Mrs Emma Jones

Preliminary Matters

1. The Panel has been convened to undertake the review of a substantive conditions of practice order that was imposed on the Registrant on 10 April 2025. The review is being conducted under the provisions of Article 30(1) of the Health Professions Order 2001.

Service of the notice of the hearing

2. The Panel was provided with an unredacted copy of an email sent to the Registrant on 12 September 2025. The email informed her of the date and time of the hearing, and of the fact that the hearing would be conducted by the use of Microsoft Teams. The Panel was satisfied that this email was a valid notice of hearing.

Proceeding in the absence of the Registrant

3. After the Panel stated that it was satisfied that there had been good service of the notice of hearing, the Presenting Officer applied for a direction that the hearing should proceed in the absence of the Registrant.

4. On 1 October 2025, the Registrant’s Solicitors wrote to the HCPC and stated that neither they nor the Registrant would attend this hearing. It was stated that no disrespect was intended by that decision, but that it was necessary for the Registrant to focus on her health. A letter from a medical practitioner dated 29 September 2025 was attached to the communication from the Solicitors that explained the Registrant’s current health.

5. [REDACTED]

6. In reaching its decision the Panel did not consider that it was helpful to decide if the Registrant’s absence from the hearing was voluntary, in the sense that she could have participated had she been minded to do so. The Panel accepted that, in the light of the letter to which reference has been made, there are matters that explain her absence. However, the Panel decided that it was necessary for the hearing to proceed in her absence. This was to preserve the jurisdiction to consider whether a further sanction is required. For there to be jurisdiction to consider whether a further sanction is required, it is necessary for the review to be undertaken before the expiry of the present Order. That Order is due to expire on 7 November 2025, and there would not be sufficient time for a valid notice of hearing to be provided before that date. Accordingly, were the review not to be undertaken today, jurisdiction to consider whether there should be a further Order would be lost, and that would be contrary to the public interest.

Conducting the hearing partly in private

7. The Presenting Officer applied for a direction that the hearing should be conducted partly in private on the basis that there would be likely to be reference to details of the Registrant’s health, and the direction sought would therefore be necessary to protect the Registrant’s private life.

8. Having taken and accepted the advice of the Legal Assessor, the Panel agreed to make the direction sought on the ground advanced by the Presenting Officer.

Background

9. The HCPC received a referral from the Registrant’s former employer, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust on 28 October 2020. The referral indicated that the Registrant had been subject to an investigation in April 2018 following allegations that she had inhaled anaesthetic gases whilst at work and that a further allegation had been made in June 2019.

10. The allegations investigated by the Trust arose after colleagues of the Registrant reported suspicions that the Registrant had been inhaling anaesthetic gases used for patients.

11. The final hearing of the HCPC’s Allegation took place over 12 days between 20 November 2023 and 9 April 2024, being adjourned more than once in that period. The Registrant attended the hearing at which she was represented by Counsel. During the part of the hearing when the final hearing panel was deciding the factual elements of the case, the Registrant gave evidence and denied that she had acted as alleged. However, after that panel found that she had indeed inhaled anaesthetic gasses, on 8 April 2024, the Registrant provided a written reflection to the Panel. In that she admitted to the allegations which the panel had found proved. She said she had been in denial, and with hindsight should have admitted everything when she had the chance.

12. When the final hearing panel addressed the issue of impairment of fitness to practise, it determined that the conduct was remediable as it arose from serious errors of judgment. However, the panel considered that the conduct had not been remedied. The Registrant, having admitted the Allegation after the panel had found the facts proved had only just started to develop insight. The panel was not satisfied that the Registrant had developed strategies to manage stresses arising in her personal life. The panel therefore found that there was a risk of repetition.

13. The final hearing panel found that the Registrant’s fitness to practise was impaired on both the personal and public components.

14. The sanction imposed by the final hearing panel was a suspension order for a period of 12 months.

15. On 10 April 2025 (not 2024 as stated on the front page of the written determination) another panel of the Conduct and Competence Committee undertook a review of the suspension order that had been imposed by the final hearing panel. The Registrant again attended the hearing at which she was represented by Counsel.

16. The first reviewing panel decided that there was no continuing impairment of fitness to practise in relation to the public component, but that the Registrant’s fitness to practise was impaired when the personal component was considered. The reasons for this decision were set out in paragraphs 24 and 25 of the written determination in the following terms:

“24. The Panel then considered whether there remains a risk of repetition of self-medicating and hence a public protection risk. Whilst it acknowledged the Registrant’s evidence that this would not be the case, and did not disbelieve her intentions here, it had a lack of supporting evidence. Further, whilst the Registrant, to her credit, has undertaken a significant volume of CPD with a view to maintaining her skills and knowledge whilst she has not been permitted to practise, equally she has not been exposed to workplace pressures, or indeed, had to manage stresses in her private life whilst at work.
25. The Panel was not sufficiently reassured that she will be able to manage her health safely in the work environment. Hence there remained a risk of repetition, and the Panel found that the Registrant remains impaired on the public protection limb.”

17. The sanction imposed by the first reviewing panel was a conditions of practice order for a period of 6 months. The conditions imposed by the order were as follows:

(1) You must identify a workplace supervisor/mentor who must be registered with a statutory health regulator. You must meet with this supervisor/mentor on a monthly basis to:

a. Discuss any impact of your health on your return to practice and how you are managing that;

b. Keep them up to date on how you are managing stressors and the effectiveness of the coping strategies and mechanisms that you have in place;

c. Discuss any support you may need in order to manage your health and any stressors in the work environment, and follow their advice.

(2) You must inform the HCPC as to the identity and registration details of your supervisor/mentor within 14 days of commencing work and consent to the HCPC contacting them;

(3) You must provide the HCPC with a report from your supervisor/mentor two weeks prior to the review of this Order. The report must include how you have managed your health and any stressors since your return to work;

(4) You must inform the HCPC within 7 days of becoming aware of any patient safety incident you have been involved in, or of any disciplinary investigation or proceedings against you being commenced.

18. In imposing this Conditions of Practice Order, the first reviewing panel made the following suggestions to the Registrant with regard to information that might assist a panel in the position of the present Panel reviewing the Order:

“The Panel in addition considered that a future reviewing panel may be assisted by:

• Up to date medical records/clinic letters relating to your back condition and pain management generally;

• A letter from any counsellor or other professional you have been receiving support from with regard to coping strategies for pain and stress management;

• A reflection from you on your return to work and the stress/pain
management strategies you have used and their effectiveness.”

19. It is the Conditions of Practice Order imposed on 10 April 2025 that is currently being reviewed. The Order is due to expire on 7 November 2025.

Submissions to the Panel

20. The Presenting Officer outlined the background to the case, and made submissions as to the proper approach to a review of the sort currently being undertaken. She submitted that the Registrant had not demonstrated that her fitness to practise is no longer impaired. In relation to the outcome of the review sought by the HCPC, she submitted that the current Conditions of Practice Order should be extended to enable the Registrant to make representations on the issue of whether her fitness to practise remains impaired.

Decision

21. The Panel heeded the guidance contained in the HCPTS Practice Note, “Review of Article 30 Sanction Orders”, and it accepted the advice of the Legal Assessor. Accordingly, the Panel is required to accept the findings of fact that have been made, as well as the finding of misconduct based on those facts. The fundamental issue that is required to be made on a review of this nature is whether the Registrant’s fitness to practise remains impaired. The persuasive burden on that issue rests with the Registrant to persuade the reviewing panel that matters that have previously been identified as impairing their fitness to practise have been satisfactorily addressed.

22. This is an unusual case because the Panel is of the clear view that it does not have information that could result in it finding that there is no continuing impairment of fitness to practise, but at the same time, the Panel accepts that the issues relating to the Registrant’s health might well explain why she has not provided such information. The only way in which the Panel can resolve these two factors is by imposing a decision that will provide a proper degree of public protection, but at the same time ensuring that the Registrant is not shut out from providing the information she might have wished to present had her health permitted her to do so.

23. The conclusion of the Panel is that a further conditions of practice order is required. That further Order should be for a period of 12 months to allow the Registrant a proper opportunity to consider matters without feeling that a hurried response is required. At the same time, the Panel should note that it will be open to the Registrant to seek an early review of the further Order should the Registrant desire it. The Panel has decided that some, relatively minor, variations of the conditions imposed are required to those imposed in April 2025. The variations are simply to make clear what is required by the supervisor/mentor requirements and to include some of the generally accepted “standard conditions” that were omitted from the Order made in April 2025.

ORDER: The Registrar is directed to vary the Conditions of Practice Order against the registration of Emma Jones for a further period of 12 months on the expiry of the existing Order. The Conditions are:

(1) You must only undertake any professional work for which your HCPC registration is required if, before agreeing to undertake that work, you are satisfied that you will be provided with a supervisor/mentor who must be registered with a statutory health regulator.

(2) Before undertaking any work for which your HCPC registration is required, you must meet with your supervisor/mentor and discuss with them how you propose to manage your health on a return to practice.

(3) You must meet with your supervisor/mentor on a monthly basis to:

a. Discuss any impact of your health on your return to practice and how you are managing that;
b. Keep them up to date on how you are managing stressors and the effectiveness of the coping strategies and mechanisms that you have in place;
c. Discuss any support you may need in order to manage your health and any stressors in the work environment, and follow their advice.

(4) You must inform the HCPC as to the identity and registration details of your supervisor/mentor within 14 days of commencing work and consent to the HCPC contacting them.

(5) You must provide the HCPC with a report from your supervisor/mentor two weeks prior to the review of this Order. The report must include how you have managed your health and any stressors since your return to work.

(6) You must inform the HCPC within 7 days of becoming aware of any patient safety incident you have been involved in, or of any disciplinary investigation or proceedings against you being commenced.

(7) You must inform the following parties that your registration is subject to these conditions:

A. any organisation or person employing or contracting with you to undertake professional work;
B. any agency you are registered with or apply to be registered with to undertake professional work (at the time of application);
C. any prospective employer for professional work (at the time of your application);
D. any organisation through which you are undertaking professional training.

(8) You must allow the HCPC to share, as necessary, details about your performance, compliance with, and/or progress under these conditions with:

(A) any organisation or person employing or contracting with you to undertake professional work;
(B) any agency you are registered with or apply to be registered with to undertake professional work (at the time of application);
(C) any prospective employer for professional work (at the time of your application);
(D) any organisation through which you are undertaking professional training.

The Order imposed today will apply from 7 November 2025.

This Order will be reviewed again before its expiry on 7 November 2026.

History of Hearings for Mrs Emma Jones