Council member cleared of conduct complaint
Noel Wicks: cleared of two allegations |
Noel Wicks, a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Council,
has been cleared of two allegations that he broke the Council's code
of conduct (PDF 100K).
Mr Wicks is the first Council member to have faced an inquiry since the
Council’s code of conduct came into force in November 2004.
In November 2004, the then Council member Christine Glover alleged that
Mr Wicks indicated in a footnote to an advertisement feature in Chemist & Druggist that he was a Society Council member. This would have been a breach of
the code, which says that Council members must not use their position
to promote personal, professional or business interests.
Mrs Glover also alleged that he had not recorded his membership of the
Pharmacy Magazine advisory forum panel in the Council members’ register
of interests.
The panel found that Mr Wicks had not been responsible for the article
footnote, which had been added by an editor. Although Mr Wicks had seen
a proof of the article with the footnote, the panel ruled that it was
not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that Mr Wicks had misused
his position as a member of Council.
It also dismissed the second allegation in relation to the register of
interests. The inquiry panel found that Mr Wicks had failed specifically
to record his membership of Pharmacy Magazine’s panel, but ruled
that he had recorded “occasional consultancy” and that his
entry in the register was similar to the standard of entry for other
Council members.
A spokeswoman said that the Society would not comment on the matter because
it was a finding of an outside panel.
Allegations that Council members have breached the code of conduct are
heard by a panel drawn from the lay membership of other health regulators.
No pharmacists or pharmacy technicians can be panel members.
Complaints to the code of conduct panel are treated as confidential and
would normally only be made public if they are upheld.
In the case of this complaint, Mr Wicks decided that the outcome should
be made known.
Mr Wicks said: “I have always been aware that there was no substance
to the complaint and I am delighted that the panel agreed with this view.”
He said that he had become the subject of a whispering campaign after the complaint
had been lodged and that this had undermined his reputation even though he had
not been guilty of any offences against the Council’s code of conduct. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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