Sandwell physiotherapist struck off for giving prescription-only jabs without prescription

Adrian Paul Harding was struck off by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) for administering prescription-only botox injections to treat patients with spasticity between 2008 and 2020 without a prescription or written consent.

Mr Harding, listed as Adrian in the documents but more commonly referred to as Peter, was described as an “extremely experienced” physiotherapist at NPP Neuro Group and considered one of the few capable of administering botulinum toxin, commonly referred to as botox, which requires an ability to target particular muscles.

The tribunal found Mr Harding had ‘acted as he pleased’ and administered injections despite knowing the drug needed a prescription that he was unable to provide and that there was not one in place when the drug was administered.

A fellow physiotherapist Dawn Hicklin was also struck off by the HCPC having supplied Mr Harding with two boxes of botox jabs while working at City Hospital for Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust in January 2019.

The tribunal heard how a former colleague bumped into Mr Harding while attending a meeting at the Birmingham Treatment Centre in 2019 and while catching up, Ms Hicklin, who appeared “embarrassed and hesitant”, handed two boxes of Dysport, another name for botulinum toxin, to Mr Harding.

After the incident was reported and when later asked by the trust about what had happened, Ms Hicklin then lied to bosses and said the boxes were empty and that she had not previously provided Mr Harding with any drug vials.

After this incident, Mr Harding told his employer, NPP Neuro Group, in early 2020 that he was likely to be called as a witness as part of an investigation into Ms Hicklin and there was ‘no cause for concern’ but by October he then revealed inquiries would be extended to his practice.

Colleagues at NPP Neuro Group then audited his records as part of the investigation and were said to be in “shock, horror and disbelief” by what they found.

His earlier actions were “akin to attempting to cover up any wrongdoing by him” and an audit of his so-called records had ‘at worst shown a cavalier attitude’ the HCPC panel said, and he had “acted with a sense of entitlement.”

He was also “angry” at his employer for raising the concerns and had “demonstrated a complete lack of insight” of the potential damage he had caused.

The tribunal said Mr Harding made no attempt to provide evidence that might portray him in a different light – especially given he was an “acknowledged specialist in his field and lectured on the subject.”

The panel added that it was “likely [he] authored the policies that he should have been following and that he had lectured students on such matters.”

“[His] blatant disregard for the rules over such an extended period of time exhibited a high-handedness with both patients and colleagues which was tantamount to arrogance,” the panel concluded.

Mr Harding’s record-keeping was “so poor it was serious enough to be classed as misconduct” and “many” essential records were either missing or incomplete.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) said Mr Harding’s actions had “fallen significantly below the standards expected of a registered physiotherapist.”

Mr Harding was referred to the HCPC on October 9, 2020 by his employer, had self-referred a day later and then ‘retired’ by October 12.

The tribunal found Mr Harding had not shown any evidence of “reflection, remediation, insight or remorse” and he had “simply walked away.”