Northern Ireland

Paramedic who 'claimed amnesia' about stealing from Boots is struck off

Belfast paramedic Michael Penney has been struck off
Belfast paramedic Michael Penney has been struck off Belfast paramedic Michael Penney has been struck off

A PARAMEDIC who "claimed amnesia" about shoplifting £160 worth of goods while on duty has been struck off.

Michael Penney, who was an employee of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), was in uniform when he went into the Boots store at Donegall Place in Belfast in December 2015 and left with items in a plastic bag which he didn't pay for.

Penney, who was working in Ardoyne station, drove back to base where bosses questioned him after being tipped off about the theft, as he was captured on CCTV.

He said he had "no recollection of being in Boots" but later found the items on the back seat of his ambulance Rapid Response Vehicle.

Penney received a police caution in March 2016. He tried to appeal it but failed.

He has been suspended from the register for almost two years following separate professional misconduct hearings.

The regulator, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) took the "last resort" decision to impose a striking off order last month at a virtual hearing, which Penney chose did not attend.

At the hearing, the HCPC panel stated he failed to show evidence he has "developed sufficient insight" into the theft or "taken steps steps to remedy his conduct".

In its ruling, the regulator also warned there remained "a risk of repetition" and noted he had resigned for the ambulance service in March. He had also requested to be "removed" from the register.

They raised further concerns that Penney linked his failure to recollect the theft to a "health condition".

"There is no evidence that, if such a health condition existed, the registrant has sought to take steps to manage it," the hearing was told.

"In these circumstances, the Panel considers that the registrant may pose a risk to patients in his role as a paramedic..."

At an earlier hearing in 2019 a consultant psychiatrist who assessed Penney said he had a number of views about his "claimed amnesia of the incident" - including the fact he may have experienced a lack of concentration and been '"absent-minded".

However, the psychiatrist "could not rule out the possibility" that he was "simply being dishonest".

At the final review hearing on May 26, the HCPC said that in order to "to uphold proper standards and maintain confidence in the paramedic profession", a striking off order was the most appropriate sanction.

"The Panel is satisfied that a fair minded and well-informed member of the public would be concerned if there was no finding of impairment in this case where the registrant has not demonstrated proper insight, remorse, or taken any steps to remedy the conduct which led to his caution.

They added: "A striking off order is likely to be appropriate where the nature and gravity of the concerns are such that any lesser sanction would be insufficient to protect the public, public confidence in the profession and public confidence in the regulatory process."