A top equine vet for the British Horseracing Authority has been struck off after she forged a GP note in an attempt to come up with an excuse when she was accused of misconduct.
Cambridge-educated Bethan Cook committed forgery when she became the subject of a misconduct investigation, a tribunal heard.
She forged a GP note which claimed with ‘complete certainty’ that any ‘adverse events’ at work were a ‘direct result of her condition’.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) tribunal heard that Ms Cook had worked as a veterinary officer at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) for a decade, but she had practised as a vet for over twenty years.
Her responsibilities included ensuring compliance with the rules of racing from a veterinary health and safety perspective and regulatory work at racing fixtures.
A disciplinary investigation against her started in September 2023 and a hearing about it was due to take place in June 2024. Details about the alleged misconduct were not shared at the RCVS tribunal.
Ms Cook submitted a letter during the proceedings which she claimed had been written by her GP, who was referred to only as GW.
The RCVS hearing was told the letter ‘provided a summary of [Ms Cook]’s medical history and provided opinions on the impact of her medical conditions on her and events in the workplace’.
The BHA questioned the authenticity of the letter, which said: ‘I can have complete certainty in saying any adverse events that may have occurred in the workplace over the last 20-24 months will have been a direct result of her condition, and its gradual increasing severity.’
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) tribunal heard that Ms Cook had worked as a veterinary officer at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) for a decade, but she had practised as a vet for over twenty years (Pictured: Royal Veterinary College)
The nature of the condition was not shared at the RCVS hearing.
HR operations lead Joanne Horrell got in touch with the GP practice and confirmed the report had not been made or sent by Ms Cook’s doctor.
Ms Cook told another HR worker, the head of the department at the BHA, over the phone in June 2024 that the doctor had written the report.
When she was told that it had been confirmed as a ‘fake’, she initially said the report was from her GP, but he had done it ‘privately’ as she had offered to pay for it to ‘get it done properly’.
She was asked to provide proof the GP had sent it.
Ms Cook then wrote an email with a letter attached, pretending once again that it was written by the GP, using an email address which looked like it belonged to the doctor – a Yahoo email address which started ‘dgwales78’.
Ms Cook admitted to the RCVS hearing that she forwarded this on to the head of HR so that it would look like both the email and the letter were from her GP, even though they were not.
Ms Horrell once again confirmed with the GP practice that the correspondence hadn’t been sent by the doctor, and the Yahoo address wasn’t his email.
Ms Cook told the RCVS hearing that she had ‘at first been happy’ in her role, but ‘latterly the relationship had broken down’.
Explaining how she came to forge the GP letter, the tribunal heard: ‘Ms Cook said that she had not been “compos mentis” and had not known what she was doing when she submitted the [GP] report to her representative.
‘Ms Cook did not remember writing the letter.’
She said she had ‘made enquiries with her GP surgery about obtaining a GP report’ after being told that such a letter might help her.
Miss Cook was told it could take ‘weeks’ to prepare.
She said she’d consumed ‘a large volume of alcohol’ and must have then written the ‘report’ from the GP.
Miss Cook even claimed that she thought the letter might have been ‘planted’ on her device by the BHA.
She said she had ‘bluffed’ her way through the call with the head of HR.
Miss Cook resigned in June 2024, and told the RCVS hearing she had ‘merely wanted to return to work’ when she sent the letters, and she had been at her ‘lowest point’ at the time.
The RCVS said that her claims were inconsistent with the evidence, and she had been ‘reckless’ about the potential impact of her actions on her GP.
It found her guilty of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect, and said: ‘Ms Cook had placed her own interests, in seeking to avoid or influence the employment disciplinary process, above the principles of honesty, integrity and professional accountability.’
Miss Cook has been struck off the Register of Veterinary Surgeons.
