A care worker lost their job for smoking cannabis with a vulnerable resident and sending excessive messages.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) investigated. Incidents happened between November 2023 and April 2024.
The worker got the resident’s phone number and sent many messages to this person. The worker visited the resident at home often; these visits occurred when they were not supposed to work.
The worker smoked cannabis with the vulnerable resident often, which impaired their ability to do their job well. The worker failed to uphold public trust and formed a harmful relationship with the resident, the report stated.
Their actions risked the resident’s emotional wellbeing. They disregarded boundaries for vulnerable people. This behavior is not okay for social services.
The worker made a close bond with the resident, named AA. This breached professional rules. People would worry about this repeated behavior. The resident felt confused about their relationship.
This conduct risked AA’s emotional harm, and the public would be concerned about these breaches. The worker should have only supported AA professionally. Instead, AA felt confused about their closeness.
The worker didn’t discourage visits outside work. The worker also broke the law by smoking cannabis with AA. They betrayed AA’s trust with this bad bond. Actions occurred for about four months.
The worker hasn’t worked in social care since this and hasn’t shown they won’t repeat this behavior. The worker is sorry and understands their mistake. Still, the SSSC is concerned about future risks.
Striking the worker off was the only right action. The order started on February 15.