A TRAINEE GP who wrote her own prescription - and signed it from a colleague - has escaped with a warning.

Dr Ashleigh Williams, who was attached to the obstetrics department at Burnley General Hospital at the time, handed over and paid for the prescription, a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing was told.

She had been working at an outpatients ante-natal clinic at Burnley and had access to a prescription pad.

But the pharmacist had raised concerns and contacted the named doctor on the slip, who could not recall issuing the script, a fitness to practice panel heard.

Dr Williams then told the pharmacist she would go back to the named doctor with the prescription but then lied to her colleague about who the drugs were for. The medication cannot be named for legal reasons.

The trainee GP admitted to five separate related allegations, at the start of a Manchester hearing and it was decided her fitness to practice was impaired.

Ceri Widdett, for the General Medical Council, said the case, which involved two examples of dishonesty, amounted to serious misconduct.

But Andrew Hockton, for Dr Williams, said the matter was “an isolated incident in an otherwise unblemished career”.

Mr Hockton said his client had referred herself to the General Medical Council over the incident and had thought, at the time, she was not doing anything wrong.

He added that Dr Williams had displayed insight and remorse over her failings.

The hearing was told that the trainee doctor was also not disciplined by East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, when the offences came to light.

Ruling that her conduct was sufficient for a warning to be issued, MPTS panel chairman Catherine Hartley, said: “None of the evidence suggests that Dr Williams is an inherently dishonest doctor.”