Pharmacist struck off over failure to account for over 98,000 units of medicine

Seán McCárthaigh

A Waterford pharmacist has been struck off after being found guilty of professional misconduct over being unable to account for over 98,000 units of medication, including prescription medicines and controlled drugs.

The council of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland decided to cancel the registration of Michael Gallagher of Gallagher’s Pharmacy, Barronstrand Street, Waterford following a fitness-to-practise inquiry last year.

The sanction arose after the PSI’s Professional Conduct Committee found three allegations against Gallagher proven based on admissions made by the pharmacist.

The inquiry found Gallagher guilty of professional misconduct for permitting medications, including prescription medicines and controlled drugs, to be unaccounted for on dates between January 1st 2017 and July 24th 2019 while he was the supervising and superintendent pharmacist.

Another allegation related to the pharmacist on one or more dates over the same time period, allowing unauthorised persons entry into the dispensary and storage area of his pharmacy in circumstances where he knew it was inappropriate and contrary to legislative requirements.

Separately, it was also found that he failed to ensure that medications were stored securely within the pharmacy.

The inquiry found that all three allegations each constituted poor professional performance.

Counsel for the PSI, Caoimhe Daly BL, claimed that Gallagher’s actions in allowing medications to be unaccounted for were infamous and disgraceful and also represented breaches of the Code of Conduct for Pharmacists.

The inquiry heard that unannounced inspections of Gallagher’s Pharmacy by PSI authorised officers had been carried out on three dates between July 2017 and January 2019.

Daly said the inspections had focused on controlled drugs, the stock take processes in place and discrepancies that arose including a significant number of medications that were unaccounted for.

She also highlighted the presence of unidentified individuals in and around the dispensary and explanations given by Mr Gallagher to PSI officials during interviews.

Daly said a total of 98,082 units of medicine were not properly accounted for, consisting of nearly two and a half thousand boxed units.

The inquiry heard there were significant discrepancies between the number of medications supplied to the pharmacy compared to the numbers dispensed.

A PSI authorised officer who carried out two of the three unannounced inspections of Gallagher’s Pharmacy, Shane McGlynn, gave evidence that he had never come across such huge numbers of medicines that were unaccounted for in almost 10 years in his job.

The inquiry heard one pharmacist who worked in the pharmacy told PSI officials that Mr Gallagher would place bulk orders with suppliers, while another pharmacist stated he was shocked by the discrepancies.

Both pharmacists stated they only dispensed medicines on foot of valid prescriptions.

Under cross-examination by Mr Gallagher’s solicitor, Michael Lanigan, Mr McGlynn agreed that the pharmacist had co-operated with the PSI investigation and that he had expressed shock when interviewed as well as making certain admissions about the storage of medicine.

An expert witness, Ronan Quirke, said the breadth and range of medicines that were unaccounted for was “shocking” and claimed that it was “a pattern of practice.”

Quirke pointed out that certain medicines were controlled drugs because they have the potential to be habit forming and addictive as well as having a street value.

On sanction, Daly stated that the PSI believed the appropriate sanction was cancellation of Mr Gallagher’s registration as a pharmacist.

Noting the period of time covered by the misconduct, she said there had been “a flagrant disregard and breach of the fundamental tenets of being a pharmacist.”

Daly also remarked on the nature of the medicines which included controlled drugs prone to use and misuse.

She claimed steps taken to improve security in the pharmacy did not alter the nature of the wrongdoing found proven.

Lanigan told the hearing that his client had been practising as a pharmacist for almost 44 years and employed a staff of 10.

The solicitor said Gallagher wanted to ensure that the committee understood the other two pharmacists working in his pharmacy were persons of integrity who were not involved in the wrongdoing.

He said the pharmacist wanted to apologise and had also been trying to remove himself from professional practice by selling his business.

The inquiry chairperson, Mark Kane, noted the extent of medicines that were unaccounted for was “unprecedented.”

Kane said the breadth and extent of the medicines involved and the pattern of wrongdoing were aggravating factors in the case.

He said the committee formed the view that Gallagher only had “a limited amount of insight.”

However, it also noted mitigating factors including his lengthy unblemished career, personal circumstances and financial obligations.

Kane said the committee concluded there were no conditions that could be attached to Gallagher’s registration to meet the seriousness of the findings against him or provide the public with an appropriate level of reassurance regarding his practice going forward particularly due to “the lack of explanation as to what occurred and why it occurred.”

The committee also discounted the sanction of a suspension for similar reasons.

Kane said the nature and extent of the findings against Mr Gallagher were “incompatible with the registrant continuing to practise as a registered pharmacist.”

He added: “The registrant displayed limited insight and there is a lack of meaningful reassurance that such serious issues would not re-occur because of the lack of any explanation regarding the proven conduct.”

Kane said the committee found there had been “a significant deviation from safe practice.”

The cancellation of Gallagher’s registration was confirmed earlier this year by the High Court.