LOCUM pharmacist, Lauren Murray, has been reprimanded by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in relation to allegations she misappropriate painkillers in 2014, while working at Broken Hill Hospital (PD 02 Aug 2018).
Murray was alleged to have taken two bottles of morphine and 40 tablets of Codapane Forte, made false records to conceal the misappropriation of the tablets, and then made a false statement to the Pharmacy Council of NSW about the missing tablets.
While Murray accepted that she made mistakes in recording the tablets and disposing of the bottles of morphine, she denied removing them from the hospital.
The Tribunal heard Murray left Broken Hill in Oct 2014 having been stood down from her position in the hospital. In Dec 2014 she worked as a locum in Victoria, before going to the UK in May 2015, gaining employment at Poole Hospital between Jul and Jan 2016, as a pharmacy technician.
In May 2016 she returned to Australia and started working at Bunbury Drive-In Chemist in WA, initially on an eight-week engagement, however, she stayed in the role until Aug 2018.
Colleagues and pharmacy managers told the court that Murray has demonstrated "total professionalism" in all her roles since leaving Broken Hill Hospital, both in Australia and in the UK.
The Tribunal has ruled that she much undergo a course on dispensing ethics, find a mentor, submit to audits of her practice, not be a pharmacists-in-charge, and work a maximum of 40 hours a week.
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