A LECTURER who lied about his qualifications to teach university healthcare students has been barred from nursing.
Richard Forbes-Young, who taught at Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen, resigned his £44,000-a-year post after it was discovered he did not have the proper qualifications.
He had dishonestly concealed from university chiefs that he had failed a teaching course, and told them on a job application he had a BSc in Nursing when he did not.
A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) panel last week was told the nurse, who taught Advanced Clinical Practice, also lied he was undertaking a clinical doctorate when he was not.
The hearing also heard the university appeared to have hired Mr Forbes-Young without carrying out the proper checks on his qualifications.
He was given the job in August 2010 after saying he had a Bsc in nursing on his job application when he did not, and lied that he was undertaking a clinical doctorate when he was not.
He later concealed that he had failed a PGCE teaching course.
His lack of qualifications was only discovered during an annual check in July 2011 by fellow lecturer Avril Milne.
She told the NMC panel: “He had wondered how long it would take the school to find out that he did not have it.
“He also said he wondered why it had taken so long for the school to have noticed that he did not have the required qualification.”
She said she told him she was “shocked” he did not have the PGCE qualification.
An internal investigation was carried out, but Mr Forbes-Young’s resignation was accepted before a disciplinary hearing was completed.
NMC panel member Gerard Kennedy said: “It does appear that Mr Forbes-Young was taken on without the proper verification and checks carried out on the qualifications he had.”
Professor Brian Webster, head of RGU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery changed its recruitment procedure after the incident.
He told the panel: “Following this incident there was a review of the [recruitment] process and there was a change in the process – a new process was implemented.”
He continued: “I can’t hand on heart say everything listed on his CV was checked and that was the issue we discussed with HR.”
Mr Forbes-Young, who was not present at the hearing, admitted ten of the charges against him, but denied being dishonest.
But the NMC panel, meeting in Edinburgh, said his lies had brought the profession into disrepute.
NMC panel chair Maurice Cohen said: “The panel is particularly concerned that Mr Forbes-Young’s dishonest behaviour involved a deliberate and premeditated deceit, in that he attempted to misrepresent his education status and concealed the fact that he was not undertaking a clinical doctorate course for the purpose of securing employment and subsequently enhancing his salary.
“Mr Forbes-Young’s dishonest completion of his application for employment breached the fundamental tenet of the profession referred to above and in the judgement of the panel, brought the profession into disrepute.”
The panel said Mr Forbes-Young claimed his mistake was the result of an “oversight”, and he had not apologised for his actions.
He was struck off and will be unable to reapply for five years.
