The General Pharmaceutical Council is investigating Boots after an 84-year-old great-grandfather died following a pharmacy error that resulted in him receiving duplicate packs of prescription drugs.
Richard 'Tony' Lee, from Doncaster, took a week's worth of extra pills dispensed in error shortly before his death in December 2016. His daughter, Gail Pickles, discovered double the expected number of medication packs among his belongings after his death, along with evidence he had taken the double dose.
At an inquest in June, Assistant Coroner Louise Slater ruled that excess dosing would have increased the risk of a cardiac event and was 'a contributory factor' in Mr Lee's death. The error occurred when responsibility for sending the prescription was moved to a new pharmacy, but the original pharmacy did not receive a cancellation message, resulting in two sets of the same prescription being sent.
Mrs Pickles criticised Boots for failing to follow its own procedures, including not labelling packs with the week commencing date and not phoning to confirm deliveries. She also expressed shock at the tone of a letter from Boots, which she said was not transparent. Boots has since apologised for the tone and offered to meet Mrs Pickles, but she is still waiting for a written apology.
Boots described the error as resulting from 'extremely rare circumstances' and said it has a very low error rate. The company stated that a full investigation was conducted, and it has expressed condolences to the family.
