The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7166 p381-384
22 September 2001

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Statutory Committee

Report of decision neither complete nor fair

From Mr P. Walton, MRPharmS

I read with dismay your report of the meeting of the Statutory Committee concerning Ziad Khattab and the death of a four-day-old infant after ingesting peppermint water prepared at Boots at Runcorn (PJ, 11 August, p212).

Since I was present at the hearing, I must say I do not believe the report to be complete or fair, leaving out at least one vitally important documented fact.

I am trying to publish the complete official transcript on the world wide web. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society holds and is invoking copyright to this document. It charged me £35 to obtain the document, so it is not a document that is likely to be widely read within the profession. It insists I do not publish. To censor information by using fiscal means and copyright invocation is in my view obscene. It goes against the very essence of transparency within the National Health Service and in this case clinical governance.

I am willing to lend my one original copy of the transcript to any pharmacist interested in the case (and every pharmacist should be interested).

Perhaps if enough pharmacists read the source document there will be pressure exerted on the Society to answer the question why none of the published information about the case, other than the original transcript, mentions the fact that Mr Khattab had complained about the training situation before the dispensing error occurred. The substance of the complaint if acted on could well have averted this tragedy.

Philip Walton
Manchester
(Philip.walton@btconnect.com)

ANN LEWIS, Secretary and Registrar, Royal Pharmaceutical Society) replies:

The current policy of the Statutory Committee is consistent with the practice of other regulatory bodies and the courts.

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