Two GPs have been accused of trying to hide from officials the “true amounts” of highly addictive sleeping pills prescribed to patients by their GP practice.
The General Medical Council (GMC) said that Dr. Paul Flanigan and Dr. Gabrielle McKeever handed out private prescriptions to patients between 2011 and 2015 to “artificially reduce” the prescription volumes of potentially dangerous drugs in an official audit process.
At that time, the prescription numbers for the drugs were kept at Loy Medical Practice in Cookstown, where Dr. Flanigan and Dr. McKeever’s partners were in the spotlight.
Efforts were made to increase the prescription of ” Reduce Z” drugs and benzodiazepines Target achieved.
Explaining the case against the doctors at yesterday’s practice eligibility hearing, GMC solicitor Chloe Fairley explained that prescriptions of benzodiazepines and ‘Z’ drugs in Northern Ireland in 2011 were ‘about double the UK average’.
She continued: “The Loy practice was ranked as in the top third of all practices in Northern Ireland and that was a worrying position that warranted review.”
Ms Fairley said HSCB met with Dr. Flanigan and Dr. McKeever met to discuss drug management and it was agreed that benzodiazepine and “Z” drug prescriptions would be reduced by 1% between October and December 2011.
However, concerns were later raised about the number of private prescriptions being dispensed by community pharmacies in the area and an investigation was launched.
The tribunal was told that on October 21, 2015, HSCB officers visited two GP practices, one of which was Loy Medical Practice, in connection with the investigation.
During a meeting at the practice where Dr. McKeever was not present, said Mrs. Fairley, Dr. Flanigan told officials the new prescription protocol for the drugs was met with “patient resistance.”
dr Flanigan said the operation “introduced the use of private prescriptions to make prescription rates appear reduced,” Ms Fairley said.
This was despite the fact that patients were entitled to NHS prescriptions.
Apart from the physical prescription itself and a note on patient records, there are no official records of private prescriptions, the court has been told, while NHS prescriptions are closely monitored.
Ms Fairley continued: “In relation to dishonesty, the GMC submits that the evidence shows and it seems beyond dispute that Dr. Flanigan and Dr. McKeever have written prescriptions from September 2011 … using private prescriptions and not NHS prescriptions Patients were eligible.
“The GMC case is that this was intentional and obscured the true prescribing levels of the health service and HSCB.
“For the patients themselves, issuing a private prescription had no benefit, but rather a disadvantage, since they would have had to pay for the medication dispensed in the pharmacy.”
When interviewed by Diane McKillen, a former HSCB staff member, during the October 2015 meeting with Dr. Flanigan, however, the family doctor’s attorney raised concerns as to why the notes did not include the alleged “patient resistance” explanation.
“There’s no contemporaneous note on the doctor saying he prescribed privately to make prescription rates appear reduced, is there?” Matthew McDonagh asked.
“There is no contemporary note on this, no,” Ms. McKillen replied.
Mr McDonagh continued: “That motivation would be important, wouldn’t it? He didn’t actually say he was privately prescribing to make prescribing rates appear reduced.”
Ms McKillen replied: “He may have said it, but I may not have recorded it. I’m not proud of this note, but it should never be a full note of the discussion.”
She continued, “To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure what I wrote down and what I didn’t. Some things I just remembered and the odd one I wrote down.”
Mr McDonagh asked Ms McKillen why she “would even take a note” if she only “randomly” recorded some parts of the conversation, to which she said: “I mainly focused on what he had to say.”
dr Flanigan and Dr. McKeever have admitted to a number of charges against them in connection with the case, including prescribing “Z” drugs to patients on private prescriptions.
However, the tribunal has yet to determine whether the doctors’ actions were dishonest, while Dr. McKeever told the tribunal “there will likely be a No Case to Answer filing” filed on her behalf when the hearing resumes.
https://www.independent.ie/news/two-doctors-tried-to-hide-the-true-levels-of-highly-addictive-sleeping-tablets-their-gp-practice-prescribed-from-officials-41587910.html Two doctors “attempted to hide the true values” of highly addictive sleeping pills their GP doctors had prescribed from officials
