Dispenser loses appeal against error conviction
A dispenser has lost her appeal to overturn a criminal conviction for a single dispensing error, raising questions about the liability of other pharmacy staff.
Georgina Mahoney, of Lloydspharmacy, Prestatyn, was rightly convicted and fined for her part in a patient being given antidepressant sertraline instead of a diuretic, London’s High Court ruled last week.
The patient subsequently died, but there was no suggestion the dispensing error caused or contributed to his death, the court heard.
Ms Mahoney’s barrister argued that because she was not a pharmacist she could not have “supplied” the drug. The pharmacist on duty was also fined and given a criminal conviction when the case was heard last September, and did not appeal. But the appeal judge ruled that Ms Mahoney was “plainly part of the system of supply” and that the law imposed strict duties on all who handled prescriptions due to the potential consequences of a mistake.
The ruling suggested other pharmacy staff, such as counter assistants not involved in dispensing but who hand prescriptions out, could also be liable, said pharmacy legal expert Noel Wardle.
“What about the delivery driver?” added Mr Wardle, of law firm Charles Russell. “Does he have to open every bag before he hands it out? This case suggests he does because he is definitely part of the supply.”
Pharmacy staff positions may be more difficult to fill or require salary increases as a result of increased responsibility implied by the case, Mr Wardle suggested.
The case “broadened” the issue raised by the Elizabeth Lee case earlier this year, he added. Pharmacy bodies launched a campaign to overhaul the 1968 Medicines Act, after it was used to secure a conviction against Ms Lee for a single dispensing error.
Mr Wardle and other experts said Ms Mahoney’s failed appeal did not adversely reflect upon these efforts because the case predated the Elizabeth Lee case.