Pharmacist Jyoti Patel, registration number 2039062, has been struck off the register by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) after "systematically overcharging" Asda for locum work and receiving a "series of convictions" for shoplifting.

Ms Patel claimed for an extra hour of locum work on approximately 76 occasions between December 2010 and August 2011, earning "close on £2,000" from Asda under false pretences over the six months, the GPhC fitness-to-practise committee heard last month (April 3). Ms Patel, who was not present at the hearing, was also convicted for shoplifting on three occasions in May 2009, August 2010 and October 2011.

The committee heard that Ms Patel suffered from "a degree of ill health", had a "desperately and unusually unhappy married life" and was the only breadwinner for two children. Ms Patel had written to the GPhC saying she felt unable to attend the hearing, but would be "very distraught" if she was not able to practise as a pharmacist in the near future.

The GPhC warned Ms Patel in 2008 that repetition of her misconduct would attract a more serious sanction

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But the GPhC ruled that Ms Patel was unable to prevent herself from reacting to problems by "indulging in dishonesty" and struck her off the pharmacy register. Ms Patel was first convicted for shoplifting in 2004 and appeared at a disciplinary hearing in front of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 2008. At that time, a doctor had said there was a "small but significant risk of similar minor reoffending" at times of major stress.

Eight months after the 2008 hearing, at which she was warned that any repetition of her shoplifting would lead to a harsher sanction, in April 2009, Ms Patel stole from five different shops in Leicester. She later stole from a Tesco store in Nottinghamshire in July 2010, and was given a community order in December that year.

The committee heard that Ms Patel had begun a "deceitful campaign" of overcharging Asda "within days" of the sentence being issued. This continued until August 2011, when Asda uncovered the theft and dismissed Ms Patel. The GPhC noted that Ms Patel had begun shoplifting again "within a few weeks" of her dismissal.

Ms Patel had produced "a number of testimonials" at her previous disciplinary hearing in 2008, which described her as conscientious and hard-working. And in an email to the GPhC on March 30 this year, she had told the regulator she was "working very hard" to address her problems and was "making very good progress" overall.

"I am very good at my job and extremely passionate about the work I have done over the past 21 plus years and hence would be very distraught if I do not have the opportunity to practise as a pharmacist in the near future once I am well," she also told the committee via email.

The committee also heard that Ms Patel had been subject to an "unsettled upbringing" and, until her divorce in 2004, had a "most unhappy marriage". She also appeared to be the only breadwinner for two boys aged 12 and 17.

The GPhC noted that Ms Patel had "low self-esteem" and had confronted many difficulties without much family support.

The regulator admitted it had sympathy for Ms Patel, who had led a "hard life". But it said it would be "unjustifiable and possibly irresponsible" to only impose a suspension order, after Ms Patel was warned in her 2008 disciplinary hearing that any repetition of her misconduct would attract a more serious sanction.

"Ms Patel would not appear to have the mental determination and strength to prevent herself from reacting to her problems by indulging in dishonesty," the committee concluded. "For whatever reason, Ms Patel has shown herself unable to maintain the standards of behaviour required of a member of the pharmacy profession and, in the circumstances, we feel we have no other option than to direct the removal of her name from the register."