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A LEADING Perth pharmacist who stole and consumed thousands of dollars worth of strong opioid drugs while working at Fiona Stanley Hospital to relieve the pain he felt over his daughter’s death has been handed a 12-month suspended prison term.

Matthew Foster, 38, was sentenced in the Fremantle Magistrate’s Court today for repeatedly stealing drugs, including the narcotic pain-reliever hydromorphone, from a safe at the hospital’s pharmacy between December 2014 and February this year.

Foster, a highly-regarded senior pharmacist at the hospital, used fake names and signatures to access the drugs.

He pleaded guilty to 46 counts of possessing a prohibited drug and 46 counts of stealing as a servant.

Defence counsel David Manera said his client turned to the heavy-duty prescription medication to cope with his grief after his 10-year-old daughter died of an unknown degenerative neurological disease in February 2014.

Mr Manera said Foster blamed himself for her death.

“There was obviously extreme grief and in Mr Foster’s case, also guilt,” he said.

According to Mr Manera, Foster also dealt with his loss by immersing himself in his work which led to him feeling an “enormous” amount of stress.

Mr Manera said Foster had confessed of his addiction to his wife early last year and had sought help from a doctor, but relapsed some months later.

He said Foster’s offending did not jeopardise patient care at FSH, and that he was never under the influence during work hours.

Foster sought a spent conviction, but prosecutor Caroline Chapman opposed the application, saying “such a gross breach of trust by a senior health professional” should not be tolerated.

Magistrate Elizabeth Langdon did not grant the spent conviction request, and instead sentenced Foster a 12-month prison term, suspended for 12 months.

Foster was also placed on an 18-month community based order.

Foster has already paid back $2617 to the South Metropolitan Health Service to cover the cost of the stolen drugs, the court was told.

Ms Langdon said Foster’s offending was “very serious” and impacted on the community’s confidence in the public health system.

“There is a very strong need for the court to send a message to other pharmacists that offending such as this is very serious,” she said.

Ms Langdon also said she accepted Foster was remorseful, had a strong commitment to his rehabilitation and that his actions came at a time he was “suffering great grief”.