The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7205 p5
6 July 2002

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Pharmacist jailed for NHS fraud

A Yorkshire pharmacist has been sent to jail for six months after being convicted of defrauding the National Health Service of nearly £9,000.

Sitting at Leeds Crown Court on 14 June, Judge Peter Hunt told Bhupinder Bharj, of Grange Park Mews, Morley, that dishonestly depriving the NHS of funds was a breach of trust and that he had a public duty to send him to prison.

Nicholas Dry, prosecuting, told the court that between October 1998 and September 2001, Mr Bharj had made fraudulent claims from his pharmacy at 227 Dewsbury Road, Leeds. He had endorsed prescriptions to say that he had, for example, dispensed five 100ml bottles of medicine, rather than one 500ml bottle. By doing this with one particular brand he was paid £6.40 instead of £2.70. An investigation by an NHS fraud team had discovered false claims for 4,389 items amounting to £8,894.47 and Mr Bharj was arrested in January this year. He admitted making false claims and said that he believed he had sometimes been paid for larger quantities when he had dispensed smaller ones.

Mr Dry told the court that 18 years ago Mr Bharj had been convicted of an offence involving a stolen cheque and had been fined.

In mitigation, Mark McKone told the court that Mr Bharj would no longer be able to practise as a pharmacist and would sell his business to make full compensation. He had qualified in 1980 and had learned of overcharging almost as part of his training. It became almost acceptable and pharmacists justified it because there were some financial losses with ou-of-date stock and giving patients more tablets than were prescribed. It was often viewed as a balancing exercise.