Stranraer care home manager who hid past misconduct struck off

Joseph Morley was employed at the Thorney Croft care home in Stranraer

A former Stranraer care home manager has been struck off the social work register after it emerged that he had concealed details of past misconduct.

Joseph Morley - who was employed at the town's Thorney Croft facility - was also found to have fraudulently obtained a nursing registration.

An inquiry found he had shown a "long and significant pattern of dishonesty".

It concluded he had not shown any regret or apology for his behaviour and ordered his removal from the register.

The fitness to practise inquiry of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) heard how Mr Morley had failed to reveal he had previously been struck off as a paramedic in 2013 following an "extremely serious incident" - the details of which were redacted.

Deliberate and premeditated

In an application to the social work register in 2018, he provided a false date of birth and withheld details of an overseas nursing registration.

He later failed to disclose that he had subsequently been struck off by the Maltese nursing authorities after it emerged he had used an unapproved qualification from an unaccredited institution.

Removing him from the social work register, the SSSC said he had failed to demonstrate any regret or apology.

It added that his behaviour had been deliberate and premeditated, and his dishonesty had put him in positions of trust for which he was both unqualified and unsuitable.

It found that had the potential to result in harm to service users in his care and that there was no other appropriate sanction than removal from the register.

Robust action

Mr Morley worked at the Stranraer home while it was run by Community Integrated Care.

In a statement, the charity would only confirm that ownership of the unit had transferred to Park Homes last October.

The new owners said Mr Morley had been dismissed by the previous operators, prior to their takeover.

They added that they were always supportive of the work carried out by the SSSC to ensure those registered met their professional standards, and were glad to see robust action being taken when appropriate.