Pharmacist penalised after driving drunk to work and dispensing addictive drugs while sloshed

A pharmacist who drove drunk to work, then dispensed 114 prescriptions for addictive drugs while intoxicated, has been disqualified from practising for a year.

The healthSAVE pharmacy in Perth, Tasmania. Former pharmacist Paul Schild has been disqualified after dispensing drugs of dependence while drunk. Picture: Google Maps

A Tasmanian pharmacist who drove drunk to work, then dispensed 114 prescriptions for drugs of dependence while intoxicated, has been disqualified from practising for a year.

Paul Nicholas Schild was the owner of and sole pharmacist of Perth’s only pharmacy, healthSAVE, when he drove at nearly four times the legal blood alcohol limit in November 2020, according to a recent tribunal decision.

He has since sold the pharmacy and now runs a hobby farm instead.

About 10am on the morning in question, Mr Schild was breathalysed on his way to work after a member of the public reported concerns about his driving to the police, returning a blood alcohol reading of 0.192.

According to a newly-published Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision, Mr Schild then turned up at work about two hours later still drunk.

While at work, Mr Schild filled 114 prescriptions for drugs of dependence and schedule 8 medications – drugs that are tightly regulated because of their addiction-forming potential.

Tribunal deputy president Alison Clues noted there was no suggestion any patients’ health was harmed as a result of his conduct.

Former sole pharmacist of Perth, Tasmania, has been deregistered for a year after driving drunk to work then dispensing 114 highly-regulated and drugs of dependence. Picture: Google Maps

According to the tribunal’s decision, In January 2021, Mr Schild was fined and disqualified from driving for 12 months after pleading guilty to drink driving, with the court hearing he’d drank alcohol the night before, but believed he’d woken and consumed more.

He said he couldn’t remember waking and drinking, and couldn’t find the bottle the next day.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) was notified about Mr Schild’s conduct and began investigating, taking immediate action to impose conditions upon his pharmacist’s registration – including that he must undergo breath testing half an hour before each shift.

Ms Clues noted Mr Schild didn’t renew his registration at the end of his registration period in November 2021, and had sold the Perth pharmacy.

His lawyer told the tribunal that instead, Mr Schild now ran a hobby farm and intended to keep doing so.

The Pharmacy Board of Australia, which took action in the tribunal to have Mr Schild’s conduct denounced as professional misconduct, argued his actions raised a public protection issue and had the capacity to cause serious harm to patients.

Mr Schild argued his conduct should be viewed as an “isolated incident”, that he made a mistake and exercised poor judgement on one occasion only.

But Ms Clues said she was satisfied the behaviour should be classified as professional misconduct and had displayed a “blatant” and “reckless” disregard for the safety of his patients.

She imposed a reprimand on Mr Schild, and disqualified him from applying for registration for 12 months.

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