Auckland GP wrongly prescribed drugs 74 times

The doctor said her stress levels and anxiety continued to grow and it became increasingly difficult to cope when she began self-prescribing. Photo / 123RF

An Auckland GP has admitted to inappropriately prescribing drugs on 74 occasions over a six-year period.

The doctor - who has been granted name suppression - was suffering from depression, anxiety and sleeping problems when she reportedly became addicted to medication, including zopiclone and triazolam.

That's when she started prescribing the drugs to herself, sometimes using her former husband and son's name which is against professional medical practice, according to New Zealand's Medical Council.

Of the six charges, the doctor accepted five of them which were today established by the Health Practitioner Disciplinary Tribunal.

The accepted charges include 60 occasions of writing prescriptions for herself, six times writing scripts for herself in her son and former husband's names, eight counts of inappropriately writing medical practice supply orders (MPSOs), consuming drugs without adequate medical oversight and misleading her employer and the medical council by telling them medication had not been picked up when it had.

The charge disputed, and later not established, was misleading the pharmacist by saying the MPSOs were for her patients rather than her own use.

The penalty is expected to be announced on Wednesday. The tribunal will decide if the GP's "unethical acts" GP's acts count as an official professional misconduct, and whether she should be disciplined.

According to the accepted summary of facts the inappropriate prescription started in 2011 when she was working at a hospital as a doctor. At this time she was already under the Medical Council's supervision as concerns had been raised around her performance and emotional state.

After a performance review by the Medical Council her professional certificate was not renewed and she lost her position at the hospital.

The Medical Council and the doctor's employer were not aware of the self-prescribing at this time.

The "inappropriate prescribing" wasn't picked until 2012 when she was working at a general practice and her supervisor reported it to the Medical Council.

In a letter to the Medical Council, the woman said she was extremely embarrassed and assured them it had not happened before.

She stopped the prescribing then started again.

Today, the tribunal heard evidence from the medical practitioner who spoke of personal hardship she had suffered that led to her substance abuse.

"I was ashamed that I needed that medication, I felt like a failure. However, I took the medications as I knew I needed them to be effective at home and my work," she said.

The doctor said her stress levels and anxiety continued to grow and became increasingly difficult to cope.

In 2013, she separated from her husband and, as she couldn't get a job in Auckland, she moved to another city, leaving her children in the care of her cousin.

She says she started experiencing panic attacks due to being away from her children and soon began self-prescribing again.

The doctor today admitted she lied to the Medical Council and told them about her self-prescribing was a one off.

Speaking today, the doctor said "I was in a bad headspace.

"It did not occur to me at that time that might affect how other doctors might prescribe to them, or that this has had the potential to possibly cause any harm."

"My thought process wasn't logical to make well-informed decisions," she said while shedding tears.

Her voice shaking while she spoke, she said she hated herself for what she did. "This is not characteristic of me. I am so sorry to my family, to my colleagues for letting them down. I am also sorry that I have let myself down so badly"

She says since May 2017 she stopped self-prescribing and has made a number of changes to her personal life to cope. She is currently employed by another Auckland medical clinic.