Fitness to Practise Cases
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:
- Pharmacists & Pharmacy Technicians – to understand common regulatory pitfalls.
- Employers & HR Teams – to learn about professional accountability and compliance.
- Pharmacy Students – to prepare for real-world ethical challenges in pharmacy practice.
Why it matters:
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.
Use the form below to search for and filter cases that match your interests
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Pharmacist Removed from Register for Unsafe Storage and Intended Reuse of Out-of-Date Medicines
Allegations The case centred on the registrant, a superintendent pharmacist, who was found to have seriously breached professional and regulatory standards in her handling of pharmaceutical waste and expired medications. Over a period spanning July 2016 to March 2017, she was accused of: These actions, if proven, carried significant implications for public health, regulatory trust, […]
7 June 2025
Pharmacist Suspended for Assisting Suicide Using Stolen Medicines
This case involved a pharmacist who assisted the suicide of Mr A, a vulnerable individual experiencing profound loneliness and emotional distress. The registrant stole Oramorph (a Schedule 2 controlled drug) and insulin from the pharmacy, failing to record their removal, and administered them to Mr A in a premeditated act to help him end his […]
6 June 2025
Pharmacist Suspended for Inappropriate Access and Use of Colleague’s Medical Records
Allegations The pharmacist, while employed at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, accessed a junior colleague’s (Person A’s) confidential medical records for 17 minutes using the Evolve system without clinical need or consent. The registrant viewed sensitive documents and later used this information to ask inappropriate and personal questions, including querying “What is [PRIVATE]?” which was a […]
5 June 2025
Pharmacist Suspended for Forging Gas Safety Certificate in Private Property Sale
The registrant, while selling a business property (a pub), was required to provide a valid gas safety certificate. Instead of obtaining one: The engineer named was wrongly suspected and suspended from work before being cleared. “The registrant admitted producing a fraudulent document, namely the gas safety record.” The registrant pleaded guilty in court and was […]
22 May 2025
Pharmacist Warned for Failing to Safeguard High-Risk Medicines in Online Dispensing Scheme
The case concerns the registrant’s role as Responsible Pharmacist at a community pharmacy in June–August 2021. The owner of the pharmacy had entered into an agreement with a third-party online prescribing service. Between 16 June and 6 August 2021, the pharmacy dispensed over 380 prescriptions, all involving: The registrant: “This put patients at real risk […]
21 May 2025
Pharmacist Warned for Unsafe Partnership with Online Prescribing Service
The pharmacist, acting as owner and superintendent of a retail pharmacy, entered into an agreement in June 2021 with a third-party online prescribing company. This arrangement led the pharmacy to: He later admitted to GPhC inspectors that he was unaware of GPhC guidance on distance selling and had not ensured SOPs or risk protocols were […]
Pharmacist Issued Warning for Unsafe Online Prescribing of High-Risk Medicines
The registrant, a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber, worked for an online pharmacy platform between 29 July 2019 and 11 November 2019. The platform provided prescriptions almost entirely through automated questionnaires, without routine clinician contact. The medications prescribed included: The registrant: GPhC Determination on Conduct The Committee found: “Prescribing decisions based solely on an online questionnaire for […]
Pharmacy Technician Suspended for Falsifying Controlled Drug Records
The registrant was a pharmacy technician employed at a hospital operated by the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust who: The GPhC proved 16 separate allegations, including dishonesty regarding entries she knew to be false. Findings The Committee found: “Her actions were dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people.”“There were a large number of dishonest […]
19 May 2025
Specialist Mental Health Pharmacist Allowed to Practise Unrestricted After Successful Remediation
Original Allegations and Findings (2018 Determination) While working as a Specialist Mental Health Pharmacist, the registrant was found to have: The 2018 panel found the registrant’s actions amounted to misconduct and deficient professional performance and imposed an 18-month conditions of practice order, with a review scheduled. Conditions Imposed (2018–2020) The conditions required the registrant to: […]
18 May 2025
Pharmacist Issued Public Warning for Unsafe Independent Prescribing and Self-Medication
Over the course of approximately two years, while working as a locum pharmacist, the registrant: “As a result, the pharmacy had not been able to assess and address risk to the public and patients.” Additional Misconduct The GPhC found several additional breaches: GPhC Determination on Impairment Although the case did not proceed to a fitness […]
13 May 2025