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. On 20 November 2024, a Notice of Hearing was sent to the Registrant’s registered email address. The Panel has seen an email delivery notification of that email. The Notice of Hearing concerned the review of a Suspension Order of 12 months that had been imposed at a review of the Registrant’s case on 13 December 2023.
2. The Panel was informed by Ms Khorassani that the Registrant had expressed a wish to be voluntarily removed from the Register and had been liaising with HCPC’s Case Manager (CM) to change the review hearing to one of disposal by consent to give effect to a voluntary removal from the Register.
3. Consequently, on 2 December 2024, the Registrant emailed the CM to confirm that they are content to waive the 28-day notice period.
4. On 3 December 2024, a revised Notice of Hearing was sent to the Registrant’s registered email address, specifying the date, time, location (remote) and purpose of today’s hearing. The Panel has seen an email delivery notification of that email.
5. On 5 December 2024, the Hearings Officer emailed the Registrant, asking if they would be attending the hearing. The Registrant responded by email on the same day confirming that they would not be attending the hearing, and no representative would be attending on their behalf.
6. The Hearings Officer confirmed to the Panel that the link to attend the hearing was sent to the Registrant on 12 December 2024.
7. In those circumstances, the Panel was satisfied that there had been good service of a valid Notice of Hearing.
Proceeding in Absence
8. Ms Khorassani applied for the hearing to be conducted in the absence of the Registrant. The Panel received advice from the Legal Assessor, which it accepted.
9. The Panel was satisfied that as there had been good service of a valid Notice of Hearing, that all reasonable steps had been taken to serve the Notice of Hearing on the Registrant as required by Rule 11 of the Health Professions Council (Health Committee) (Procedure) Rules 2003 as amended (‘the Rules’).
10. The Panel was satisfied that the Registrant had deliberately chosen not to attend the hearing. It considered that there was a strong public interest in proceeding with the hearing today in view of the age of the case, which had been based on events in 2020 and had resulted in a final hearing that concluded on 16 December 2022. Although there is always some disadvantage to a registrant in not attending a hearing, in this case this was much reduced due to the nature of the application, being an application that was made by the HCPC for her voluntary removal from the Register. For those reasons, the Panel decided that it was fair to proceed in the absence of the Registrant and it decided to do so.
Hearing in Private
11. Ms Khorassani applied for the hearing to be conducted in private. She submitted that as set out in the HCPTS’s Practice Note, Conducting Hearings in Private, March 2017, the health matters with which the hearing was concerned rendered it necessary for the whole hearing to be conducted in private in order to protect the private life of the Registrant. She therefore submitted that the hearing should not be held in public, but in private, under Rule 10(1)(a) of the Rules.
12. The Panel received further advice from the Legal Assessor, which it accepted.
13. The Panel accepted Ms Khorassani’s submissions and decided that the entire hearing should be conducted in private.
Order
ORDER: The Registrar is directed to remove the name of Ms Sharon L Docherty from the Register with immediate effect.
Notes
No notes available
Hearing History
History of Hearings for Sharon L Docherty
| Date | Panel | Hearing type | Outcomes / Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13/12/2024 | Health Committee | Voluntary Removal Agreement | Voluntary Removal agreed |
| 13/12/2023 | Health Committee | Review Hearing | Suspended |
| 14/12/2022 | Health Committee | Final Hearing | Suspended |