GPhC warns pharmacist for sexual harassment
Mr Lumby was given a warning by the GPhC this month after being charged with making inappropriate sexual comments to staff at the Co-op Pharmacy he managed. He was ordered to complete a training course in equality and diversity after a fitness to practise committee heard how he made inappropriate comments to colleagues.
Mr Lumby admitted to commenting on the size of a staff member's breasts and suggesting to a colleague that a "van delivery driver wanted to slip her one", but denied allegations that he made any physical gestures of an inappropriate nature. He also denied that the offences took place over a long period of time.
But Christopher Gibson QC, chairman of the GPhC's fitness to practise committee, said Mr Lumby was "guilty over a considerable period of time of comments and actions amounting to sexual harassment of his work colleagues". However, the committee said that independent of Mr Lumby's actions, there was a "culture of chatting amongst the staff at the pharmacy; that included some sexual banter".
The committee accepted that Mr Lumby "did not intend to cause distress" and that he was "shocked" by the effect of his actions. The committee chairman also added that "none of the staff felt threatened" as a result of his actions.
In issuing a warning to Mr Lumby over his conduct and imposing a requirement for the pharmacist to attend a course in equality and diversity, the committee chairman said: "We have reminded ourselves that our role in applying a sanction is not to punish Mr Lumby, although any sanction we impose may of course have that effect, but our role is to protect the public, maintain public confidence in the profession, and maintain standards in the profession. Any sanction we impose must be proportionate to the circumstances and fair to Mr Lumby."
The committee concluded that Mr Lumby's work as a pharmacist had not been affected by the actions under investigation and that patients had not been involved. It added that Mr Lumby had changed his conduct since the incidents came to light and that there was a lack of "training and support in management skills" at the pharmacy where Mr Lumby worked.
Co-operative Pharmacy managing director John Nuttall expressed "disappointment" at the outcome of the hearing. "We believe that the circumstances of this case warranted stronger sanctions including a requirement to actively demonstrate a change in behaviour following completion of the equality training programme," he added.
Mr Lumby resigned from his position at the Co-op in October last year. The GPhC heard that the allegations against Mr Lumby took place between December 2009 and October 2010.
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