Health and Care Professions Council determination — review hearing
HCPTS panel strikes off Poppy Sprague over Covid-19 social media misconduct
An HCPTS panel struck practitioner psychologist Poppy Sprague off after finding she had not remedied the attitudinal concerns behind earlier Covid-19 social media misconduct.
MedicWatch editorial · Published 16 July 2025 · Updated 23 September 2026
Erasure (struck off the register)
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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 Poppy Sprague, practitioner psychologist (Health and Care Professions Council PYL25085).
Decision date: 16 July 2025 · Hearing started 16 July 2025
In plain English
The HCPTS panel found that practitioner psychologist Poppy Sprague remained impaired after earlier misconduct findings about Covid-19 posts on social media linked to her professional status. It found she had not remedied the underlying attitudinal concerns, lacked sufficient insight and posed a high risk of similar harmful behaviour in another context. The panel struck her off.
Charges
Between August 2020 and March 2021, Ms Sprague posted public Facebook content linked to her professional status that opposed government Covid-19 guidance, discouraged masks, questioned public-health information and vaccination, suggested vaccination was harmful, and referred to the NHS in terms alleged to be inaccurate or damaging.
Findings
The substantive panel found the posts inappropriate and unprofessional, amounting to misconduct and impairment. At this second review, the panel found that Ms Sprague had not remedied the underlying attitudinal failings, lacked sufficient insight, remained unwilling to accept professional regulatory restraints, and posed a high risk of similar harmful behaviour in another context. It found personal and public impairment and fundamental incompatibility with continued registration.
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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