Health and Care Professions Council determination — substantive hearing
HCPTS panel strikes off Dawn Earp over forged and altered prescriptions
An HCPTS panel struck off operating department practitioner Dawn Earp after finding she repeatedly forged and altered prescriptions to obtain medication that had not been prescribed.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 22 March 2024 · Updated 23 September 2026
Erasure (struck off the register)
Data last checked: 23 September 2026Report a correction
What does “struck off the register” mean?
The regulator directed removal from the register in this decision. The decision explains when the direction takes effect and any appeal provisions. Check the official register for the practitioner's current registration status.
Concerning Dawn Earp, operating department practitioner (Health and Care Professions Council ODP09760).
Decision date: 22 March 2024 · Hearing started 18 March 2024 and ended 22 March 2024
In plain English
The HCPTS panel found that Dawn Earp repeatedly forged and altered prescriptions to obtain medication that had not been prescribed. It found her conduct dishonest, with no genuine insight or remediation and a high risk of repetition. The panel said the conduct was fundamentally incompatible with registration and struck the operating department practitioner off the Register.
Charges
The allegation was that Dawn Earp altered prescriptions by adding quantities and bacteriostatic saline, and created prescriptions using a nurse prescriber's name and personal details. It alleged that each course of conduct was dishonest, amounted to misconduct and impaired her fitness to practise.
Findings
The panel proved all particulars, finding that Dawn Earp repeatedly altered prescriptions to obtain extra medication and created prescriptions using another registrant's details and signature. It found the conduct dishonest and amounting to misconduct, with superficial insight, no remediation and a high risk of repetition. It found impairment on personal and public grounds and ordered striking off.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Aggravating factors
The conduct involved a breach of trust as the Registrant was using prescription medication on clients for whom it had not been prescribed; Repetition of the conduct over an extended period of time, and which was only brought to an end when questions were raised by the Pharmacy; There had been a lack of genuine insight and remorse, with the apology for everything beyond Patient L only having been made after the Panel's findings; Lack of remediation. Whilst the Registrant had undertaken an ethics course, this had been very recent, and there had been nothing to demonstrate to the Panel any learning or reflection as a consequence; The potential for harm to service users if prescriptions were forged or amended in the context of practice as an ODP was significant; The Registrant had lied to the Panel in her evidence.
Source
All facts on this page are drawn from the publicly published Health and Care Professions Council determination linked below. MedicWatch does not editorialise the regulator’s findings.
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