Matthew Cook, registration number 2232309, has been removed from the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) register after repeatedly giving the same patient more methadone than prescribed and failing to record the amounts dispensed.<\/p>\n
At hearings between October 5 and 12, the GPhC\u2019s fitness-to-practise committee found the pharmacist\u2019s actions were \u201cdeliberate\u201d and done with \u201ca reckless disregard to the harm that they could cause\u201d.<\/p>\n
According to the hearing document<\/a>, Cook also dispensed an incorrect drug to a patient, put medication for one patient in another patient\u2019s bag and \u201cattended work whilst unfit to do so\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI trusted him\u201d<\/p>\n The GPhC said that on one or more occasions between January and March 2025, when Cook was working as a locum pharmacist at an unnamed pharmacy, he dispensed \u201capproximately 65 ml more\u201d than the prescribed dose of methadone for a patient referred to as patient A.<\/p>\n Patient A said in her witness statement that one day at the pharmacy, Cook gave her an extra bottle of methadone and \u201cwinked\u201d at her.<\/p>\n Read more: RP removed from register for theft and consumption on shift<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really know what to do, so I decided to just take the extra methadone home and use it,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Patient A said that after this, Cook would \u201coften\u201d give her extra methadone when visiting the pharmacy, even if she had already taken her home dose that day.<\/p>\n \u201cI am sure he knew I had already had my home dose as I sometimes asked him if it was safe, and he told me it would be,\u201d she said. \u201cI trusted him as he was a pharmacist.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: \u2018I\u2019ll infect you with AIDS unless you give me methadone\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n The committee decided Cook\u2019s actions were \u201cdeliberate\u201d because he would have known patient A\u2019s medical history, he had dispensed to her before and he \u201cmust have been aware of patient A\u2019s vulnerabilities\u201d.<\/p>\n Patient A also wrote in her statement that she \u201csuffered from fits\u201d and was \u201creally ill\u201d, and \u201cknew I had to stop taking the extra medication Matthew was giving me\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started thinking about that I then became concerned about what Matthew was doing,\u201d she said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t worried about myself but thought he might give extra methadone to someone else, and they could get badly hurt or even die.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Superintendent\u2019s FtP restored after patient data, methadone and syringe \u2018fly-tipped\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Patient A said she went to the pharmacy when Cook was not there and told the pharmacy staff that Cook had given her extra methadone, and they \u201cstarted to write things down\u201d.<\/p>\n In light of the evidence provided, the committee found that Cook\u2019s actions \u201cdid amount to a reckless disregard to the harm that they could cause\u201d.<\/p>\n According to evidence from a witness from the pharmacy, referred to as GG, Cook had failed to accurately record the amounts of methadone he dispensed to patient A on \u201cone or more occasions\u201d. <\/p>\n Read more: Pharmacy technician struck off for using slur against colleague<\/a><\/p>\n GG said they had corrected the controlled drugs register by adding in additional entries for doses dispensed to patient A on January 29 and 30.<\/p>\n \u201cThese were doses that Matthew had told me he had dispensed but had been missed off the system,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n \u201cErratic\u201d and \u201cunprofessional\u201d <\/p>\n Cook was not at the hearing, but admitted to other allegations over email after the regulatory proceedings had begun.<\/p>\n He admitted to dispensing 10mg of amlodipine to patient C instead of the prescribed amitriptyline 10mg, as well as putting one patient\u2019s medication in the bag for another, different patient.<\/p>\n Cook also admitted to five allegations concerning working \u201cwhilst unfit to do so\u201d and behaving in an \u201cerratic\u201d and \u201cunprofessional\u201d manner.<\/p>\n Read more: Pharmacy technician removed after smuggling drugs into prison<\/a><\/p>\n This included calling \u201cone or more colleagues a \u2018rich bitch\u2019\u201d and \u201ca \u2018snitch\u2019\u201d, and using words to the effect that he would \u201cgive them a piece of [his] mind\u201d.<\/p>\n On \u201cone or more unknown dates\u201d Cook fell asleep during work, had once been \u201cunsteady\u201d on his feet and once had \u201cslurred speech and jittery movements\u201d.<\/p>\n The pharmacist also admitted to saying to a colleague, \u201cshall we crush them up and snort them off the worktop?\u201d, or words to that effect, in reference to paracetamol.<\/p>\n Struck off<\/p>\n The committee said it was \u201cunable to identify any mitigating factors\u201d in the case and there was \u201cno evidence of any remorse or insight\u201d demonstrated by Cook.<\/p>\n It noted the \u201cactual harm caused to patient A and patient C\u201d by Cook, and said patient A was \u201cparticularly vulnerable which aggravated the harm caused\u201d.<\/p>\n And it stressed that Cook\u2019s behaviour towards his colleagues was \u201cunprofessional and reprehensible\u201d, and that his misconduct was \u201cnumerous and repeated over the material time\u201d.<\/p>\n Read more: Superintendent struck off after \u2018exceptionally serious\u2019 misconduct<\/a><\/p>\n The regulator also pointed out that he was \u201cin a position of trust\u201d and had \u201cabused that trust\u201d.<\/p>\n It found that he had displayed a \u201clack of engagement with the regulatory disciplinary process\u201d, including when he sought an adjournment but failed to attend.<\/p>\n The committee said that Cook\u2019s breaches of five of its standards were \u201cserious\u201d and that a suspension \u201cwould not be sufficient to protect the public\u201d.<\/p>\n