A Broughty Ferry care home worker has been struck off for slapping and shouting at one of the residents who lashed out at her.
Susan Williamson, a support worker, was found by officers of the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to be guilty of misconduct over the episode at Redwood House on Seafield Road in January.
They ruled that she restrained an elderly woman’s arm under her arm and cleaned the woman’s nails against her wishes. This disregard for the woman’s wishes resulted in the resident becoming distressed and lashing out at Williamson.
Williamson reacted by slapping the woman and behaving in an abusive manner by shouting at her.
SSSC officers said the elderly woman relied on Williamson to care for her and protect her from harm in Redwood House, where the woman was entitled to feel safe.
In cleaning her nails, Williamson failed to respect the woman’s wishes and this disregard made the woman distressed and lash out at her.
Williamson reacted by slapping the woman, showing an inability “to appropriately respond to service users who are distressed”. It also showed a lack of understanding as to how her actions contributed to the woman lashing out.
By slapping the woman in return, she placed her at risk of physical harm, which “gives rise to serious concerns about her suitability to work in social services”.
The SSSC officers also noted that it was an isolated incident and there were no other concerns about Williamson’s conduct.
However, she consistently demonstrated a lack of insight into her actions, and throughout Redwood’s disciplinary proceedings she maintained her actions were justified and failed to see how her failure to manage the woman’s behaviour led to her becoming distressed.
Redwood also expressed concern about Williamson’s attitude, stating that during her appeal she seemed to be “missing the point”.
She offered no apologies and maintained that her actions had been appropriate and justified. She also stated that in a similar situation she would do the same again.
Having breached 14 parts of the code of conduct, Williamson admitted the charges against her and consented to the order to remove her from the register.