Prescriptions written by doctor for family in breach of protocols

A Dundee-trained doctor has admitted breaching medical protocols by writing prescriptions for family members.

Fiona Davidson used her married name to conceal that she was prescribing medication for relatives.

Guidance from the Good Medical Practice states medics should only administer drugs to family in extreme circumstances.

Davidson was caught when a pharmacist and store manager of a branch of Boots in Airdrie carried out further checks into a prescription.

She phoned Davidson’s Kelvinside Medical Centre in Glasgow and was told they did not have records for a patient with the name on the paperwork.

The pharmacist contacted Boots’ head office and was told to refer the matter to the General Medical Council.

Davidson, who qualified from Dundee University in 1982 before completing her GP training in Stirling, had her case put before the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.

She admitted prescribing medication to family members known only as Mr A and Ms B between January and February 2019, and using her married name as the name of the patient.

Davidson, of Glasgow, did not attend the hearing but a panel ruled she should be suspended for 14 days.

The panel said her actions brought the profession into disrepute, and public trust would be undermined if they did not sanction her even though she retired in April last year.

They decided she should still have her registration suspended to show the seriousness of her conduct.