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A pharmacist who removed a strip of lorazepam tablets while working a locum shift in a Shropshire hospital has received a four-month suspension order from the General Pharmaceutical Council.

George Mbwii was found to have removed the strop of seven lorazepam 0.5mg tablets from the pharmacy at Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Shropshire on September 5, 2024, a month after his first shift at the hospital.

The GPhC’s fitness to practise committee heard that the hospital did not normally stock the benzodiazepine medicine but that a box of 28 had been ordered for a patient the previous day, meaning that when a controlled drugs reconciliation identified seven missing tablets there was “a short audit trail”.

Subsequent inspection of CCTV footage revealed Mr Mbwii removing a strip of tablets from the stock box and placing it in his shirt pocket.

When the hospital’s chief pharmacist interviewed him and asked if he knew anything about the missing tablets, he said he “might do” and, when said he had been seen on CCTV footage, removed the strip from his shirt pocket and placed it into a tray.

A “distressed” Mr Mbwii told the chief pharmacist he had been taking lorazepam for some time and was waiting for a postal supply from Africa, explaining that he needed medicine in the meantime to manage his symptoms.

The FtP committee concluded that he had removed the medicine from the pharmacy without a valid prescription and in the knowledge that he did not have the authority or permission to do so, which involved a degree of dishonesty.

The committee decided against removing his name from the register, taking into account his previous unblemished conduct and the fact this was a one-off act.

It imposed a four-month suspension order and advised Mr Mbwii, who did not engage with the FtP proceedings and was not present at the hearing, to provide evidence of insight, remediation and relevant training at an upcoming review hearing before the suspension order expires.