Pharmacist who allowed unsupervised student to dispense medicines suspended

Gareth Johnston was accused of allowing prescription-only and pharmacy-only medications to be given out to customers at Johnston’s Pharmacy in Lanesboro, Co Longford, on April 7, 2021, without them being personally supervised by a registered pharmacist. File photo

A Longford pharmacist and business owner, who allowed an unsupervised student pharmacist to dispense prescription-only medicines to customers, has been suspended from practising for a period of two months.

The sanction followed three findings of professional misconduct and poor professional performance made by the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland against Gareth Johnston, a qualified pharmacist from Lanesboro, Co Longford, and owner of a chain of three pharmacies in Longford and Galway.