Pharmacist Removed from Register After Repeated Dishonest Controlled Drug Misuse

Allegations
The registrant, a pharmacist, was found to have committed serious professional misconduct involving the unauthorised and dishonest removal of controlled and prescription-only drugs from multiple Davidsons Chemists branches between August and November 2023. On 27 November 2023, while serving as the Responsible Pharmacist at the Auchterarder branch, he consumed Oramorph without a prescription and was found unfit for work. Upon confrontation, he admitted to sourcing the drugs from various pharmacy locations over the prior months, storing them in his personal bag and vehicle.

The list of substances included Oramorph, Zomorph, Zopiclone, Dihydrocodeine, Diazepam, Tramadol, Pregabalin, Sildenafil, and Sustanon – many of which are controlled drugs under Schedules 2 to 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001. One item, a returned supply of Zomorph, had been taken from the patient returns section. The registrant had not paid for, nor had any authority to possess, these medicines, and acknowledged that he kept everything in his bag rather than at home.

Findings
The registrant admitted all factual allegations and was found to have acted dishonestly, repeatedly breaching trust and his professional obligations. The GPhC Fitness to Practise Committee identified that his actions severely undermined the role of a pharmacist as a gatekeeper of medicines. The misconduct occurred not only within a short time of his return to the register in September 2022, but also followed a prior suspension for nearly identical conduct in 2013, when he was sanctioned for dishonestly taking Dihydrocodeine from his place of work and working under its influence.