South Wales Echo

Suspended for ‘cyber-bullying’

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A PARAMEDIC “cyber-bullied” his former boss by posting inappropri­ate and offensive messages on social media when he didn’t get a promotion.

Clayton Blight wrote the messages and posted images on his Facebook account which were targeted at his former boss and colleague after he failed to get the role of special operations manager at the Welsh Ambulance Service.

A conduct and competence panel of the Health and Care Profession­s Council (HCPC) heard how Mr Blight posted messages such as “worthless bunch of lying, snidy, balding, inexperien­ced, uneducated, backstabbi­ng, spineless, **** kissing, nepotistic, gutless, false, pretnender­s (sic) and evil people” and “you are fat, bald, hopelessly unqualifie­d at your job and not respected by any of your peers” on social media after losing out on the role.

The job was given to his colleague Ben Collins who Mr Blight targeted online, as well as his former boss Christophe­r Sims.

Mr Blight, who did not attend the hearing, posted the inappropri­ate and offensive messages, as well as doctored images to look like his former colleagues, on his Facebook account which were then viewed by other staff members who reported it.

His former boss, Mr Sims, reported Mr Blight to the HCPC. Mr Blight left the Welsh Ambulance Service in April 2016 but still continued to post messages online, the panel heard.

This included the post: “Am I getting to you. Whom ever your mole is deserves all that is coming to you. You have up’d the stakes mon brav. You are skating on very thin ice my pedigree chum and I will be underneath when it breaks.”

The panel found 10 allegation­s of posting inappropri­ate offensive messages online proven.

It also found that Mr Blight’s fitness to practise was impaired and suspended him from the HCPC register for six months.

One allegation was found not to be proven.

The panel’s chairman, Ian Comfort, said the messages were “effectivel­y cyber-bullying ... over a considerab­le period of time” in a “covert and underhand manner”.

He added: “It had the intention of belittling, humiliatin­g and underminin­g Mr Sims as a person and his authority at work to colleagues and to the wider public.

“In the panel’s judgement, the registrant’s conduct was offensive, highly insulting, deeply personal and hurtful ... it was also threatenin­g.

“The registrant recklessly disregarde­d his profession­al duties as a paramedic and disregarde­d the ethics underpinni­ng his profession.” and/or to be

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