Maria Efthymiou

Introduction

Maria Efthymiou is an occupational therapist who was removed from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) register with immediate effect in May 2026 by a Voluntary Removal Agreement, the register-equivalent of a striking off order, after a disciplinary history reaching back to 2017. While employed as a Band 7 advanced wheelchair occupational therapist by Manx Care for the Isle of Man Government, she was found at a substantive hearing to have failed to assess and record a wheelchair patient’s functional, cognitive and physical abilities, skin condition, transfer ability and pressure-care requirements, and to have carried out no postural management assessment of a child patient — failures that came to light after Patient A developed a pressure ulcer from his wheelchair. She admitted the allegations at the voluntary removal hearing and intends to retire from practice.

Background Information

Efthymiou had worked for the Isle of Man Government since August 2006, first as a Band 6 occupational therapist until January 2015 and then as a Band 7 advanced wheelchair occupational therapist until her employment ended on 15 August 2018. In January 2017 concerns came to light after it was reported that Patient A had developed a pressure ulcer from his wheelchair; in April 2017 a second, unrelated complaint followed relating to her assessment of a child, Patient B. The employer’s investigation listed the concerns as poor clinical record keeping, outstanding assessments and actions, poor communication with the contractor, inadequate assessment and monitoring of patients, no routine monitoring of wheelchairs or pressure cushions, and an inability to draw on appropriate knowledge and skills to inform practice. She was suspended from work on 13 April 2017, self-referred to the HCPC that September, and her employer’s documentation followed in October 2017.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Removed from the register by agreement. The misconduct findings were made at a substantive hearing on the civil standard; the 2026 voluntary removal agreement is her admission-based exit from the register, mirroring a striking off order. No criminal proceedings feature in the published decision.

At the substantive hearing, the panel found proved the particulars concerning Patient A: that she did not carry out or record an adequate assessment or review on 26 October 2016 — failing to assess and record his functional, cognitive and physical abilities, to complete and record a skin check, to assess his ability to transfer, to assess his pressure-care requirements and examine the pressure on his pressure-relieving cushion, and to assess his behaviour and engagement with services — and that she did not review his notes before or during that appointment, and did not ensure the relevant equipment was ordered or follow up its ordering. She was also found to have carried out no postural management assessment in relation to Patient B on 7 March 2017. The panel found the matters amounted to misconduct and that her fitness to practise was impaired, imposing a suspension order of twelve months. The order was reviewed on 23 May 2024 and thereafter remained under review.

Public Reaction and Consequences

By the time of the May 2026 hearing, the case had moved from contested proceedings to a negotiated exit. The panel satisfied itself that there was a full admission: Efthymiou understood what was alleged and admitted the particulars, indicating mitigating circumstances but taking accountability for what happened and stating that she understood the matters were serious. She confirmed her intention to retire from practice. The panel noted that the conduct alleged, admitted and found proved was capable of amounting to impairment by reason of misconduct, and that the Voluntary Removal Agreement mirrors the terms of a Striking Off Order, preventing her from practising as an occupational therapist or using any title associated with the profession. It directed the Registrar to remove her name from the register with immediate effect.

Current Status

Efthymiou is removed from the HCPC register and cannot practise as an occupational therapist anywhere the HCPC registration is required, under an agreement carrying the same force as a striking off order. Unlike a suspension, there is no review date and no built-in route back; restoration would require a fresh application to the panel and a successful argument that she is fit to return. The admitted particulars remain on the public record: two patients whose assessments and follow-up were not done, one of whom developed a pressure ulcer, across a specialist wheelchair service whose equipment and cushions went unmonitored. Her stated intention to retire closes the regulatory chapter on her own application rather than on an imposed order.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The case documents the pressure-care endpoint of assessment failure: a wheelchair user’s skin, transfer ability and cushion pressure were the entire subject of her specialist role, and the proved particulars show each of those checks missing from a single appointment’s record. The employer’s concern list — no routine monitoring of wheelchairs or pressure cushions, poor record keeping, inadequate assessments — reads as the systemic version of the individual findings. The nine-year arc from self-referral to removal, passing through a twelve-month suspension and multiple reviews before ending in a negotiated voluntary removal, shows how the regulator resolves old competence cases when the registrant concedes impairment rather than fighting on. For the Isle of Man service, the decision records that its wheelchair service’s oversight failures were severe enough to end a twenty-year career, by her own admission, rather than by contested panel findings.

Sources

• HCPTS, “Maria Efthymiou — Voluntary Removal Agreement, Health Committee, Voluntary Removal agreed,” May 2026. source