A Fife woman convicted of stealing cash from a vulnerable person she was employed to care for has been struck off.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) made the decision to ban Eileen Curran indefinitely after she was found to have stolen from the person over the period of almost a year, while employed as a carer in Dunfermline.
In its report, the SSSC said in December 2020 Curran was convicted at Dunfermline Sheriff Court of stealing quantities of cash from the person’s home, while employed to care for them, on a number of occasions between October 2019 and July 2020.
‘Abused your position of trust’
In its findings, the SSSC said: “This occurred during work and while you were supporting a service user.
“You abused your position of trust and prioritised your own personal financial gain by depriving a service user of their money.
“Your actions violate a fundamental tenet of the profession and raise significant concerns about your underlying values and your suitability to continue working in registrable employment.”
Investigators for the SSSC said Curran’s behaviour “had the potential to significantly
impact on the trust and confidence placed in social service workers generally”.
They also said Curran’s actions were “at the highest end of the range of seriousness”.
The report said: “The conviction relates to a pattern of behaviour and the behaviour
occurred at work while you were supporting a service user in their home.
“Given the concerns about your values, the risk of repetition remains high.
“The behaviour is very serious.
“If it were to be repeated, there is a real likelihood vulnerable service users would be exposed to financial and emotional harm.”
‘Accepted responsibility and showed remorse’
It was said Curran “abused her privileged position of being allowed access to a service user’s home for her own financial benefit”.
However, the report did note that Curran had “accepted responsibility for her actions and demonstrated remorse”.
She was banned from working as a carer indefinitely, effective from September 2.