Hartlepool GP is cleared of five charges relating to prescriptions

A doctor who signed prescriptions in someone else's name has been cleared of all wrongdoing.

Dr Steve Andelic was found not guilty of five charges of making a false instrument at the direction of a judge at Teesside Crown Court.

Dr Andelic, who has worked as a locum at several surgeries in Hartlepool, was alleged to have falsified five prescriptions on behalf of a female patient who had consulted him privately.

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Prosecutor Paul Abrahams told the court the Crown would be offering no evidence in the case.

Mr Abrahams added: “Our initial expert advice was that a private prescription needed the signature of the patient or the patient’s representative.

“This defendant did sign the prescriptions in the name of somebody else.

“It now transpires private prescriptions do not require a signature, so the signatures in this case have no bearing on whether an offence was committed.

“Accordingly we are offering no evidence.”

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Dr Andelic, 55, of Coniscliffe Road, Hartlepool, pleaded not guilty to five charges of making a false instrument between September, 2013, and July, 2014.

John Elvidge QC, defending, said: “This case has gone on for a long time.

“An earlier application we made to dismiss the charges should have succeeded.

“Dr Andelic does not qualify for legal aid on income grounds, so I am applying for a defendant’s costs order.”

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Judge Stephen Ashurst ordered not guilty verdicts on all five counts.

The judge granted the costs order pending written confirmation from the Legal Aid Agency that Dr Andelic does not qualify for legal aid.