A care worker who arrived at work smelling of alcohol has been given a two year warning by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
Bernadette Strickland was employed as a senior residential care worker at Forth Craig care home in Inverkeithing when the incident occurred on September 5 2012.
Police had been called to a disruption at the home, which houses people aged between 11 and 18.
Although Ms Strickland had been advised by her employer that her attendance was not necessary, she disregarded this and allegedly arrived smelling of alcohol.
A SSSC sub-committee ruled that Ms Strickland had arrived at her work smelling of alcohol but had not been under the influence of alcohol at the time.
It also found that this was an “isolated” incident.
Ms Strickland had initially expressed regret and shame for her actions to her manager, the committee heard, but later denied consuming alcohol prior to attending her place of work.
In its findings, the committee noted that those under Ms Strickland’s care were vulnerable and may have had traumatic experiences with alcohol in the past.
The committee also took into account testimony of Ms Strickland’s colleagues, who described her as a “reliable” and “dependable” worker who often went “above and beyond”, and deemed that a warning would suffice.
Ms Strickland also faced a separate charge of posting information on Facebook that could identify residents, although the committee was satisfied that this had not been done maliciously.