A St Andrews care worker has had a condition placed on his registration after the Scottish Social Services Council ruled his fitness to practice had been impaired.
Andrew Bull, who worked as a care assistant at Bupa’s Balnacarron home, has been ordered to submit a “substantial reflective account” to the SSSC covering the need to follow proper policies and procedures following a number of allegations made in relation to his conduct in 2015.
He has also been told to complete two specialist qualifications within the next six months.
At a disciplinary hearing, the SSSC heard how on September 7 2015 Mr Bull failed to wash a resident and failed to apply cream to the resident’s skin, causing the person distress.
He then falsely told colleagues that he had washed the resident when he had not.
Mr Bull also appeared in relation to another incident on August 27 2015, when he failed to assist another resident with her personal care, failed to help her into her night clothes and left her sitting on her bed in the dark, again causing her distress.
The SSSC heard how Mr Bull told a resident on July 15 2015 “you do not have to tell me my job, I already know how to do it”, or words to that effect.
In its ruling, the SSSC described Mr Bull’s conduct as “at best neglectful behaviour and at worst could be seen as abusive” and opted to impose conditions on his registration.
“There is a possibility that the behaviour would be repeated if you were to gain employment in the future and there is a need to protect vulnerable service users from not receiving appropriate personal care which would place them at an acute risk of harm,” it told Mr Bull.
“A reasonable person would be concerned by the repetition of the behaviour despite this being addressed with you and the limited insight you have shown.
“Taking all of the above into consideration the public would expect the SSSC to mark your behaviour in some way to reaffirm clear standards of conduct.
“It should be noted that you have not worked in the sector for very long and it is conceivable that you still have a lot to learn.
“Your behaviour would appear to be remediable through reflection and further training.”
When making its decision, the SSSC said it was concerned about a potential “pattern of behaviour” and “an element of dishonesty”, but noted that Mr Bull had showed some insight into his behaviour and had co-operated and engaged with the SSSC investigation.
Joan Elliott, Managing Director for Bupa Care Homes, said: “The wellbeing of our residents is our top priority.
“We dismissed Mr Bull as soon as we became aware of his actions.
“His behaviour was unacceptable and wouldn’t be tolerated in any of our homes.”