A Wishaw social care worker has been sanctioned by a regulator following complaints about his behaviour.
Scott Baxter was found to have accepted money from a service user, named in the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) as AA, on more than one occasion instead of submitting a travel claim form in line with his employer’s policy.
Baxter, who was employed as a support practitioner by The Richmond Fellowship North Lanarkshire, was also found to have shouted and swore at the service user while on the phone with a colleague.
The SSSC report states: “You (Baxter) should not have accepted money from AA, who was vulnerable and who would not have been aware of your employer’s policy for workers claiming travel expenses instead.
“This was an abuse of the trust placed in you by your employer.
“It appears that AA was handling dangerous gardening equipment while you were on the telephone to your colleague, however shouting and swearing at AA had the potential to escalate the situation and placed AA at an increased risk of emotional harm.
“AA was heard to be in a distressed state.
“There is a pattern of behaviour where you have behaved unprofessionally.
“You have not reflected on or apologised for either behaviours or provided the SSSC with assurances regarding how you would react differently in the future to avoid either situation happening again.
“There are ongoing public protection risks and if you were to return to work in the sector, there is a need to protect vulnerable groups and the wider public.
“A reasonable member of the public would expect the SSSC to take action.
“The reputation of the profession would be damaged if the SSSC did not take action to reaffirm the proper standards of conduct and behaviour to maintain public confidence.”
The report noted that Baxter had previously had a good history in his employment and had co-operated with the investigation into his conduct.
However, the report also highlighted factors of concern.
Baxter was given a warning by the SSSC which will stay on his registration for the next 18 months along with several conditions.
The report concludes: “You caused AA distress by shouting and swearing at him and also placed AA at risk of emotional and financial harm.
“You have not apologised for your behaviour. You accept that you took a ‘token amount’ from AA but do not appear to understand the impact of this.
“Your actions constitute a pattern of behaviour.”
The Richmond Group have been approached for comment.
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