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A pharmacist who stole diazepam from the branch of Boots where she worked has been warned by the General Pharmaceutical Council.

The regulator’s investigating committee heard Lisa Bettine Hayes took eight tablets of 5mg diazepam “without permission or valid reason to do so” in July last year.

She initially denied taking the controlled drug when questioned during an internal investigation and claimed she had been prescribed the medicine.

After two witnesses said Ms Hayes removed the medicine from the pharmacy, she admitted taking it to manage the pain from a health condition. She resigned before disciplinary proceedings concluded.

The committee heard Ms Hayes’ health records revealed she had not been prescribed diazepam by her GP since July 2019. She admitted taking the medicine without a prescription “or authority to do so” but insisted she intended to replace it once she had received a prescription.

The committee concluded she breached two standards covering pharmacists behaving professionally at all times and speaking up when things go wrong.

It said “her dishonest actions in taking the diazepam tablets and initially denying she had done so” was a breach of its standards and called her “honesty and integrity into question”.

However, the committee noted: “She accepted that her actions were wrong and breached the trust placed in her as a registered healthcare professional.”

It added: “Mrs Hayes has demonstrated reflection on her actions and where she had failed to uphold the standards expected of her as a pharmacy professional. She has shown an understanding of what had gone wrong, the consequences of her actions and how she intends to address these issues moving forwards.”

She has not returned to pharmacy practice since leaving her job and the committee heard that “upon reflection on her state of health, she does not intend to return for the foreseeable future”. Her warning will remain on the register for 12 months.