A pharmacist has been warned by the General Pharmaceutical Council after it found his conduct towards a student at a university where he worked as an assistant professor was “entirely inappropriate” and “unacceptable.”

The GPhC’s investigating committee heard allegations that Babir Malik communicated with the student in February 2023 by sending them WhatsApp messages, including assessment marks before they were published and details of an employee’s sickness and disciplinary matters.

The Committee also heard Malik asked the student to meet him at the university and suggested “they view a film together, remotely, via a streaming service.”

He was found to have breached two of the regulator’s professional standards; that pharmacy professionals must behave in a professional manner and, in particular, maintain appropriate personal and professional boundaries with people and act with integrity.

And that pharmacy professionals must respect and maintain a person’s confidentiality and privacy.

The Committee drew its conclusions in November last year and the GPhC told Independent Community Pharmacist it would publish details of the hearing on its website for 12 months.

“Mr Malik’s conduct is entirely inappropriate, amounts to a serious failure to meet standards for pharmacy professionals and is likely to undermine confidence in the profession,” the Committee said.

“Whilst those standards apply to pharmacists in any setting, it is particularly important that they are modelled in those who work with colleagues in training and at the very earliest stages of their career.”