A chemist who over- dispensed medicines to elderly residents in nursing homes has avoided being struck off.

Nazminali Badurail Hudda, was accused of professional misconduct after his 'sloppy practice' was exposed, and faced being struck off the register of pharmaceutical chemists, a Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain hearing heard.

Hudda, of Lyndhurst Road, Worthing, was called to the hearing in London yesterday to listen to evidence relating to 27 incidents of over-dispensing between January, 1996, and February, 1997.

David Bradly, counsel for the society, told the committee Hudda, who became a registered pharmacist in 1979, provided prescriptions to between 40 and 50 nursing and residential homes in the

Worthing area on a monthly basis.

At the time he was the sole owner of Hudda Pharmacy of Lyndhurst Road, the committee heard.

Hudda was alleged to have requested repeat prescriptions, as part of his service to these homes, for patients of The Surgery at Victoria Road, Worthing, in excessively large quantities.

The result of this 'poor professional conduct' was that the surgery issued 'larger quantities at medicines than those actually required by patients' or Mr Hudda 'supplied medicine in dosages which did not correspond with those prescribed by the doctor'.

As a result, Hudda was

also incorrectly billing

the Prescription Pricing Agency (PPA), the hearing was told.

Mr Bradly said: "The most obvious consequence at this

is an over payment by the PPA, but in addition, there is a lack of control of prescriptions."

Mr Bradly added that in some cases Hudda had

actually undercharged the PPA and the authority had only suffered a £181 loss as result of his 'poor practice'.

Jonathan Fisher, defending Hudda, said his client

admitted he had made the mistakes.

He said: "He confesses to inadequacy in his system in not picking up these mistakes, but all 27 patients concerned came from the same

surgery."

The society's statutory committee dismissed the case, deciding that although his over dispensing was negligent, it did not amount to professional misconduct.

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