Smitha Johny
Introduction
Smitha Johny is a radiographer who was struck off the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) register after findings that she could not demonstrate basic radiography competence, failed her mandatory immediate life support training, and misstated her level of experience when applying for her job — a case that ended not with the panel’s own sanction but with the Professional Standards Authority appealing it to the High Court, which replaced a six-month suspension with a striking-off order. Johny had worked at the North Downs Hospital in Caterham, part of Ramsay Healthcare, from January 2023 until her resignation that April. The panel found the dishonesty allegations against her not proved.
Background Information
Johny joined the North Downs Hospital, Caterham as a radiographer in January 2023. Within weeks the concerns mounted: on or around 10 March 2023 and 20 April 2023 she was unable to answer basic questions about radiography process and procedure or complete scenario procedures, and between January and June 2023 she was unable to demonstrate the required competency in basic radiology studies such as X-rays of the hand or foot, identification of basic anatomy, following required guidelines and protocols including the Clinical Imaging Checklist, the Paused and Checked checklist and IR(ME)R 17 duty holder responsibilities, setting up X-ray machines, use of contrast, and communication with patients. She also failed to complete the mandatory Immediate Life Support course. On 7 March 2023 the hospital’s Head of Clinical Services emailed HR about clarifications sought over her application, and the referral that triggered the HCPC case raised concerns about her command of English, poor performance and lack of professional knowledge. She resigned on 24 April 2023.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Struck off by the High Court after a regulator panel settled for a six-month suspension. Competence failings and an experience misstatement were found proved; the dishonesty allegations, including on English proficiency, were not.
The panel proved Particulars 1(a) and (b) on the March and April 2023 assessments, Particular 2 across the January-June 2023 competency failings save for one limb on contrast, and Particular 3 on the failed immediate life support training. On the application allegations it found Particular 4(a) — misrepresentation of her English language proficiency on her HCPC registration application — not proved, and Particular 4(b) proved only insofar as it related to her stated level of experience, not her training or qualifications; the dishonesty particular, Particular 5, followed as not proved. The panel found a lack of competence with current impairment, noting concerns that continued over months with little improvement despite additional support, an identifiable risk of harm to patients, a lack of insight into her level of knowledge, and no evidence of remorse or remediation. It imposed a six-month suspension. The Professional Standards Authority appealed, considering the sanction too lenient, and the High Court allowed the appeal and substituted a striking-off order — the determination recording that the court replaced the suspension after findings of wide-ranging radiography failings.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The case is recorded on the official HCPTS hearings site and on MedicWatch’s independent record under the headline outcome that the High Court struck her off after the PSA appeal, with Johny listed among struck-off practitioners on MedicWatch’s erasures list. The hearing itself had unusual contours: Johny attended briefly on the first day — joining from India, five and a half hours ahead of UK time, with connectivity problems attributed to stormy weather — and the panel adjusted its sitting hours to accommodate her, but she did not attend again and the case proceeded on the evidence.
Current Status
Johny was struck off the HCPC register by order of the High Court following the Professional Standards Authority’s appeal against the six-month suspension, decided in the determination dated 11 March 2025, and can no longer work as a radiographer in the United Kingdom. The not-proved findings matter to the record: she was not found to have lied about her English proficiency, and her experience misstatement was found neither in her training nor her qualifications. No appeal against the High Court outcome appears in the fetched record.
Impact on Their Career/Life
Johny’s UK radiography career lasted barely four months of employment and ended with a striking-off order she did not obtain from the regulator’s own panel — the High Court concluded a suspension could not protect the public from the competence gaps the hospital had documented within weeks of her arrival. The case is a study in how the PSA’s appeal jurisdiction works in practice: where a panel’s sanction falls short of what findings require, the outcome can be rewritten at a higher level. Her determination remains permanently searchable on the HCPTS site and on independent records such as MedicWatch.