A Dunedin pharmacist has been fined $2000 and ordered to pay costs of more than $20,000 after practising without a certificate.
Colin Henderson was contacted by the Pharmacy Council in March 2009 telling him he needed to complete documents before his annual practising certificate would be renewed.
But after numerous letters to Mr Henderson, the council turned down his application for a certificate on May 10, 2010, and he later signed a declaration undertaking not to practise pharmacy without holding a certificate.
However, several witnesses told the Health Practitioners and Disciplinary Tribunal that Mr Henderson continued to be involved in dispensing and compounding for the next year.
Mr Henderson said his work was checked during this period so he didn't think he was dispensing any medicines, saying he thought it meant taking charge of a prescription and taking custody of it.
But the tribunal says previous decisions have established it's not a defence to have an inaccurate appreciation of what dispensing means under the law. It found him guilty.
A second charge of knowingly misleading the Pharmacy Council was dismissed by a narrow margin.
Mr Henderson was fined $2000 and ordered to pay costs of $8275 to the tribunal and $12,250 to the Pharmacy Council.
NZN
