Ministry sought dismissal of state pharmacist, documents show

Public records obtained by Kringvarp Føroya show that Hjalti Gunnarstein could have been dismissed as the Faroe Islands’ state pharmacist before he resigned in February. He is now accused in a criminal case.

On 11 February, Gunnarstein met Bjørgfríð Ludvig, permanent secretary at the then Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The contents of the meeting are not available, but afterwards the state pharmacist was told that the case could result in his dismissal.

He was instructed not to report for work while the case was investigated and was asked to submit a statement to the ministry five days later.

At a further meeting on 16 February, the ministry maintained that Gunnarstein should receive a notice of intended dismissal. The following day, he resigned as state pharmacist.

About 90 minutes later, the ministry confirmed receipt of his resignation, asked him to return all work equipment immediately and informed him that he would receive his salary for the rest of the month, but nothing more.

Access to case records delayed

Kringvarp Føroya said it had faced significant difficulties obtaining information about why one of the country’s senior officials had suddenly resigned without giving a reason. Access to the records was granted only after the Parliamentary Ombudsman twice instructed the ministry to reconsider the broadcaster’s requests.

Ludvig has no comment on why she considered the case serious enough to warrant dismissal in February. The ministry has not reported the case to police.

Case referred to police

The chief medical officer originally asked the Danish Patient Safety Authority to assess the matter as part of an inspection, Lars Fodgaard Møller confirmed. The authority considered the case serious enough to report it to police, but Møller declined to provide further details.

Gunnarstein is currently accused, Michael Boolsen, the prosecutor, confirmed. He would not specify the accusation because the criminal case is still being processed.

The case is almost fully prepared, and a decision will soon be made on whether charges should be brought against the former state pharmacist, Boolsen said.

Ingun Hansen, acting state pharmacist, said the pharmacy service had strengthened its internal procedures to ensure that the institution complies with laws and regulations. She had no further comment. Kringvarp Føroya was unable to obtain a comment from Gunnarstein.