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: September 24, 2019
Allegations: The registrant received a police caution for theft by employee. The registrant’s fitness to practise was alleged to be impaired due to this caution.
Outcome: 6 month suspension
Date of Decision: June 20, 2025
Allegations: Failed to follow UK prescribing guidance, including inadequate patient assessments and failure to obtain necessary medical information. Relied on a basic online questionnaire for prescribing, enabling patients to provide false or misleading information. Did not contact patients’ GPs before supplying prescription-only medication. Provided unassessed and unaudited pharmacy services at a distance. Failed to implement requirements of an Improvement Action Plan within the stipulated timeframe. Issued around 1800 prescriptions and supplied approximately 9000 inhalers over six months without adequate oversight. Provided misleading or inaccurate information to GPhC inspectors regarding stock levels and prescription practices. Admitted to dishonesty and lack of integrity in several instances, including efforts to conceal the true scale of medication supply.
Outcome: Warning
Date of Decision: May 23, 2019
Allegations: Inappropriate physical and verbal conduct towards a colleague (Person 9) over an extended period while acting as her mentor. Comments of a sexual and threatening nature, including suggestions of kidnapping and aggressive behavior. Repeated boundary violations including physical contact, suggestive gestures, and intimidation. Failure to maintain appropriate professional conduct and respect within the pharmacy workplace.
Outcome: Conditions on registration for 12 months
Date of Decision: June 16, 2025
Allegations: Failure to implement up-to-date SOPs for the sale and supply of high-risk opioid medicines at two pharmacies. Ordering or allowing the ordering of excessive quantities of Codeine Linctus and Phenergan Elixir, which are liable to misuse and abuse. Failure to have adequate monitoring or audit systems for the ordering and sale of these high-risk medicines. Placing unusually large orders for Codeine Phosphate and Co-codamol without adequate justification.
Outcome: 2 month suspension
Date of Decision: June 17, 2025
Allegations: Prescribing outside the scope of competence (e.g., chronic pain, dental infections, anxiety) Inadequate patient assessment, failure to obtain full medical history or refer to GP Insufficient safeguards against medication misuse Specific poor prescribing practices for 14 patients involving high-risk drugs (e.g., dihydrocodeine, zopiclone) Contributing to harm in cases involving patients P and Q
Outcome: Suspension to lapse on expiry; fitness to practise no longer impaired
Date of Decision: April 12, 2019
Allegations: Sold and supplied prescription-only medications without valid prescriptions. Prescriptions lacked an advanced electronic signature and the address of the prescribing doctor. Entered into an agreement to receive and supply malaria medications via email from outside the UK. Dispensed and supplied medications from his home address rather than a registered pharmacy. Acted dishonestly by misleading patients and associates about the origin and legality of the medicines.
Outcome: Further suspension of registration for four months, with a review before expiry.
Date of Decision: November 5, 2019
Allegations: Dishonestly providing false information in a reference letter. Forging a colleague's signature on the reference letter. Wearing an ID badge stating “Locum Pharmacist” while not registered or working as such. Misrepresenting employment status and professional title on a tenancy guarantor form. Falsely claiming to be a medical doctor and providing misleading information to colleagues. Submitting a timesheet for days not worked.
Outcome: Suspension extended for 6 months due to continued impairment of fitness to practise.
Date of Decision: November 4, 2019
Allegations: Conviction for being knowingly concerned in a fraudulent activity by failing to declare cohabitation for the purpose of obtaining tax credits, contrary to section 35 of the Tax Credits Act 2002.
Outcome: Six-month suspension
Date of Decision: April 16, 2019
Allegations: In or around October 2017, while working as a locum pharmacist: The registrant touched Patient A’s breasts. The registrant asked Patient A to remove her dress. The registrant put his hands up Patient A’s dress. The registrant allowed Patient A to leave the pharmacy with Emergency Hormonal Contraception (EHC) unsupervised. Actions at 3(a), 3(b), and/or 3(c) were alleged to be sexually motivated.
Outcome: Removal from the register
Date of Decision: January 19, 2019
Allegations: Inappropriate physical conduct towards a junior colleague over several years (e.g., kissing neck, slapping bottom, hugging, touching legs). Sending overfamiliar and inappropriate WhatsApp messages to the colleague. Making inappropriate comments with sexual innuendo. Giving numerous personal gifts to the colleague. Failing to act on repeated requests to stop the conduct. Attempting to manage the complaint informally rather than escalating it appropriately. Unprofessional conduct including pulling the colleague's ponytail and inappropriate teasing.
Outcome: Six-month suspension from the register