Pharmacists are putting patients at risk through sloppy practice, leaving controlled drugs out in the open and deliberately flouting the rules to give Viagra to patients who shouldn't have it.
Those were the results from an unannounced Ministry of Health audit of 90 randomly selected pharmacies across Auckland.
Some pharmacies were found to be leaving controlled drugs such as methadone and codeine on dispensary shelves and in office areas rather than in safes which were fixed down.
One pharmacy appeared to have left whole batches of controlled drugs on their benches for several months, as they were still wrapped in paper bags from the wholesaler, the damning audit report said.
The audit also found a quarter of the pharmacies weren't keeping medicine fridges at the right temperatures.
Records showed some fridges were significantly out of safe temperature ranges for extended periods of time and some pharmacists had no idea how to check the temperatures. One pharmacy had forged its fridge records.
The auditors also found many pharmacies weighing equipment had not been checked for accuracy in four to six years while reference resources were missing or out of date in other places.
In one pharmacy, an unqualified staff member was working in the dispensary.
Some pharmacists were also deliberately flouting the rules to supply Viagra to people who shouldn't have it.
It found pharmacists were supplying the erectile dysfunction drug to patients who didn't meet the blood pressure or pulse requirements or to people who should have been referred to a doctor, as well as giving them more than the recommended number of pills.
Auditors noted most pharmacists were fully aware of the requirements around the drug yet consciously decided to ignore them.
Other issues included absent or poor quality documentation of near misses, the lack of upkeep of controlled drug registers or giving excessive amounts of un-prescribed drugs in emergency situations. One Pharmacy was found to have dispensed up to 5000 tablets of paracetamol without a prescription.
In response to the failings the ministry imposed additional operating conditions on some outlets, fined one $2000 for serious and sustained non-compliance relating to refrigerated storage, sent letters requesting explanations for non-compliance, ordered follow-up audits for 15 pharmacies and notified the Pharmacy Council of major issues.