Physiotherapist at Dublin nursing home struck off over failure to disclose UK suspension

Seán McCárthaigh

A physiotherapist has been struck off over his failure to notify his regulatory body that he had been temporarily suspended from practising in the UK amid concerns over his professional competency.

An inquiry found Thangapandian Subramanian guilty of professional misconduct for failing to notify CORU’s Physiotherapists Registration Board that he had been made the subject of two interim suspension orders by its UK counterpart in February and August 2023.

Mr Subramanian, who worked at the TLC nursing home in Citywest, Co Dublin, had his registration suspended by the UK’s Health and Care Professions Council (HC) two years ago.

The Indian native, who had worked as a physiotherapist for over 24 years, had been ed to work in Ireland since March 2019.

The inquiry by CORU’s Professional Conduct Committee also found that Mr Subramanian had breached the Health and Social Care Professional Act 2005 in relation to the requirement to update information and correct errors.

It followed issions by the physiotherapist about his failure to notify CORU – the regulatory body of health and social care professionals – about his suspension from practising in the UK and his acceptance that it constituted professional misconduct.

Mr Subramanian acknowledged that the failure also constituted breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Physiotherapists.

However, he insisted the issue arose out of a “misunderstanding.”

The inquiry heard the physiotherapist had provided false responses when filling out forms about whether he had ever been ed with another regulator and, if so, if he had any restrictions placed on his practice or had adverse findings made against him.

Counsel for CORU, Eoghan O’Sullivan BL, told the inquiry that all physiotherapists have a duty to notify CORU within seven days of any matter which might affect their registration.

The inquiry heard that CORU only became aware of the interim suspension orders in August 2023 when the HC sent its Irish counterpart a list of registrants whose practice was subject to restriction.

In correspondence with CORU, Mr Subramanian apologised “unreservedly” for the lack of honesty he had shown when renewing his registration in September 2023.

Mr Subramanian said he had asked the HC that same month to cancel his UK registration as he did not want to return to work there, but had not realised that his registration could not be cancelled while a complaint against him was being investigated and an interim suspension order was in place.

“I thought I could remove my name from the and the complaint would be closed,” he explained.

In further correspondence, the physiotherapist claimed he wrongly believed when filling out the registration form for CORU that questions about any restrictions on his practice only related to matters within the jurisdiction of Ireland.

Mr Subramanian insisted that providing incorrect information was unintentional, as he had not meant to withhold information.

The inquiry heard that the physiotherapist had been suspended for an initial period of 18 months in the UK over concerns about his work with the Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust.

The issues related to the physiotherapist’s general conduct, clinical knowledge, poor communications and documentation errors.

It was also claimed Mr Subramanian had got a trauma patient to carry out repeated weight-bearing exercises when they were unable to do it, as well as keeping inaccurate records which did not make “clinical sense.”

The physiotherapist said he had resigned from his job with the NHS due to pressure and rejected the concerns raised about his performance, which he claimed were “baseless, racially motivated and fabricated.”

In recommending that Mr Subramanian’s registration should be cancelled, the inquiry’s chairperson, Shane McCarthy, said he had dishonestly misrepresented that he was not the subject of an interim suspension by his regulator in the UK.

“The committee finds that honesty is expected of all of society and of of a profession as it goes to public safety and the reputation of the profession,” said Dr McCarthy.

He said the committee did not accept Mr Subramanian’s claims that his lack of transparency and honesty was not deliberate.

Dr McCarthy said the sanction of cancelling the physiotherapist’s registration pointed to the gravity of his misconduct and was necessary to protect the public.

Although he had expressed remorse and demonstrated limited insight, Dr McCarthy said the committee was not convinced that his insight minimised a repetition of the conduct as he appeared more focused on getting back to work in Ireland.