Manna Reji
Introduction
Manna Reji is a former occupational therapist who was registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and worked at University Hospital Southampton. In January 2026 an HCPC panel struck her off the register after finding she had lied on her registration application about English being her first language, could not communicate to the standard an occupational therapist requires, and had moved a patient with an open wound in an unsafe manner .
Background Information
Occupational therapy is a language-heavy profession: therapists assess what patients tell them, explain rehabilitation plans, and coordinate with colleagues whose instructions must be understood precisely. International practitioners join the UK register every year through HCPC processes that include English-language requirements such as the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). Reji came through that route into a post at University Hospital Southampton, where from mid-February 2023 she was supervised by senior occupational therapists during a probationary period that ended in June 2023. Her case was heard by a panel of the Conduct and Competence Committee in January 2026 .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Struck off in her absence. The panel found the core facts proved, the ground of misconduct established, and directed a strike-off order on 16 January 2026.
The dishonesty charge was simple: on her HCPC registration application, Reji declared that English was her first language when it was not, and the panel found she knew that when she made the declaration. The competence allegations covered 22 July 2022 to 21 June 2023, during which — the panel found — she was not able to communicate in English to the required standard: on one or more occasions she reported being unable to understand what service users said, could not accurately summarise information they provided, could not convey information in a way they could understand, and was unable to understand instructions from senior colleagues. The panel also found she did not attain the minimum required level on IELTS assessments or equivalent .
The patient-safety allegation concerned 27 April 2023, when she mobilised Service User A — a patient with an open wound to their heel — in an unsafe manner, a particular the panel found proved. Two further moving-and-handling allegations, concerning Service User B and Service User C, were not pursued after the HCPC offered no evidence .
The panel’s published determination records the outcome in the regulator’s own ledger form: facts proved on the declaration, the language-standard particulars and the unsafe mobilisation; the dishonesty particular proved; the statutory ground of misconduct established; fitness to practise impaired; sanction — strike off. The evidence included statements from the HCPC’s operations manager for international registrations and from three University Hospital Southampton occupational therapists who supervised or supported her during the relevant period .
Public Reaction and Consequences
Reji did not attend the hearing, which ran from 12 to 16 January 2026; the panel was satisfied she had been properly served with notice and proceeded in her absence. No mitigation or remediation was advanced on her behalf. The strike-off order removes her from the HCPC register, and the case now stands in the public record of HCPC erasures alongside her determination .
Current Status
Reji’s name was removed from the register with effect from the January 2026 decision. Unless she successfully appeals, she cannot practise as an occupational therapist in the United Kingdom. The determination — including the proved facts and the strike-off sanction — remains published on the HCPTS hearings record and in the aggregator listings that index regulator decisions .
Impact on Their Career/Life
The case sits at the intersection of two duties: a regulator’s duty to keep communication standards honest, and a hospital’s duty to keep patients physically safe. Reji’s proved dishonesty — a first-language declaration that was not true — undermined the very mechanism designed to ensure therapists can understand and be understood; the proved language failings showed the consequence, with service users incomprehended and senior instructions missed. The single proved moving-and-handling failure, mobilising a patient with an open heel wound, gave the panel a concrete patient-safety anchor. For internationally trained clinicians, the case is a warning that the English-language route to registration is enforced after registration too, not just at the door .