A GPhC FtP committee last month (November 29) found that a superintendent pharmacist whose patient confidentiality was breached by the “fly-tipping” of medical waste in an “unsecure location” has taken steps to “ensure that the misconduct is not repeated in the future”.
Habib Noman Iqbal, registration number 2212445, failed to take “suitable steps to ensure that confidential waste, controlled drugs, syringes and/or other medication…was disposed of correctly”, the committee heard at a principal hearing in August.
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Iqbal was found to have “breached patient confidentiality” and “compromised public safety by permitting controlled drugs, syringe(s) and other medication to be fly-tipped in a public accessible space”, according to hearing documents.
But a review of the order last month found that he “has spent time during the course of his suspension reflecting on his misconduct” and ruled that he is “free to return to practice as soon as” his suspension expires.
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In the principal hearing, the regulator acknowledged that Iqbal had “been apologetic and had “made early acceptances of his wrongdoing”.
The committee said that the data breaches “[appeared] accidental as opposed to deliberate or wilful” and that there was only “a single instance of data breach”.
But it noted at the time that the registrant was “dishonest to his regulator and failed to uphold his duty of candour”, adding that there were “multiple breaches of patient confidentiality”.
“Fly-tipping”
A street scene enforcement officer was “alerted to fly-tipping” at a recycling centre in Margate in December 2021 where she discovered “six black bin bags” containing prescriptions, “unopened medication” and labels with “patient names and addresses”, as well as “almost empty bottles of methadone” and a syringe, the documents said.
Iqbal told the regulator that building works were taking place in the pharmacy at the time of the incident and that it was a “very busy” time due to COVID vaccinations, the Christmas period and the fact that it was a late-night pharmacy.
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He said that “the decision to store the confidential waste in black bin bags was made by an unknown member of staff”.
And dispensers at the pharmacy added that “they assumed the builders had disposed of the black bags by mistake”, according to the documents.
Blame game
In its original decision, the committee accepted that he was “aware of the seriousness of the allegations” and had completed “partial remediation”.
But it stressed that he had “not accepted full responsibility for what had happened” and continued to blame other staff members.
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“The registrant has not demonstrated insight towards patients whose personal details may have been compromised by the breach of patient confidentiality”, it added at the time.
It found that Iqbal’s fitness to practise was “impaired” and decided that a “short suspension order” of three months would give him time to “develop his insight and remediate further”.
“Previous approach inadequate”
But the committee also ordered the case to be reviewed towards the end of the suspension period, which took place last month.
Iqbal provided both written and oral submissions and said that he recognised his “previous approach to handling the confidential waste was inadequate”.
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He acknowledged that “as the superintendent pharmacist…[he] was accountable for maintaining the highest standards in patient safety, confidentiality and professional integrity”.
Iqbal admitted that pharmacy procedures at the time had “compromised patient confidentiality and posed public safety risks”.
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“I am now committed to a rigorous, systematic approach to confidential waste management”, he said.
And he also expressed commitment to “open communication with patients, colleagues and regulatory bodies, especially when addressing mistakes and ensuring these are done in a timely manner”.
“Impressed” by insight
The committee concluded that the registrant had “done everything that the previous committee suggested to him at the conclusion of the principal hearing” and had “undertaken targeted training regarding confidential waste”.
“The committee considers that the risk of repetition is now low, as the registrant has now fully accepted responsibility for the misconduct and has shown what he would do differently in the future,” it said.
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The regulator added that it was “impressed with his level of insight” and decided that Iqbal’s fitness to practice was “no longer impaired” and that he is “free to return to practice as soon as the current order expires”.
He told the committee that he “intends to start working as a locum again in January 2025”.
Read the determination in full here.
