A senior officer at a Dundee care home has been struck off for not administering ointments and medication to residents and then pretending that she had done so.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) said the nature of Janice McMeekin’s misconduct was very serious as she had been dishonest and guilty of a breach of trust.
Her behaviour had placed service users at Magdalen House in Roseangle for adults with learning disabilities at risk of physical and emotional harm.
Not only had she not issued the medications, she had falsified records to pretend that she had, and attempted to cover up her wrongdoing.
The SSSC said her actions, for which she failed to demonstrate insight, were premeditated.
Her misconduct was “serious, deliberate, grossly negligent and reckless,” the SSSC judgment said.
Removal from the register was the only sanction deemed appropriate to ensure public confidence in the profession.
McMeekin had been found guilty of a total of eight charges relating to the care of a number of residents in January and February 2012.
Most of the breaches concerned her failure to apply prescribed ointments to service users, and one time she didn’t give prescribed epilepsy medication to a service user.
She was then found to have completed records indicating she had administered the medications when she had not done so.
McMeekin, who chose not to attend the hearing, had been dismissed from her post by home owners the Priority Care Group.
As senior care officer she had sometimes been left in charge, but the incidents came to light after a previous disciplinary matter.
She had allowed a staff member who had turned up under the influence of alcohol to remain in the sleepover room rather than send her home.
Her actions in not administering the medication were regarded by Priority Care as gross misconduct and she was dismissed.
She took her case to an employment tribunal but it ruled her sacking had been fair.