Mrs Sharon L Docherty
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Allegation
As a registered Physiotherapist (PH30244) your fitness to practise is impaired by reason of conviction and /or misconduct and and/or a health condition. In that:
1. On 7 October 2020 you were convicted at Wirral Magistrates’ Court of driving a motor vehicle namely KIA DG65 NYO on a road namely Telegraph Road, Heswall in the county of Merseyside after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in your breath, namely 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeded the prescribed limit, contrary to section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.
2. On 14 July 2020 you treated a Service User having consumed alcohol
3. You have a physical and/or mental health condition as set out in Schedule A
4. The matter described in 2 above constitutes misconduct
5. By reason of your conviction and /or misconduct and/or a health condition your
fitness to practise is impaired.
Schedule A
1. [Redacted]
Finding
Preliminary matters
Service
1. The Registrant did not appear and she was not represented. The Panel was satisfied that notice of the date and time of the hearing had been served on the Registrant by post and email at her email registered address on 11 October 2022. The Panel was provided with a signed certificate as proof that the Notice of Hearing had been sent to the addresses on the register and evidence that email delivery was complete.
Proceeding in absence
2. The Registrant had informed the HCPC by email on 9 December 2022 that she did not wish to attend the hearing.
3. On behalf of the HCPC, Ms O’Connor applied for the hearing to proceed in the absence of the Registrant on the basis that she had been notified of the date, time and location of the hearing at her registered address. Ms O’Connor submitted that the Registrant had acknowledged that the hearing was taking place but that she had in effect waived her right to appear and that it was in the public interest for the hearing to proceed expeditiously.
4. Having considered the content of the HCPTS Practice Note on Proceeding in Absence and accepted the advice of the Legal Assessor on the case of GMC v Adeogba [2016] EWCA Civ 162 (“the fair, economical, expeditious and efficient disposal of allegations against medical practitioners is of real importance”), the Panel was satisfied that the Registrant had received reasonable notice of today’s hearing and had waived her right to appear. The Registrant had indicated she did not wish to attend and she had not applied for an adjournment. There was no indication that she would attend at a later date if today’s hearing were to be adjourned. The Panel noted the overriding public interest in dealing with regulatory hearings in a timely manner. The Panel acknowledged that there was potential unfairness to any Registrant in proceeding in their absence but determined that any disadvantage could be mitigated by asking questions that might have been asked on her behalf or considering arguments that might have been made on her behalf. In balancing the Registrant’s interest and the public interest, the Panel determined that the matter should be heard in the absence of the Registrant.
Hearing in private
5. On behalf of the HCPC, Ms O’Connor applied for the whole hearing to be conducted in private because the allegation related to the Registrant’s physical and mental health.
6. The Panel accepted the advice of the Legal Assessor that Rule 10(1)(a) of the Health and Care Professions Council (Health Committee) (Procedure) Rules 2003 permitted a hearing relating to the private life of the Registrant to be heard in private.
7. The Panel had in mind the principle that all hearings should be held in public whenever possible. The Panel concluded however that it would be impractical to conduct any part of this hearing in public because the state of the Registrant’s physical and mental health was integral to the issues in the case and to the Panel’s determination at each stage of the hearing. The Panel therefore concluded that the entirety of the hearing should be held in private in order to protect the private life of the Registrant.
Order
ORDER: The Registrar is directed to suspend the registration of Mrs Sharon Docherty for a period of 12 months from the date this Order comes into effect.
Notes
Interim Order
Application
1. Ms O’Connor for the HCPC applied for an interim suspension order pending any appeal and for the Panel to make that decision in the absence of the Registrant. In relation to proceeding in absence, the Panel accepted the advice of the Legal Assessor and decided to proceed in absence for the same reasons as at the start of the hearing. The Panel noted that the Registrant was on notice that an application for an interim order may be made in the event of a sanction being imposed.
Decision
2. In relation to the application for an interim order, the Panel accepted the advice of the Legal Assessor. The Panel concluded that there was a continuing risk of repetition in the absence of evidence of insight, remediation or motivation to change. The Panel therefore determined that an Interim Suspension Order was necessary to protect service users and that such an order was otherwise in the public interest. An interim Conditions of Practice Order would not meet the risks identified. The Order would be of 18 months duration to allow for completion of the appeal process if an appeal were to be made.
3. The Panel makes an Interim Suspension Order under Article 31(2) of the Health Professions Order 2001, the same being necessary to protect members of the public and being otherwise in the public interest.This order will expire: (if no appeal is made against the Panel’s decision and Order) upon the expiry of the period during which such an appeal could be made; (if an appeal is made against the Panel’s decision and Order) the final determination of that appeal, subject to a maximum period of 18 months.
Hearing History
History of Hearings for Mrs Sharon L Docherty
| Date | Panel | Hearing type | Outcomes / Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/12/2023 | Health Committee | Review Hearing | Suspended |
| 14/12/2022 | Health Committee | Final Hearing | Suspended |