Paramedic struck off for web insults to ex-boss
APARAMEDIC has been struck off after posting “inappropriate and offensive” comments about his former boss on social media.
Clayton Blight used his Facebook account to target Christopher Sims when he didn’t get a promotion with the Welsh Ambulance Service.
In October 2017 a conduct and competence panel of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) suspended Mr Blight for six months on grounds of misconduct.
They found Mr Blight’s posts amounted to “cyber-bullying” towards Mr Sims over “a considerable period of time”.
But following a substantive review on April 13 the decision was made for Mr Blight to be struck off the HCPC register.
The panel heard Mr Blight posted offensive comments on his Facebook page, including: “You are fat, bald and hopelessly unqualified at your job” and “I find it amazing how muppets work so well with someone’s hand up their a*** controlling them”.
Mr Blight, who became a paramedic in 1986, started writing the social media posts after he failed to get the role of special operations manager at the NHS trust in 2014.
The job was given to his colleague Ben Collins.
He also doctored images to look like his former colleagues on his Facebook account which were then viewed by other staff members.
His former boss, Mr Sims, saw the posts and images and 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 and/or offensive messages online to be proven.
The panel stated: “The panel found the conduct was deliberate and intended to be belittling, humiliating and undermining to [Mr Sims’] authority at work to colleagues and the wider public.
“It found that he had acted covertly and in an underhand manner.
“The panel concluded that the registrant would have known that the posts had the potential to be visible to everyone.
“The panel found the registrant’s fitness to practise to be currently impaired.”
Following the substantive review, panel chairwoman Janet Fisher said: “The panel concluded that the risk represented by Mr Blight remained.
“There was nothing to satisfy the panel that this conduct would not be repeated if he were permitted to return to practise.”
The panel ordered for the name of Mr Blight to be struck off the HCPC register.
Mr Blight was neither present nor represented at the hearing.