Two struck off over false records at Llangollen care home

Alyson Price and Danielle Worthy were both handed removal orders following a Social Care Wales fitness to practise hearing on June 3-4.

The hearing related to matters in September 2022 at Llangollen Fechan care home – the resident’s death prompted both police and coronial investigations.

When the case was first heard in March, which Ms Worthy attended but Ms Price did not, the panel chairing the hearing found the charge that Ms Worthy had falsified staff training records to be proved.

Ms Price then appeared at the June hearing, telling the panel that she alone had falsified the records.

An application from Ms Worthy for the “facts stage” of the hearing to be re-opened in light of Ms Price’s new account was rejected, as the panel ruled it had no power to do so.

It was accepted by Ms Worthy that the training certificates in question were forgeries, and it was not disputed that they were sent from her personal email to her work account.

But she denied involvement, although did not offer a view on who was responsible.

She had claimed that her email accounts were logged in on her computer, which was not password-protected in her office, which she said had a faulty door lock.

Some time after September 2022, she added, Ms Price told her during a telephone call that she was solely responsible for the false certificates, and that she had used Ms Worthy’s laptop to do this.

Ms Price handed in her resignation letter in October 2022, in which she wrote: “I fully admit my guilt” regarding the false certificates, but the panel found that she then “goes on to provide justifications for her actions”.

At the June hearing, Ms Price said she was ashamed of her actions, which she said were not premediated but borne out of a state of panic.

But her suggestion that her misconduct was a “moment of madness” was rejected by the panel.

Ms Price is no longer working in social care and said she has no intention of returning to the sector.

The panel told Ms Price: “The public is entitled to have confidence that training records shared by care providers accurately reflect the competence and qualifications of those entrusted with the care of vulnerable people.

“Deliberately creating forged training certificates undermines that confidence.

“It also undermines confidence in regulatory processes, particularly where the documents were created in the context of enquiries concerning the death of a service user.

“We are not satisfied that you have demonstrated sufficient insight or remediation to persuade us that the risk of similar conduct recurring has been eliminated.

“We regard you as the principal architect of the wrongdoing. The misconduct originated with you and was driven by your actions.”

Ms Worthy, who had remained in work with the same employer since this incident, was said to be “highly regarded” by her colleagues, but had also previously received a verbal warning for use of her personal emails on work devices.

The panel told her: “We have already found proved that you participated in the falsification of training certificates and that your conduct was dishonest and lacked integrity.

“We found that you were complicit in a scheme to create and use forged training records which were subsequently transmitted between care homes in circumstances where information was being sought in connection with a coroner’s investigation and police enquiries.

“These were not administrative inaccuracies or errors. They were forged documents relating to matters of professional qualification and competence.

“The misconduct we found proved was not a matter of deficient performance capable of correction through further training or supervision.

“It may have been led by (Ms Price), but it involved your active participation in a deliberate falsification of records and dishonesty.

“It was a blatant attempt at subterfuge, involving documents relating to professional training and competence which were liable to be scrutinised by the police and the coroner.”

A spokesperson for Roberts Homes (North Wales) Ltd, the company responsible for Llangollen Fechan, said: “The matters considered by Social Care Wales occurred four years ago in 2022.

“In relation to Alyson Price, she left our employment at that time.

“We further understand that, in Danielle Worthy’s case, this matter is still pending an appeal process.

“We are unable to comment further.”