The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has suspended pharmacist Jitendra Desai (registration number 2048785) from practice for 12 months after finding that he disposed of medicines and confidential pharmacy waste in a public park and attended work while unfit after consuming alcohol.
The decision followed fitness-to-practise hearings held between June 24 and July 2, during which the regulator found that Desai had discarded an unknown quantity of medication and confidential pharmacy waste in or around a park in Heswall, Wirral, in 2024. The committee also heard that he attended work earlier that year while unfit after drinking alcohol.
According to the hearing panel, Desai admitted responsibility for disposing of the waste in the park. While there was no evidence that patients or members of the public suffered harm, the committee concluded that his actions had the potential to cause serious harm.
The GPhC said Desai served as the responsible pharmacist at Oakley Pharmacy in Heswall between January 2023 and December 2024.
In September 2024, concerns were raised by staff at a GP practice located on the same premises as the pharmacy. Two members of staff, identified as Dr M and Ms K, spoke with Desai and observed his condition.
According to the evidence presented before the committee, Dr M reported that Desai appeared intoxicated, describing him as unsteady on his feet, slurring his speech and smelling strongly of mints. Ms K also recalled finding him slumped in his chair.
The regulator said Desai denied consuming alcohol but declined to take a breathalyser test that was available at the GP practice.
In a separate incident in December 2024, a park ranger with Wirral Council alerted a GPhC inspector after discovering dumped pharmacy waste in a park in Heswall.
An inspection of the recovered waste uncovered a variety of medicines, including controlled drugs such as zolpidem and lorazepam, as well as prescription-only medicines including finasteride and amoxicillin.
Investigators also recovered documents linking the waste to Oakley Pharmacy, located less than one mile from the park. Among the items found were a GPhC inspector’s business card, printed email correspondence between Desai and a GPhC case officer, and a near-miss log containing pharmacy staff information.
The regulator further noted that the discarded waste appeared to include empty alcohol bottles.
According to the GPhC, Desai later admitted during contact with one of its case officers in April 2025 that he was responsible for leaving the items in the wooded area.
The committee heard that the recovered controlled drugs had to be transferred to a local pharmacy for secure disposal, while the prescription medicines could have been misused if found by members of the public.
Although no confidential patient information was discovered among the discarded materials, the committee acknowledged that Desai complied when asked to leave the pharmacy after concerns were raised about his fitness to practise.
The regulator also considered Desai’s previous disciplinary history. It noted that he received a warning from the GPhC’s investigating committee in 2012 after failing to disclose two drink-driving convictions. In addition, a principal hearing in 2019 found against him in relation to attending work while unfit to practise.
The committee concluded that, given his regulatory history, Desai should have been fully aware of the professional consequences of his conduct.
It ruled that a 12-month suspension, together with a mandatory review before the suspension expires, was an appropriate and proportionate sanction that reflected the seriousness of the misconduct.
The committee added that removal from the professional register remains a possible outcome at the review if Desai fails to demonstrate sufficient insight, remediation and meaningful progress in addressing the serious failings identified during the proceedings.
