Shipman pharmacist case not to be heard in High Court
No further legal action is to taken in the case of Ghislaine Brant, the pharmacist who supplied diamorphine to murderer Harold Shipman.
The Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence has decided not to refer
Mrs Brant’s case to the High Court, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
was notified this week as The Journal went to press.
Last month the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Statutory Committee
ruled that Mrs Brant had no case to answer. On 12 April the CHRE convened
a section 29 scrutiny meeting under its powers as set out in part 2 of
the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002.
This enables the CHRE to refer fitness-to-practise decisions made by
health care regulatory bodies to the High Court if it considers that
the decision was “unduly lenient” and that a review is necessary
for the protection of members of the public.
Mandie Lavin, director of fitness to practise and legal affairs at the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society, commented: “The Society respects
the jurisdiction of the CHRE in scrutinising the decisions of the Statutory
Committee and has ensured early communication of this outcome to Mrs
Brant’s legal advisers.” She added: “Given the public
interest nature of the case the Society recognises the importance of
the CHRE’s role.” |
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