Your guide to Pharmacy Law and Ethics
This archive contains General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) Fitness to Practise (FtP) case summaries, detailing regulatory decisions affecting pharmacy professionals in the UK.
Each case provides insight into professional misconduct, errors, and ethical breaches that led to sanctions such as suspension, removal, or warnings. These summaries are valuable for:
The decisions in these cases shape the legal and ethical landscape of pharmacy practice. Staying informed can help pharmacy professionals avoid similar mistakes and maintain high professional standards.
Date of Decision: October 27, 2025
Allegations: Deliberately made a false entry in the Controlled Drugs register to conceal a discrepancy involving Oxycodone 10mg tablets.
Outcome: Warning issued; remains on the public register for 12 months
Date of Decision: November 3, 2025
Allegations: Engaging in a personal and/or romantic correspondence with a vulnerable patient (a prisoner) while working at a prison pharmacy. Failing to report these interactions to the employer, superintendent pharmacist, or prison authorities.
Outcome: Removal from the GPhC Register
Date of Decision: October 29, 2025
Allegations: On 29 July 2019, incorporated errors into work by selecting incorrect ingredients for TPN products prescribed to patients PB and GW. Allegedly made these errors deliberately to undermine a colleague. Put patients at risk of receiving incorrectly formulated TPN products. On one or more occasions, made discriminatory comments and/or demonstrated bullying behaviour towards a colleague, referring to him as a "mong".
Outcome: Suspension for 4 months
Date of Decision: October 30, 2025
Allegations: On 13 December 2024, convicted at Cannock Magistrates’ Court of: Making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child (x3) Possession of a prohibited image of a child
Outcome: Removal from the register
Date of Decision: October 27, 2025
Allegations: Removed three boxes of Amitriptyline 10mg tablets from the pharmacy shelf without a valid prescription, payment, or employer permission. Provided a misleading initial explanation for possession of the medication. Admitted to taking the medication without authorisation. Acted dishonestly in contravention of professional standards.
Outcome: Warning issued, published on the GPhC register for 12 months.
Date of Decision: October 27, 2025
Allegations: Creation of false patient records by documenting conversations that did not occur Misleading and inaccurate entries which posed a risk to patient safety Conduct that called into question the registrant’s honesty and integrity
Outcome: Warning issued and published on the GPhC register for 12 months
Date of Decision: October 23, 2025
Allegations: Sent a sexually inappropriate WhatsApp message to a colleague. Physically touched a colleague’s buttock without consent. Engaged in conduct found to be sexually motivated, in pursuit of sexual gratification and/or a future sexual relationship. Verbally harassed and intimidated the same colleague upon her return to work. Retaliated against the colleague for raising concerns with senior staff.
Outcome: Fitness to practise no longer impaired; 12-month suspension to lapse on 4 November 2025.
Date of Decision: October 22, 2025
Allegations: Failed to conduct face-to-face assessments with patients when clinically indicated Altered a diabetic patient’s treatment plan without sufficient communication or risk consideration Prescribed trimethoprim to a pregnant woman without verifying pregnancy status, risking contraindicated supply
Outcome: Warning issued; published on the register for 12 months
Date of Decision: October 22, 2025
Allegations: Dispensing medication for an online prescribing service without ensuring it was properly regulated Failing to conduct due diligence on the service’s governance, clinical oversight, and patient safety procedures Not verifying processes related to patient identification, consent, and medical history access Inadequate risk assessment and auditing of online service dispensing Dispensing without sufficient information to ensure clinical appropriateness
Outcome: Warning issued and published on the GPhC register for 12 months
Date of Decision: October 22, 2025
Allegations: Failure to return a patient’s prescription to the NHS spine when requested Inadequate checking of dispensed medication Dispensing incorrect volume of medication Unprofessional communication with a patient Making politically charged and violent statements Inappropriate and unprofessional conduct toward colleagues, including sexually suggestive remarks and behavior that caused distress
Outcome: Warning issued and published on the register for 12 months