The High Court has confirmed sanctions imposed by the Health and Social Care Professionals Council (CORU) on registered physiotherapist Anna Marie Stack Rivas, including suspension until she presents evidence of completing a course in ethics and professionalism for healthcare professionals.
The ex tempore judgment was delivered by Mr Justice David Barniville, President of the High Court, on 16 September 2026. The application was brought under section 70 of the Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005. It was a statutory confirmation application, not an appeal. The court had to confirm the Council’s direction unless it saw good reason not to do so.
The Council’s decision also required the Physiotherapists Registration Board to attach a condition that Stack Rivas refrain from holding herself out as a physiotherapist or healthcare worker when making public statements about the Government’s handling of COVID-19 or the efficacy or necessity of COVID-19 public health guidelines. The judgment records that the Council also directed a censure.
The sanctions followed an inquiry into three further complaints about public statements. The Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) heard the matter over four dates between January and March 2026. Stack Rivas did not attend and was not represented. The committee found professional misconduct in relation to the first two complaints. It found the allegations in the third complaint were not proven and did not amount to professional misconduct, principally because it could not be satisfied that anyone had watched or listened to the interviews at issue.
The Council adopted the PCC’s recommendation of censure and registration conditions, and added suspension. It said the suspension was necessary and proportionate to maintain public confidence, uphold professional standards and protect the public. The judgment records the Council’s view that the conduct was conscious and occurred despite an earlier censure and conditions.
Those earlier conditions were confirmed by the High Court on 1 July 2024 and included completing an approved ethics and professionalism course. CORU identified a suitable course in September 2024 and allowed 12 months for completion. The judgment said the condition remained unmet at the time of the current application.
Stack Rivas swore a replying affidavit but did not appear at the hearing. The judge said her affidavit’s arguments did not prevent confirmation. He found no procedural impropriety, failure of natural or constitutional justice, serious error, or basis to conclude that no reasonable regulatory body could have made the decision. He confirmed the Council’s decision and said he would make the orders sought in the originating motion ex parte.