A Somerset-based veterinary surgeon has been removed from the Register after he was found guilty of stealing ketamine and methadone.
Mark Kombert’s hearing before the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons took place in December in relation to him stealing the controlled drugs in November 2018.
The committee heard that staff at the practice, where Kombert – who did not attend the hearing – was working as a locum, had done a check of the medicines kept in the controlled drugs cabinet and discovered that 5.5ml of ketamine and 1.5ml of methadone were missing. After the code to the cabinet was changed, Kombert was seen taking an additional 3ml of methadone, which he administered to himself while on duty at the practice.
He was arrested in January and given a police caution for theft with several conditions such as engaging in a restorative justice process, which involved discussing his offences at the practice.
The committee found that Kombert’s actions amounted to serious professional misconduct.
Dr Martin Whiting, chairing the committee, summed up: “The committee considers that the only sanction that is sufficient to protect the welfare of animals, maintain public confidence in the profession and declare and uphold proper standards of conduct is one of erasure.”
