The Pharmacy Council, which was also investigating, said it’s “clear that an awful error has occurred”.
Bellamere’s parents are calling for a law change that would make it mandatory for medication to be checked by two people before it is dispensed.
RNZ can now reveal a pharmacist who works at the Manawatū pharmacy had since been suspended by the Pharmacy Council and was not entitled to practise.
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The Pharmacy Council register lists the pharmacist’s scope of practice as an intern.
The council’s website said an intern pharmacist, under the supervision of a practising registered pharmacist, “acts as a medicines manager, providing patient-centred medication therapy management, health improvement and disease prevention services in a collaborative environment”.
Bellamere Duncan’s parents were allegedly given an adult dosage of phosphate by the pharmacy. Photo / Supplied
“Intern pharmacists ensure safe and quality use of medicines and optimise health outcomes by contributing to patient assessment and to the selection, prescribing, monitoring and evaluation of medicine therapy.”
In a statement to RNZ, council chief executive Michael Pead said whenever it received a notification of an incident, it began an “initial inquiry” to assess the situation.
“At the start of any inquiry, our focus is on ensuring there is no further risk to public safety. There are many ways to achieve this, including suspension of the pharmacist or pharmacists involved or a voluntary agreement that the individual/s will stop working.”
To ensure the inquiry into Bellamere’s death was “fair and thorough”, and to avoid pre-empting any findings, the council could not provide any further details.
“We can confirm that the Pharmacy Council is comfortable that immediate steps have been taken to prevent the risk of further harm while the inquiry is ongoing.”
The owner of the Manawatū pharmacy that dispensed the medication earlier said in a statement to RNZ the baby’s death was “a tragedy”.
“Our sympathy is with the family and whānau. This is a very difficult time.
“We are looking into what has happened to try to understand how this took place. There will also be external reviews, which we will work with.”
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RNZ asked the owner how the medication was given at the wrong dosage, whether they disputed the allegations, when the pharmacy became aware the wrong dosage had been given, and what confidence people could have about other medication received from the pharmacy.
The owner said the pharmacy was “devastated about what has happened and are investigating to find out how this occurred”.
Bellamere Duncan was rushed to Starship children’s hospital after an overdose. Photo / RNZ
“It is not appropriate to comment further at this stage.”
On Thursday, a council spokesperson said it was looking into “what went wrong, how it went wrong, and who was involved”.
“At the end of the process, we will make any recommended changes to ensure as best as possible an event like this does not happen again.”
– RNZ
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