Health and Care Professions Council determination — other
HCPTS panel cautions Sabreen Qureshi-Hitchens over posts
The physiotherapist received a one-year caution for misleading Covid-19 posts linked to her professional status.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 30 July 2025 · Updated 23 September 2026
Warning (formally warned)
Data last checked: 23 September 2026Report a correction
What does “formally warned” mean?
A formal warning is a note on the practitioner's record. It does not restrict practice but tells the public that the regulator considered the conduct to have fallen below expected standards.
Concerning Sabreen Qureshi-Hitchens, physiotherapist (Health and Care Professions Council PH45498).
Decision date: 30 July 2025 · Hearing started 30 July 2025
In plain English
The HCPTS panel considered physiotherapist Sabreen Qureshi-Hitchens's misleading Covid-19 social-media posts, which were linked to her professional status. She admitted the conduct, removed the posts promptly, apologised and showed full insight, with no repetition. The panel found public-interest impairment and imposed a one-year caution.
Charges
Ms Qureshi-Hitchens was alleged to have used a Twitter account identifying her as a chartered physiotherapist to share dangerous and misleading claims about Covid-19, vaccine regulation and public-health organisations.
Findings
The panel accepted her admissions, found the social-media posts amounted to misconduct, and found impairment solely on public-interest grounds. It noted her immediate removal of the posts, apologies, full insight and absence of repetition. A one-year caution was sufficient to mark the seriousness and maintain public confidence.
Mitigating and aggravating factors
Mitigating factors
Prior to this matter no previous disciplinary history with the HCPC; the Registrant had engaged immediately with her professional association and the HCPC and acted swiftly and decisively to remove the social media posts; the misconduct was of limited duration and there had been no repetition; the Registrant had made full admissions in this case.
Aggravating factors
These were serious departures from the standards expected of a Physiotherapist.
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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