A care worker has been suspended for failing to notify her regulator about an incident that occurred outside of work.
Based in Blaenau Gwent, domiciliary care worker Victoria James was suspended from the Social Care Wales register for 12 months following a Fitness to Practise hearing earlier this year.
The panel found she had committed serious misconduct by failing to promptly notify Social Care Wales of the incident, breaching professional standards.
Ms James admitted all charges in a Statement of Agreed Facts signed in February, and the panel ruled that each was proven.
The panel concluded that her failure to report the incident "lacked integrity" and fell short of the profession’s standards of honesty and openness.
The hearing, held remotely via video conference, proceeded in her absence after she stopped responding to the regulator in the weeks beforehand.
Although she previously indicated she would attend, and was contacted by phone on the morning of the hearing, she told the Fitness to Practise Officer that she was not able to join at that time.
The panel decided she had waived her right to attend and continued without her.
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In written submissions, Ms James explained she had been under "significant family pressure" at the time but emphasised that no care recipients were involved or affected by the incident.
She said her circumstances had since improved and that she had been promoted at work before leaving her role.
The panel was told she left her social care job about two months before the hearing, fearing she would lose it due to the proceedings.
Her former employer confirmed there were no concerns about her care practice and said he would re-employ her in the future.
The panel determined that the main risk lay in her lack of honesty and candour, rather than her practical care skills.
It referred to the Social Care Wales Code of Professional Practice, which requires workers to be honest and trustworthy both inside and outside of work.
A 12-month suspension order was imposed, along with an immediate order that prevents her from working in any registered social care role in Wales during the appeal period and for the duration of the suspension.
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