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: March 7, 2025
Allegations: Dishonest misrepresentation of employment history on a CV and LinkedIn profile. Intentionally falsifying experience to secure a hospital pharmacist role. Failure to fully comply with previous conditions of practice imposed by the GPhC.
Outcome: No impairment found – Registrant cleared to return to unrestricted practice.
Date of Decision: March 7, 2025
Allegations: Failure to manage the risks associated with the sale of codeine linctus and prevent potential misuse or addiction. Supplying large volumes of codeine linctus without adequate clinical justification. Continuing to supply codeine linctus to two individuals despite suspicions of misuse or dependence. Failing to maintain adequate stock control, purchase records, and governance measures. Failure to engage with previous regulatory conditions, leading to an earlier suspension.
Outcome: Conditions of practice imposed for three months
Date of Decision: March 4, 2025
Allegations: Accepting a police caution for offering to supply Class C controlled drugs (Temazepam, Zolpidem, Zopiclone, Midazolam). Offering to supply controlled drugs to a vulnerable individual with a history of addiction. Abusing professional trust and failing to uphold patient safety and public confidence in pharmacy. Failing to engage with the GPhC investigation or provide evidence of remediation.
Outcome: Removal from the GPhC register
Date of Decision: March 3, 2025
Allegations: Failure to implement adequate governance and safeguarding procedures at a pharmacy dispensing Cannabis-Based Medicinal Products (CBMPs). Operating without a Responsible Pharmacist (RP) on duty on multiple occasions. Poor Controlled Drug (CD) management, including incomplete or missing records. Allowing an unqualified company director to manage pharmacy operations. Failure to store Schedule 2 Controlled Drugs appropriately.
Outcome: Registrant 1: Suspended from the GPhC register for 12 months (with review); Registrant 2: Issued with a formal warning.
Date of Decision: January 17, 2025
Allegations: Approving and/or prescribing over 36,000 prescriptions through an online pharmacy, including high-risk medicines, without appropriate clinical oversight. Failing to verify patients’ medical histories, GP records, or addiction history before prescribing. Allowing patients to select medications before consultation, creating a risk of misuse. Dispensing large volumes of prescriptions from an unregulated third-party online service. Failing to implement adequate risk assessments, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and audits. Failing to ensure regulatory oversight and due diligence of the online prescribing service.
Outcome: Suspension from the GPhC register for three months (with review)
Date of Decision: March 3, 2025
Allegations: Failure to ensure adequate identity checks for patients requesting prescription-only medicines (POMs) Permitting prescribing without appropriate safeguards, including failure to verify patient medical history or consult GPs Operating a website that allowed patients to select medicines before consulting a prescriber Continuing high-risk prescribing practices despite regulatory warnings Failure to ensure EU prescribers had adequate indemnity cover
Outcome: Suspension from the GPhC register for eight months (with review)
Date of Decision: January 9, 2025
Allegations: Conviction for an undisclosed offence at Cleveland Magistrates' Court Failure to declare the conviction to the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) within 7 days Previous fitness to practise suspensions due to misconduct and conviction Failure to engage with the GPhC's required remediation process
Outcome: Suspension from the GPhC register for six months
Date of Decision: November 13, 2024
Allegations: Ordering and supplying large volumes of codeine linctus without adequate risk management Failing to implement controls to prevent patient misuse or addiction Supplying codeine linctus to two individuals despite clear signs of misuse Failing to complete required training and reflective practice following prior conditions
Outcome: Suspension from the GPhC register for three months
Date of Decision: February 4, 2025
Allegations: Prescribed medicines on 62,689 occasions using an online questionnaire-based model. Prescribed high-risk medicines on 4,859 occasions using an online questionnaire-based model. Failed to obtain adequate patient information and relied on online questionnaires. Did not access or attempt to access patients' GP records. Failed to request face-to-face consultations. Did not consider medication dependence and misuse. Prescribed in circumstances where the prescribing model was incapable of supporting safe decisions. Prescribed a significant portion of prescriptions without sufficient time for clinical evaluation. Prescribed propranolol and amitriptyline in unsafe circumstances leading to patient deaths. Transactional approach to prescribing, prioritizing commercial transactions over patient safety.
Outcome: Suspension for 12 months with review
Date of Decision: January 17, 2025
Allegations: Supply of Zopiclone and Zolpidem, both Class C controlled drugs, without a prescription Falsification of records related to drug supply Failure to report concerns regarding the misuse of controlled drugs Lack of insight and failure to take responsibility for actions
Outcome: Removal from the GPhC register