Mark Considine
Introduction
Mark Considine is a former operating department practitioner who was registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). In December 2025 an HCPC panel struck him off the register after finding he had shouted abusive, expletive-laden remarks at a colleague in an NHS department, chest-barged him over a chair, and then failed to tell the regulator about the dismissal that followed .
Background Information
Operating department practitioners are the backbone of the surgical team, preparing instruments, supporting anaesthetists and keeping theatres safe — environments where hierarchy is real and tempers can run short. Considine was working in that setting while, on the regulator’s case, he was in training or on secondment. The incident at the centre of his case took place on 20 April 2021 and involved a colleague referred to throughout the determination as Colleague A. His employer investigated, found the conduct amounted to gross misconduct, and summarily dismissed him; the dismissal was reported to the HCPC .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Struck off for workplace abuse. The panel found the core particulars proved, one admitted, and imposed a striking-off order on 11 December 2025.
According to the allegation, on 20 April 2021 Considine refused to work in partnership with Colleague A by not accepting an instruction on a procedure while he was in training or on secondment. He then shouted at Colleague A and said, in the determination’s recording of the words, “I don’t give a ****, who do you think you are in here?” and “I didn’t give a **** who you were in the army, don’t belittle me in front of a patient again”, or words to that effect. The panel found the allegation that he expanded his chest and caused physical contact that resulted in Colleague A falling over his chair proved .
A third limb did not survive to findings: an allegation that a service user had overheard the altercation was discontinued after the witness would not attend, the panel accepting that hearsay evidence would be unfair. The final proved strand concerned what came after — from 27 October 2021, having been dismissed, he failed to self-refer to the HCPC. He had admitted that particular and offered an apology and explanation, but the panel still assessed it as a serious falling short, aggravating rather than excusing the underlying incident .
Public Reaction and Consequences
Parts of the hearing were held in private to protect health-related matters concerning both the practitioner and Colleague A, but the conduct findings were heard and published in public. The panel concluded that Considine’s fitness to practise was impaired and that the only proportionate sanction was removal from the register, directing that his name be struck off. An interim order was imposed to cover the period in which an appeal could be lodged, reflecting the panel’s view that public protection required continuity of restriction .
Current Status
Considine was struck off the HCPC register with effect from the December 2025 decision, subject to the appeal window covered by the interim order. Unless an appeal succeeds, he cannot work as an operating department practitioner in the UK. His erasure is recorded in public listings of regulator decisions, and the determination — including the quoted remarks and the proved particulars — remains the authoritative account .
Impact on Their Career/Life
Theatres run on disciplined cooperation under pressure, and the case shows what happens when a practitioner converts pressure into intimidation. The shouted remarks — a reference to Colleague A’s army service, delivered in front of a patient’s operative environment — and the physical chest-barge that put a colleague over a chair were found to fall far below professional standards. The failed self-referral afterwards meant the regulator learned of the dismissal from the employer rather than the registrant, which the panel treated as a serious abdication of a core duty. For NHS employers, the case underlines that gross-misconduct dismissals for workplace abuse are only the first consequence; registration follows employment out of the door .