A paramedic has been permanently removed from the professional register after a tribunal found she lied about a family emergency to secure a day off work, with her falsehood exposed by festive photographs posted on Facebook.
Social Media Posts Contradict Sick Leave Claim
Natalie Twomey, who was employed by the London Ambulance Service (LAS), emailed her managers on 28 November 2022. She claimed her sister's health had "deteriorated again" and stated she needed to drive to Norfolk to be with her, phoning in sick as a result.
However, LAS staff later discovered images on her sister's Facebook account showing her home decorated for Christmas, posted on that very same day. A Health and Care Professions Tribunal Service panel deemed these cheerful decorations "inconsistent" with the sister being so severely ill that Ms Twomey needed to make an urgent cross-country visit.
A Pattern of Deceit Uncovered
When confronted about the social media posts during a capability meeting in April 2023, Ms Twomey offered an alternative explanation. She claimed her sister was actually in an Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) and that her sister's husband was responsible for the Facebook posts.
The tribunal panel rejected this. They found Ms Twomey knew her sister was not sick on 28 November and had "deliberately provided misleading information to her employer to excuse her absence from work." The written judgment stated she told a "lie" to "mislead" for "personal gain."
This incident was not an isolated one. The panel heard that Ms Twomey was moved from front-line duties in June 2023 after attending work smelling of alcohol. Subsequently, she failed to inform the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) regulator about these practice restrictions when renewing her registration.
She also misled the LAS recruitment team, claiming her move to non-patient facing duties was due to a back and knee injury, and provided false information about her working hours.
Further Offences and Striking Off Order
Ms Twomey was dismissed from the LAS at the end of 2023 due to "capability and failure to attend work regularly." Despite this, she later claimed in a job interview that she had never been subject to disciplinary hearings or dismissal, and that there were no outstanding investigations against her—despite being aware of an ongoing HCPC probe.
The misconduct extended beyond dishonesty. In April 2024, while working at a police investigation centre, an officer detected alcohol on her breath. Ms Twomey, who had driven to the site, was arrested. She later pleaded guilty at Ipswich Magistrates' Court to driving over the prescribed alcohol limit.
The tribunal panel concluded her conduct was "sufficiently serious to amount to misconduct" and that public trust in the profession had been damaged. "The panel concluded that the appropriate and proportionate sanction in this case was a Striking Off Order," they stated, resulting in her permanent removal from the HCPC register.
