A physiotherapist has been struck from the HCPC register following an investigation by Keoghs and Mulsanne Insurance. The physiotherapist had previously been handed an 18-month suspension by the Healthcare Professions Tribunal Service (HCPTS).
The original investigation arose when a personal injury claim from a 13-year-old minor, following a single vehicle incident, was referred to Keoghs by Mulsanne Insurance due to concerns over alleged treatment.
Mr Adeshina, the director of Physique Rehab Ltd, had delivered 11 sessions of physiotherapy to the claimant over the phone. The physiotherapist also spoke with the claimant’s mother via a non-professional interpreter, did not physically examine the claimant and had her mother, an unqualified person, carry out the treatment.
Following further investigations, it was revealed that Mr Adeshina had previously been suspended from the HCPC register following a conviction for possessing counterfeit currency and making off without payment. His suspension between November 2015 and March 2016 overlapped with two of the treatment sessions in question.
Since the original decision several interim hearings have taken place, with a final hearing on 30th April 2020. The HCPTS Panel received evidence from a physiotherapist who said in respect of telephone-led treatment it may be acceptable for a physiotherapist to conduct up to a maximum of two physiotherapy sessions by telephone, but by the conclusion of the second session the physiotherapist would have to identify the need for physiotherapy treatment, which would require face to face contact or resolve without requiring physiotherapy intervention.
Other factors were considered when determining if remote treatment was appropriate, including the nature, extent and duration of the injuries and the geographical distance between the claimant and the physiotherapist.
The hearing deemed Mr Adeshina’s treatment was not clinically appropriate as there was a risk that the diagnosis of the claimant was incorrect because of the limited assessment that was possible without face to face contact. Following this the Registrar was directed to strike the name of Mr Adeyinka Adeshina, who did not attend the final hearing, from the register.
Following the decision, Paul Twilley, Claims Director at Mulsanne Insurance Company Limited, said;
“This case is an excellent outcome and a good demonstration of our robust Medical Care Fraud strategy in which we work in partnership with Keoghs to diligently investigate and defend any unmeritorious claims for rehabilitation. We shall continue to report any instances of malpractice and to take other appropriate enforcement steps to ensure that this sort of unacceptable behaviour is stopped in its tracks.”
Healthcare-Enabled Fraud Strategy Lead for Keoghs, Matthew Ruck, added;
“A medical professional being struck off is not to be taken lightly and this result is testament to the hard work by the teams at Mulsanne and Keoghs.
We continue to recommend that insurers undertake full validation of any claims for rehabilitation that they receive in order to confirm exactly what treatment, if any, has actually been undertaken and to ensure that the documents received in support are accurate and honest. In the absence of specific expert evidence there will always be difficulty establishing whether a particular mode of treatment is clinically appropriate in a given case, however this decision provides a useful guide and hopefully will serve as a warning to those healthcare professionals who may be tempted to submit or support exaggerated, misleading or entirely false treatment claims.”
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