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A pharmacist who supplied medicines including a controlled drug to two patients over a period of three months without prescriptions has been warned by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

Francis Xaverio Dondo told the regulator during an investigating committee hearing yesterday that he had “difficulty obtaining timely prescriptions from the primary care network hub to enable uninterrupted supply to patients” while working at the responsible pharmacist at a pharmacy in Plymouth between February and April 2023.

The committee also heard Dondo did “not seek to supply the medicines under emergency supply procedures” and although he “took some steps to obtain the relevant prescriptions, he repeatedly supplied without receiving the necessary prescription or under emergency supply procedures”.

“Concerns were raised by a primary care network hub about Mr Dondo’s supply of medication to two patients who routinely receive medications from the community pharmacy at which Mr Dondo worked,” the committee said in its report.

“Supplies without prescriptions or following emergency supply processes can put patients at risk of harm where they may receive excess medication and risk overdose.”

The committee said Dondo’s actions risked undermining confidence in the profession “by circumventing legal safeguards around supply” and it ruled he breached the standard outlining pharmacy professionals must behave in a professional manner.

“Mr Dondo is warned to be vigilant about adhering to his professional obligations to supply medication in compliance with the appropriate governance frameworks, in the interests of patient safety,” the report said. His warning will be published on the register for 12 months.