A Dundee care home worker has been struck off for mistreating elderly residents and telling one to “go and die”.
Helen Campbell was reported to the Scottish Social Services Council for being verbally abusive to the woman in the Mayfield Unit at Balhousie St Ronan’s Care Home.
After a two-day hearing, the care assistant has now been removed from the register of care workers.
Ms Campbell had been suspended from her post in 2014 and then dismissed by her employers after colleagues raised concerns about her interactions with residents.
Balhousie Care Group said she had been dismissed on the grounds of “gross misconduct”, following an internal investigation.
A spokeswoman commented that the firm was “pleased” its decision to sack Ms Campbell had been vindicated.
The hearing heard that Ms Campbell had begun working with Balhousie at the £5 million care home in September 2012 and had been known to be “larger than life” and “loud”.
Colleagues noted that her approach to colleagues and service users in particular could differ from that of others, but it was not until December 2014 that concerns were raised.
The investigation heard that Ms Campbell had told one service user to “go and die” and also commented “for goodness sake just die”.
She was also heard to call the woman “old bat” and “stupid whore”, to have argued with her and to have laughed at and made jokes about the woman behind her back.
When the concerns were raised, she was suspended pending further an investigation.
She took part in initial investigations but declined to attend subsequent disciplinary hearings and made no effort to defend herself or put forward any explanation.
In its findings, the SSSC noted that its conduct sub-committee had expressed concern that Ms Campbell’s conduct had occurred “while working with older people who are among the most vulnerable in society an entirely dependent on the quality of care provided by members of the social care profession.”
It also noted that she “appeared to demonstrate little or no insight into the behaviour in question and the impact it may have had on service users, colleagues and the wider perception of the profession.”
While noting her previous good character, they found that there were too many “risks” to consider imposing just a warning and instead removed her right to be employed as a care worker.
The SSC added that the misconduct “was not at the most serious end of the spectrum” but was still serious and there was clear evidence she had “abused” her position of trust and failed to provide an acceptable level of care.
Balhousie Care Group said: “At the time of the incident, Helen Campbell’s actions were reported by staff to our management team, who subsequently alerted all appropriate authorities of these allegations of misconduct.
“She was suspended from employment with Balhousie Care Group, pending investigation, on December 22, 2014 and dismissed from employment on January 12, 2015 on grounds of misconduct.
“Balhousie Care Group takes a zero tolerance approach to such incidents and our team takes every effort to deliver good quality care to all residents entrusted to us.
“We are pleased to hear that the Scottish Social Services Council has reached this decision, underpinning our actions, and those of our team, to ensure that all our residents live in a safe environment with a focus on respect, dignity and comfort.”
