plainly and write you a referral letter.

The shop

Have a look around before you come in

Knowing what a place looks like makes walking into it easier — especially if you are coming for the clinic.

The pharmacy floor, with the dispensary counter ahead and the vitamin and self-medication aisles to either side
A pharmacist at the dispensary counter, collecting a prescription into a basket
Front-shop shelves: the Pharma Wellness at SPAR range, skincare and everyday health products
Two of the team serving a customer at the dispensary counter

Medical aid

We claim directly from your scheme

Swipe your card and walk out. No forms, no waiting for a refund, and no paying up front on most benefit options.

  • Discovery Health
  • Bonitas
  • Momentum Health
  • GEMS
  • Medshield
  • Bestmed
  • Fedhealth
  • Polmed
  • Profmed
  • Medihelp
  • Bankmed
  • Sizwe Hosmed

Scheme not listed? Ask us — we claim from most South African medical schemes.

The clinic

What the clinic does

Screening, wound care and injections, in a private consultation room. Most services are by appointment — tell us what you need and we will give you a time.

Screening
Blood pressure monitoring, blood sugar testing and cholesterol screening, with the result explained to you on the spot.
Medical aid health checks
Discovery Vitality assessments, done in the consultation room and submitted to Discovery on your behalf before you leave.
Treatment
Nebulising, and clinic wound care from a simple dressing through to diabetic and complex wounds.
Injections
Family planning and immunisation services.
What it costs
Ask us — fees depend on the service and most are claimable from medical aid savings or day-to-day benefits. Message us or phone 031 830 3990 and we will tell you before you book.
Request a booking
Responsible Pharmacist · co-owner

Leanne Vallabhjee

LVPortrait to come
Qualification
BPharm, MPS
Rhodes University
Practising since
2000
Business owner since
2016

I am Lea Vallabhjee, a pharmacist, entrepreneur, wife and proud mother, with a deep passion for people and the privilege of serving my community.

My journey in pharmacy began in 2000, when I graduated from Rhodes University with a BPharm Honours degree. After completing my internship at Addington Hospital, I had the opportunity to experience and grow through many different areas of pharmacy. In 2016, I took a leap of faith and embarked on my journey as a business owner, managing my own pharmacy and creating a space where professional healthcare and genuine human connection could come together.

For me, pharmacy has never simply been about medicines. It is about people. It is about listening, caring, understanding and being there for someone when they need guidance and reassurance. I am passionate about providing safe, effective and responsible healthcare, while treating every person who walks through our doors with dignity, compassion and respect.

My greatest source of inspiration is my family. I am blessed to be married to my husband, who is also a pharmacist, and together we are raising our two wonderful boys. Family has taught me some of life’s most valuable lessons: patience, resilience, balance, gratitude and, above all, the importance of being present for the people who matter most.

My faith is also an important part of who I am. We are a family who believes in putting God first and allowing our values to guide the way we live, work and serve others.

Over the years, I have learnt that success is not simply about reaching a destination. It is about the people you touch along the way, the challenges you overcome, and the difference you make in the lives of others. My journey has not always been easy, but perseverance, humility, hard work and a genuine love for people have carried me through.

Today, I remain deeply passionate about my profession and grateful for the opportunity to serve my community. My hope is that every person who enters our pharmacy feels welcomed, cared for and confident that they are in good hands.

Because at the heart of everything I do is a simple belief: healthcare is personal, and every person deserves to be treated with care.
Pharmacist · co-owner

Nandhitha Punwasi

NPPortrait to come
Qualification
BPharm
Rhodes University
In pharmacy
Over 25 years
Business owner since
2005

Welcome to Pharmacy at SPAR Park Square. I’m Nandhitha Punwasi — though most of my patients know me as Nandy.

With over 25 years of experience in retail pharmacy, along with a strong background working in both public and private hospital settings, my journey in healthcare has always been rooted in a single, vital priority: truly listening to my patients.

I have been a business owner since 2005, and as a proud mum to two wonderful girls, I understand how essential personal, compassionate and trustworthy healthcare is for every family. My passion lies in community pharmacy — leading with genuine care, empathy and expert knowledge to advise and support you through every stage of your health journey.

Whether you need personalised medical advice, routine healthcare management, or simply a welcoming face who takes the time to listen, my team and I are here to care for you and our community.
POPIA

Privacy and POPIA notice

Last updated 15 September 2026

1. Who is responsible for your information

Park Square Pharmacy, a Pharmacy at SPAR store at Shop R14, Park Square Shopping Centre, Umhlanga, Durban, 4320, is the responsible party for the personal information described here, as that term is used in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA).

2. Our Information Officer

Under POPIA the head of a private body is its Information Officer by default. Ours can be reached at admin@parksquarepharmacy.co.za, on 031 830 3990, or in person or by post at the address above. Write to us there about anything in this notice.

3. What we collect

When you send us a script from this website, we receive a photo of your prescription, the patient’s name, your WhatsApp or cell number, whether you want to collect or have it delivered, your delivery address if you choose delivery, and any note you add.

When you are our patient, we also keep your contact details, your prescriptions and dispensing history, your medical scheme details, and the readings and records from any clinic service we provide, such as blood pressure, glucose or vaccinations. Where the law requires it for certain medicines, we record your identity number.

Information about your health is special personal information under POPIA. We handle it with the extra care the Act and our professional confidentiality rules require.

Our web server keeps ordinary access logs, including IP addresses, as almost all web servers do.

4. Why we collect it, and on what basis

  • To dispense your medicine safely — because you asked us to, and because a pharmacy cannot dispense without a valid prescription and the patient’s details.
  • To claim from your medical scheme — because it is necessary to provide the service you asked for.
  • To provide clinic and pharmacist care — POPIA allows healthcare providers to process health information where it is needed for your proper treatment and care, subject to a duty of confidentiality.
  • To comply with the law — pharmacy and medicines legislation requires us to keep prescription and dispensing records.
  • To contact you about your medicine — for example when a script is ready or a chronic refill is due, because you gave us your number for that.

We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for marketing unrelated to the service you asked for.

5. Who we share it with

Only where it is needed to do what you asked:

  • Your medical scheme, and the claims-processing service that transmits the claim, when we claim on your behalf.
  • Your prescriber, when a prescription needs clarifying.
  • Regulators and authorities, such as the South African Pharmacy Council or the Department of Health, where the law requires it.
  • WhatsApp, operated by Meta. Scripts and messages you send us from this website travel from your phone to our WhatsApp account; the website itself never uploads or stores them. WhatsApp processes them under its own privacy terms.
  • Google, which serves the map and the typefaces on this site. Loading a page sends your IP address to Google.
  • Our hosting provider, which runs the server this website is on.

We may also disclose information where a law, a court or a regulator requires it.

6. Where it is stored

Patient and dispensing records are held in our pharmacy dispensing system. Scripts and messages sent by WhatsApp arrive on the pharmacy’s WhatsApp account. Our website is hosted by a South African hosting provider. WhatsApp and Google process information outside South Africa; where that happens, we rely on the transfer grounds POPIA allows, including that the transfer is necessary to provide the service you asked for.

7. How long we keep it

Prescription and dispensing records are kept for five years, or longer if pharmacy legislation requires.

Once a script sent by WhatsApp has been dispensed and recorded in our system, we delete the photo from the chat. Messages that do not lead to a prescription or a service are deleted once they are plainly no longer needed.

8. How we protect it

This website is served over HTTPS, so pages travel to you encrypted. Patient records are only accessible to pharmacy staff who need them, and are protected by passwords. Patients’ medicines are never discussed where others can hear.

No system is perfectly secure. If personal information in our care is accessed or disclosed without authorisation, we will notify you and the Information Regulator as POPIA requires.

9. Cookies and tracking

This site sets no cookies of its own and carries no advertising or analytics trackers. If you switch between light and dark appearance, that choice is remembered in your own browser and is never sent to us.

The only third-party requests a page makes are to Google, for the typefaces and the map described above. Google may set its own cookies inside the map.

10. Your rights

Under POPIA you may ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you and to give you a copy of it; to correct or delete information that is inaccurate, irrelevant, excessive, out of date or obtained unlawfully; to stop using it for a particular purpose; and to object to processing based on legitimate interest.

Write to admin@parksquarepharmacy.co.za or ask in store, and we will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify who you are first. Note that we cannot delete prescription or dispensing records that the law requires us to keep, or withdraw a claim that has already been submitted to your medical scheme.

11. How to complain

Tell us first and we will try to put it right. If you are not satisfied, you may complain to the Information Regulator:

Information Regulator (South Africa)
Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191
POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za
inforegulator.org.za

Complaints about professional conduct rather than privacy can be made to the South African Pharmacy Council.

12. Changes to this notice

If we change how we handle personal information, we will update this notice and the date at the top of it.

Email our Information Officer
Chat to us