Bloodgate physio free to practise again

Posted by Nell Mead at 15:18 on 14 Jun 2011

The debate continues over the striking off of "Bloodgate" physiotherapist Steph Brennan.  As I blogged before, Steph was struck off the physiotherapy register by the Health Professions Council (HPC) in September 2010 when he pleaded guilty to helping the rugby team for whom he was head physiotherapist, Harlequins, cheat by providing a fake blood capsule to one of the players on the pitch.  By this time, he had already been banned from working in rugby for two years.  In contrast, the pitchside doctor (who cut the player's mouth to "prove" that he had been injured) was deemed fit to continue practising by the General Medical Council. 

Steph - by all accounts a superb clinical physiotherapist - appealed to the High Court against his striking off.  The High Court agreed that he had grounds to appeal to the HPC; and last month the HPC (after initially claiming that the High Court had no jurisdiction) revoked its decision, imposing instead a five-year "caution period".

Since the HPC initially struck Steph off, there has been hot debate among physiotherapists as to whether striking off was the correct action for the HPC to take or whether it was excessive.  Some have taken the view that Steph failed to maintain the "high standards of personal conduct" which form a part of the HPC's regulations and that he therefore deserves all he gets.  My own view is that it was excessive: that Steph clearly made a stupid mistake to put Harlequins before his profession and his morals; but that the public (whom the HPC exists to protect) is not better served by banning this man from practising.  He has also shown very public remorse and has clearly been reflecting on his actions, having undertaken a series of lectures to physiotherapy students on the importance of medical ethics.  I am therefore very glad that the HPC has overturned its own decision.

However, I'll leave the last word to Steph, who feels that his case has highlighted not just the pressure that is faced by physiotherapists working in elite/professional sport but also the importance of withtanding that pressure and keeping a cool head under fire: "I want the profession, and most importantly sports physiotherapists, to learn from my mistakes.  Sports physiotherapy is a very different role for the physiotherapist than any other job in public or private health, but that should not mean we forget our standards of ethics and practice."