Samantha Burton nabbed £4,085 from the register of a Well Pharmacy in Northamptonshire where she worked, Northamptonshire police told C+D today (May 21).
The force said that Burton was caught when an audit of the pharmacy discovered a discrepancy and CCTV footage revealed that she had taken the money.
Read more: Diazepam dealers: Pharmacists sentenced for ‘industrial’ illegal supply
The 45-year-old of Stoke Albany Road in Desborough admitted to theft by employee and that she had stolen £4,085 between May 24 and June 19 last year, police confirmed.
It remains unclear which Northamptonshire Well Pharmacy branch was involved in the incident.
Rehabilitation requirements
The force confirmed that Northampton Magistrates’ Court ordered Burton to repay the full £4,085 in compensation.
And the court told C+D today that she was also sentenced to a community order for a period of 12 months at the hearing, which took place last week (May 14).
Read more: ‘Vigilant’ locum pharmacist uncovers 20,000-pill tramadol prescription fraud
The order will require her to undertake six months of mental health treatment and 20 days of rehabilitation activity, it said.
Both programmes will be under the supervision of the probation service, it added.
“We take such matters very seriously”
Well’s chief retail officer Andrew Caplan told C+D today that it is “proud to employ thousands of dedicated pharmacists and pharmacy assistants who work diligently every day to provide exceptional service to our customers”.
“Regrettably, there are rare instances such as this case where we must take disciplinary action including dismissal and prosecution,” he added.
Caplan told C+D that the multiple wanted to “assure” its customers and colleagues that it takes “such matters very seriously”.
Read more: ‘Last chance’: Pharmacist found with £10 cannabis bag suspended for nine months
“Our commitment to maintaining a trustworthy and reliable environment for both our customers and employees remains steadfast,” he added.
Meanwhile, last week, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) revealed that two pharmacists had been sentenced for the “industrial scale” illegal supply of class C controlled drugs.
It revealed that the duo had illegally supplied more than 55 million doses of class C CDs, including over 47m doses of diazepam, between May 2013 and June 2017.
