A superintendent pharmacist has been issued a three-month suspension by the GPhC following an incident in which black bags containing confidential patient data, “almost empty bottles of methadone” and a syringe were found at a recycling centre. 

Habib Iqbal, superintendent pharmacist at Central Pharmacy in Margate, gave evidence to the GPhC’s fitness to practise committee (FTPC) in a remote hearing on August 6-8 concerning the patient data breach and allegations that he acted dishonestly in his handling of the incident. 

During the hearing, it was established that “on or around 11 to 17 December 2021,” builders carrying out works at the pharmacy mistook black bags containing a number of prescriptions, which included names and addresses, medical waste including the methadone bottles – which had not been properly rinsed – and unopened packets of amitriptyline.

The bags were found by a council worker at a local recycling centre and returned to the pharmacy to dispose of safely on December 15, with the pharmacy also handed a fixed penalty notice. A locum pharmacist was present when the council staff arrived, and it was he who notified a “very concerned” Mr Iqbal. 

In representations to the GPhC in February 2022, Mr Iqbal explained that building works had been going on and said the December period is “very busy in the pharmacy,” adding that Covid-19 vaccinations were also being delivered. This “resulted in an excess amount of waste” being produced by the pharmacy.

He said that “the decision to store the confidential waste in black bin bags was made by an unknown member of staff” according to the FTPC’s report of the hearing, and he accepted that the pharmacy’s waste disposal SOPs had not been followed. 

Mr Iqbal claimed to have told staff members about the incident the day after he had learned of it, but this contradicted statements from two staff members who recalled him advising them of it in February 2022 when he was trying to establish how it had happened. 

He also submitted a report to NHS data security in March 2022 in which he said he had become aware of the incident in February. 

On these grounds, the FTPC found that he had behaved dishonestly in his handling of the incident – but acknowledged that this was “at the lower end of the dishonesty spectrum”. 

The FTPC found that Mr Iqbal “has been apologetic” and has taken a number of steps to improve the pharmacy’s operations since the period in question, but said he had not “provided any evidence of self-reflection” or of steps he had taken to address his own misconduct. 

Finding that members of the public “would be concerned” to learn a pharmacist had breached patient confidentiality, “compromised public safety” through the unsafe disposal of controlled drugs and acted dishonestly, the FTPC decided to suspend Mr Iqbal from the register for a period of three months. 

He was told that the suspension order will be reviewed prior to its expiry, and was advised to undertake actions ahead of this review including providing evidence of training on the safe disposal of confidential material and on a pharmacist’s duty of candour.