A superintendent pharmacist, who also acted as a responsible pharmacist at Holden’s Chemist Express, has been warned after creating emergency supplies of controlled drugs for five days, to treat two patients.
He was also found to have stored controlled drugs improperly, after the ceiling of the pharmacy collapsed and a store of these medications fell through.
Andrew Holden, registration number 2081970, “failed to ensure controlled drugs were effectively managed, stored or disposed of correctly”, the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) investigating committee heard on May 21.
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The GPhC said medication was not stocked correctly and “fell through the ceiling of the pharmacy on 30 January 2025”.
Holden was also alleged to have “made emergency supplies of controlled drugs for more than five days treatment” for two patients.
“Undermines” professional confidence
The regulator noted that these actions were in breach of its professional standards for a pharmacist.
These were providing “person centred care”, using “professional judgement”, respecting and maintaining a person’s “confidentiality and privacy”, speaking up “when things go wrong” and demonstrating “leadership”.
The committee concluded that the registrant’s “conduct is likely to undermine confidence in the profession without action being taken”.
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A warning was issued to “remind Mr Holden that the safe supply and custody of drugs is essential for safe and effective patient care” and his actions “should not be repeated”.
The warning will be “published on the register” for 12 months.
Read the determination in full here.
