Care service watchdogs are to restrict full reporting of disciplinary hearings against sanctioned staff during a time of “unprecedented pressure” in the profession.
The Scottish Social Services Council has said it fears the negative knock-on of releasing detailed fitness to practice reports on staff battling at the pandemic frontline.
It comes as the regulatory body’s chief executive has written to leading UK supermarkets to call for care workers to be given the same priority status as the likes of the emergency services and NHS.
Lorraine Gray made the plea in the wake of “countless stories” of care home workers being turned away from supermarket doors during time set aside for frontline workers.
The Dundee-based regulatory body maintains a register of social service workers and investigates reports of misconduct.
Sanctions available to the watchdog include removing a worker from the register or a warning being placed on the registration of anyone found guilty of misconduct. Temporary orders can also be applied by the SSSC.
The SSSC said: “During the COVID-19 pandemic we’ll publish decisions to impose a sanction on a worker’s registration.
“However, we won’t publish the full Notice of Decision which details the reasons for that decision.
“These can generate negative publicity, which is unhelpful at a time when services are experiencing unprecedented pressure.
“We’re continuing to carry out our public protection role and temporarily suspending anyone who presents a risk from our register.”
“When the pandemic is over and things return to normal we will publish the full Notices of Decision for any decision made during this time.”
The Coronavirus Act 2020 has created a register for temporary social workers, for those who have left the register in the last five years and final year social work students who have completed 75% of their practice placements and the required academic standard.
It has also extended the time period for social service workers to get registered from six months to 12 months.
In echoing a call already made by Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Claire Baker, the chief executive said: “I have now heard countless stories in the last few days of people working in care homes and other care services being turned away during those hours set aside for critical frontline workers.
“These people are critical and working at the frontline of this crisis. Some are staying away from their families and living in the services where they work to make sure they can support our grandparents, relatives and friends who need social care as well as medical care.
“They are often working long hours, travelling to and from services and looking after people in their homes, supporting people with disabilities who can’t move about as freely as others and who rely on their support workers.
“They are there for those people coming home from hospital, helping to free up much needed beds in our hospitals, now more than ever.
“I urge you to make sure that people working in social care and social work are given access to those priority shopping hours. Without this we risk losing more of the workforce as they will be unable to cope.”
