A top heart doctor repeatedly stole drugs from a hospital for his own personal use, a tribunal heard. Consultant cardiologist Dr Paul Dunne 'misappropriated' medication from Royal Bolton Hospital on several occasions in 2021.
The tribunal heard he had 'obtained' the security code for the treatment room from nurses and would take medication which had not been put away or, by taking the key when no-one was looking, open the medicine cabinet. On one occasion he also asked a nurse if an unnamed medication was available, falsely claiming it was for a patient who was coming in for a echocardiogram later that day.
The thefts were described as 'calculated and manipulative'. Dr Dunne was sacked on August 12, 2022, following an internal investigation.
The following day he was arrested on Chester Road after being found to be more than three times the drink drive limit. At Chester magistrates' court the following month he was banned from driving for 26 months, given a community order and fined £120.
But, the tribunal heard, Dr Dunne failed to inform the General Medical Council of his conviction, as is required, until a number of weeks later. At the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service hearing Dr Dunne, who qualified from the University of Manchester in 2003 and began working at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust in 2015, was found guilty of serious professional misconduct in a hearing which was told he had been 'repeatedly stealing medication'.
Rina Hill, on behalf of the GMC, told the tribunal that on four occasions in June and August 2021 Dr Dunne 'misappropriated one or more tablets' from a medicine cabinet and from emergency medical ward D2 for his 'own personal use', although the court heard it also happened on several other occasions.
Ms Hill said the thefts were 'calculated and manipulative and involved him lying to his colleagues'. His conduct 'undermines public confidence in the profession and brings the profession into disrepute', she added.
"Furthermore, even after precautionary measures were put in place in June 2021, Dr Dunne's misappropriation of medications continued," she said. But Ms Hill said Dr Dunne had 'reflected long and hard on his actions and behaviour' and was 'wholeheartedly and deeply embarrassed and ashamed'.
Philip Stott, representing Dr Dunne, described his client as 'intelligent, hardworking, driven and fundamentally clinically speaking, a good doctor'. He said Dr Dunne had been affected by the pressures of the covid pandemic and the breakdown of a personal relationship.
The type of drugs Dr Dunne stole has not been made public. The redacted ruling also makes several references to undisclosed mitigating factors, which the tribunal accepted.
"The Tribunal reached the view that Dr Dunne's case can only be properly understood by reference to [redacted]. This manifested itself in conduct which was of serious public concern." the ruling states.
Since his dismissal Dr Dunne has been shadowing a GP on a voluntary basis and has passed the GP entry training exam as he is considering a new career. The tribunal panel, led by chair Angus Macpherson, ruled that Dr Dunne's actions amounted to serious misconduct and as a result his fitness to practise medicine was impaired.
The GMC called for Dr Dunne to be suspended. But the panel ruled to allow Dr Dunne to continue practising and imposed a series of conditions for 18 months, including restrictions on the type of medications he can prescribe and requirements to inform the GMC of the role he is working in and where he is working.
They wrote: "If a period of suspension were imposed, it would only serve to delay Dr Dunne’s retraining as a GP. The tribunal consider that he is ready to embark upon retraining and that a period of suspension would really be counter-productive."
