The police’s decision to caution a Boots pharmacist for a dispensing error three years after it contributed to a patient’s death is “surprising”, a leading healthcare lawyer has said.

Suffolk Police said a “detailed investigation” into the death in May 2012 of 86-year-old Douglas Campbell Lamond, of Stewart Close, Felixstowe, had revealed he had been dispensed an incorrect prescription and that medication he had taken was a factor in his death.

Police initially received advice from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that no further action should be taken against the Boots pharmacy or any of its staff.

However, in March 2014, Mr Lamond’s family sought a full review, and – after an “extensive consultation” with CPS lawyers and the family – police decided to caution a 35-year-old woman last month (March 18) for supplying the wrong prescription, they said.

Noel Wardle, partner at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, told C+D the police’s u-turn was unusual. “It is generally the position that if a person is investigated for an offence and told that no charges will be brought, the police would not be allowed to then pursue charges unless...fresh evidence comes to light,” he said.

The decision was also “surprising” because of the length of time since the error occurred and the attitude of the CPS and the government towards dispensing errors, he added.

In its guidance published in 2010, CPS recommended prosecutors consider if a dispensing error was made with “recklessness or intent” before deciding whether to bring criminal sanctions.
 

“Sufficient evidence for conviction”
 

The CPS told C+D yesterday (April 1) that - after a “careful review” of the case by a “very senior lawyer” - it had decided there was “sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction against the pharmacist”. “It was in the public interest to prosecute as there was evidence that the pharmacist had not shown due diligence in overseeing the dispensing of the prescription medicines in question,” it said.

Although the event had been an “isolated incident”, it had resulted in “a number of incorrect prescription medicines” being supplied to Mr Lamond.

The CPS had upheld its decision not to prosecute a pharmacy technician who had also been investigated in relation to the incident.

Boots superintendent pharmacist Steve Banks said the multiple had conducted a “thorough investigation” and took “appropriate remedial action” as soon as it became aware of the incident. “We wish to reiterate our most sincere condolences to the family,” he said.

The General Pharmaceutical Council, which had been involved in Suffolk Police’s initial investigation, told C+D it had provided “pharmacy technical support” to the CPS. The regulator was “currently considering the case”, it added.

In February, the government launched a consultation on creating a legal defence from prosecution for members of the pharmacy team who made an inadvertent dispensing error while acting professionally.