THE SALE of a cough bottle which was two years out of date resulted in a pharmacist appearing before a fitness-to-practise inquiry yesterday facing allegations of professional misconduct and poor professional performance.
It was the first fitness-to-practise hearing in the State involving a pharmacist. Pharmacists, like doctors, are now subject to a fitness-to-practise regime following the introduction of the 2007 Pharmacy Act.
The inquiry, held in public, heard Declan Grogan, a pharmacist at Jobstown Pharmacy at Kiltalawn Shopping Centre in Tallaght, Dublin, wasn’t the pharmacist who sold the out-of-date medicine but was the supervising pharmacist for the business.
Patrick Leonard, counsel for the registrar of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI), the regulatory body for pharmacists, told the inquiry that Anne Marie Grant of Suncroft Drive, Tallaght, went to the chemist on October 24th, 2009, as she wasn’t feeling well and a pharmacist on the premises recommended Benylin dual action dry syrup which she bought, took herself and gave to her 12-year-old daughter who was also unwell.
In a statement read to the inquiry, Ms Grant recalled the medicine tasted “very peculiar”, she felt drowsy after taking it and went to bed. She took it again the next day and felt sick after noticing on the bottle it was out of date since October 2007.
She went back to the pharmacy on October 27th, asked for her money back and told the pharmacist on duty, who was Mr Grogan, she had complained to the PSI.
Mr Grogan faced a total of seven allegations, including causing or permitting the supply of an out-of-date medicine, failing to have any or adequate procedures in place to ensure out-of-date medicines were removed from sale, and failing to have any or adequate regard for the consequences for Ms Grant or others.
Cathal Murphy, counsel for the pharmacist, said when Ms Grant returned on October 27th, his client immediately apologised for the error and gave her a refund. He also conducted an investigation and established that a member of staff cleaning the premises had found the out-of-date product behind boxes of new stock kept elsewhere and moved it to the front-of-shop area. He added that a new stock-checking system had been put in place.
Committee chairwoman Marian Shanley said the committee would deal with the incident by way of Section 46 of the Pharmacy Act.
The inquiry could conclude if an undertaking was given by the pharmacist not to repeat the conduct complained of and if he undertook to be admonished for what happened. The pharmacist accepted this and no adverse findings were therefore recorded against him.