GP who used drugs at work and falsified prescriptions to obtain them is suspended for 12 months

An Essex GP who used drugs at work and obtained them using false prescriptions in patients’ names has been suspended from the UK medical register for 12 months.

Nathan Sandles admitted being under the influence of drugs at work during a six week period in summer 2020, and to being “intoxicated” on the final day of that period. Staff allege that he was “drowsy, sleepy, and disorientated.”

He was convicted at North Essex Magistrates’ Court of obtaining a scheduled drug through a false prescription in December 2021, and had interim conditions placed on his registration that barred him from prescribing controlled drugs while he awaited his medical tribunal. But just months after being sentenced to 140 hours community service and 20 days of rehabilitation activity he was found to have self-prescribed again, using the name of …