In all honesty,what would you do if you were to be struck off?

[johnep]

Teaching as long as can pass CRB. Medical Representative, Regulatory Affairs.
Perhaps first thing to do would be a 'Profumo'........enrol for VSO.
johnep

[Web Ferret]

Whats a Profumo? Wikipedia is down for today my local library closed at 5pm.

[Merlyn]

John Profumo was a Tory politician (IIRC a junior Minister) who, in the 60's was caught lying to the House of Commons. He and a Russian military attache shared a mistress!

Anyway Profumo went off and worked for a charity in the East End for, again IIRC, the rest of his working life.

I don't think, if one had been struck off a professional register, one would be acceptable for VSO. Must check if we'd accept someone like that as a CAB advisor.

[johnep]

In the old days struck off Drs would become abortionists and medics to criminal gangs. Struck off pharmacists? Would be interesting to know what happened. Majority would have been proprietors and could keep the pharmacy going with a manager. Employees?
Probably best insurance would be to marry another pharmacist.
johnep

[Merlyn]

In the old days struck off Drs would become abortionists and medics to criminal gangs. Struck off pharmacists? Would be interesting to know what happened. Majority would have been proprietors and could keep the pharmacy going with a manager. Employees?
Probably best insurance would be to marry another pharmacist.
johnep

I've known a few pharmacists who've been struck off. As posted earlier, one owner manager simply employed a manager, another sold his contract and went on with what was left of his business as a drug store. Another who had owned a non-contracted pharmacy also just stopped selling P's. Two struck off locums simply retired, but they were in their 60's anyway. Knew one pharmacist who was on Social Security, for health reasons, before he was struck off and assume he just went on as he was. Sad thing was he'd tried to put things together and made a bog of it. One couple, whom I'd known as students had their own pharmacy. He got struck off twice(!) but it just meant she ran the pharmacy!

Don't know what GPhC policy is, but in the old days it was not unusual for people to be struck off, and then allowed back three or four years later. The RPSGB couldn't suspend miscreants. There was a case in (IIRC) the 70's where a pharmacist went round Kent selling dodgily imported medicines to pharmacies and both he and his customers were struck off, but the customers were allowed back a year of so later.

As Johnep said, until the 70's or so it tended to be proprietors who were struck off, simply because there were more of them.

[johnep]

What it boils down to is:
1) Married to a pharmacist and own business.............no real problem. The miscreant becomes the assistant/dispenser.
2) Not married to a pharmacist and owner. Employ a manager and act as assistant/dispenser. Reduced income but should be able to keep going.
3) Employee and married to a pharmacist...........reduced income but have to find other employment or become a home husband/child minder if male.
4) Employee, married to non pharmacist with stay at home husband/wife looking after children...............likely to lose house, marriage break up, perhaps drink problems, end up on streets.

An employee therefore has disproportionate punishment compared to an owner.
Probably why GMC so reluctant to strike off Drs in past.
johnep

[dippsy]

I've known a few pharmacists who've been struck off. As posted earlier, one owner manager simply employed a manager, another sold his contract and went on with what was left of his business as a drug store. Another who had owned a non-contracted pharmacy also just stopped selling P's. Two struck off locums simply retired, but they were in their 60's anyway. Knew one pharmacist who was on Social Security, for health reasons, before he was struck off and assume he just went on as he was. Sad thing was he'd tried to put things together and made a bog of it. One couple, whom I'd known as students had their own pharmacy. He got struck off twice(!) but it just meant she ran the pharmacy.

you seem to know a lot of people who got struck off!!

[Merlyn]

you seem to know a lot of people who got struck off!!

Been around a long time, was an LPC secretary for a while and had to defend some of them. Also asked to be a character witness for one idiot! (Didn't; friendship can only go so far!)

Johnep's post is very thought-provoking.

[weeneldo]

A male employee therefore has disproportionate punishment compared to an owner.
johnep

What does being male have to do with anything? Female pharmacists can own pharmacies and they can also be struck off. Men can stay at home and look after the kids, it doesn't matter which way round the genders are. We've (hopefully) moved on a bit from "Men should be going out and earning the income to support women and children" and "Women should be staying at home, looking after the kids, making the house look nice and making sure the man gets his dinner when he gets home from work".

Surely the ones facing the harshest reality are single pharmacists, regardless of what sex they are? Or pharmacists who have a disabled partner who can't work? Or pharmacists who have been struck off due to mental or physical health problems?

[johnep]

Being a male pharmacist married to another who is perhaps raising a family means roles would have to be reversed. married to a relatively low earning potential consort would be disastrous. Would certainly have been so for me. When my wife returned to work when I was redundant, she earned just over a 1/4 that I could earn as a locum.
Single pharmacist still living with parents would be cushioned to some extent, otherwise they would lose house and at risk of decline.
johnep