Prison sentence for a dispensing error - A Call to Action

The criminal proceedings against Elizabeth Lee are now over; however despite clear medical evidence that the error did not cause the death of the patient, Mrs. Lee has been given a suspended prison sentence because of a technical contravention of the labelling section of the 1968 Medicines Act. Moving forward, she will now require further support through the next stage of this tragic journey - disciplinary proceedings at the hands of the RPSGB. Unsurprisingly and by her own volition Mrs Lee's days as a pharmacist are over and her valuable contribution to the profession has been lost.

A lot has already been written about this tragic case, however, much has yet to be revealed. The PDA will be publishing the detail of what happened in this case and how it was handled by the Police and the judiciary as soon as we have received our lawyers' clearance to do so.

A Call to Action

The time has surely come for pharmacy to stand up and be counted. Since this ridiculous verdict was delivered, the PDA has been involved in intense activity to formulate a strategy to avoid this kind of outcome in the future. We have had, and are continuing to have very constructive discussions with senior officers of the national pharmacy organisations to secure their support.

The purpose of this communication is to assure PDA members that in the near future, we will unveil the details of our campaign and that we shall be asking all PDA members to play their part, so as to ensure that no pharmacist should ever have to face this kind of punishment for a 1968 Medicines Act offence in the future.

We will seek to hold a meeting on a Sunday in London in the near future to which we will be inviting all pharmacists. Further details will be communicated to all members shortly.