Three carers in Fife and Stirling have been struck off over messages they sent to vulnerable people.
Their cases are among those featured in the latest Scottish Social Services Council reports across the region.
The SSSC is the watchdog for those working in the care sector.
The Courier has also looked at the latest Care Inspectorate reports across Tayside, Fife and Stirling, involving homes, nurseries and after-school clubs.
The watchdog grades services on key areas including wellbeing, leadership and staffing on a six-point scale where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent.
Some of the reports featured here have only been published weeks after the hearings or inspections took place.
Gillian Sorbie, Glenrothes
Gillian Sorbie has been struck off after sending explicit messages to a 12-year-old while working as a pupil support worker at a school in Fife.
Sorbie also messaged another pupil, aged around 12, to arrange to sell vapes to them.
The 41-year-old from Glenrothes was further convicted of selling a vape to a child at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
The SSSC found that Sorbie, from Glenrothes, was unfit to keep working in the sector and removed her from the care register.
Sorbie told The Courier she denied all the claims against her, even though she had failed to engage with the SSSC probe.
Unnamed carer, Dunfermline
A support worker at a Dunfermline care home has also been struck off after sending inappropriate messages to a vulnerable person.
The unnamed female carer, whose name was redacted in the SSSC report, was employed at Headwell House Care Home on Headwell Avenue when she sent the messages.
An SSSC investigation found that she had placed the supported person at risk of harm by sending messages to them.
These included one which said: “Missing you today xxx.”
The SSSC has now removed the worker from the care register after ruling she had formed a relationship with the service user.
Noel Boyd, Stirling
The SSSC has also struck off Noel Boyd, after the Stirling charity worker was convicted of attempting to “communicate indecently” with what he thought was a child in 2023, and subsequently trying to deliberately conceal the details of the case.
Boyd was employed as a support practitioner for The Richmond Fellowship at the time of the offence, for which he was convicted at Stirling Sheriff Court in 2024.
The SSSC said Boyd had “repeatedly” requested images from a child he believed to be under the age of 13, and her school friends.
The person he was communicating with was an undercover police officer.
His behaviour was found to be “fundamentally incompatible with continued professional registration”.
Steven MacDonald, Crieff
Crieff care worker Steven MacDonald has been struck off after pulling his trousers and underwear down to expose his bum to a service user.
MacDonald was also found by the SSSC to have said the male service user was “covered in bird s**” and called him a “weirdo”, while employed by Ranstad.
The worker further pushed the service user in the chest, put him in a headlock and pushed the man’s face with his foot.
The SSSC said MacDonald’s behaviour was “fundamentally incompatible with registration” as a care worker.
Michael Sprunt, Cluny
A carer who was among five people sacked for mocking a dementia patient at a care home in Fife has been named for the first time.
Michael Sprunt, and four others, were dismissed from Barrogil House in Cluny following their treatment of Jannette Ritchie.
Ms Ritchie’s daughter, Nicola Hughes, used a hidden camera to film staff after she suspected them of abusing her mother.
The SSSC launched a probe into Sprunt’s behaviour and found he had pulled a sheet over Ms Ritchie’s head and said: “Rest in peace.”
The probe also revealed his other actions towards Ms Ritchie over the course of several days in 2024.
Walton House Care Home, Leven
Previous ratings
- Wellbeing – 4
- Leadership – 4
- Staff – 3
- Setting – 3
- Care and support – 3
New ratings
- Wellbeing – 3
- Leadership – 2
- Staff – 3
- Setting – 3
- Care and support – 4
Inspection date
- April 24
Inspectors from the Care Inspectorate had concerns about access to food overnight and the environment at Walton House Care Home during their visit.
The inspection report also highlighted how management and leadership needed “significant attention”.
Staff training and support were also found to be “insufficient”, despite there being adequate staffing levels.
However, inspectors also concluded people at Walton House were “treated with warmth and respect”.
Care plans seen by inspectors were also of a “good standard”.
- All the latest SSSC and Care Inspectorate reports are available online.
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