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Auxilia Katongomara Court Reporter
A UNITED Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) nurse was yesterday fined $500 for selling expired drugs to a terminally ill patient. Sentencing Patricia Malemane Dube, 51, Tawanda Muchemwa said she acted unprofessionally by selling expired drugs to the patient. “From the court’s findings, it’s evident that you’re just a state registered nurse and not a pharmacist. You therefore acted unprofessionally by taking over the duties of a pharmacist and what is aggravating is that you sold expired drugs to a terminally ill patient,” said Muchemwa.

For the first count of unauthorised sale of drugs, Dube was fined $200 or in default six months in prison. Another six months were wholly suspended on condition she does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.

For count two, which is selling expired drugs, she was fined $300 or in default eight months imprisonment. Another eight months were wholly suspended on condition she does not commit a similar offence in the next five years.
The fine should be paid by November 30. The recovered drugs were forfeited to the state.

In mitigation, Dube said she committed the crime out of ignorance saying she thought she was assisting a patient who was stranded.
Prosecuting, Busani Moyo said on March 3 this year, Dube was at her workplace at UBH when a patient, Lovemore Tsingano, approached her with a prescription for Amphotericin B.

“Tsingano’s wife, Singatsho Sikhundla, approached Dube who was in charge of the ward who then told her that she could supply her with the drug for $20 per 50g per vial,” said Moyo.

He said Sikhundla then paid Dube $40 for the medicine.
“The matter was reported to the hospital’s public relations officer Nobuhle Thaka leading to the recovery of the drugs from Singatsho and the two $20 notes that Singatsho paid Dube,” said Moyo.

The drugs she sold expired in January this year.