Midlothian carer who cracked egg over 'vulnerable' child's head given warning

A Midlothian carer who was found to have cracked an egg over a “very vulnerable” child’s head has been given a warning.

In 2017, Doreen Gielty was employed at a facility which did not require her to be registered with the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC).

On or around November 18 of that year, Gielty took an egg and broke it over the head of the child, identified only as AA.

Between November 18 and November 21, she also failed to report the incident and as a result, her fitness to practise was found impaired by a hearing of the SSSC.

She was found to have “placed a very vulnerable child at a significant risk of emotional harm”, the council said.

Gielty further attempted to excuse the incident to Supervising Social Workers as a “prank”, but the watchdog said it did not accept that her actions were a joke.

The exact location and age of the child in question was redacted by the council.

Gielty reportedly showed “very limited” insight, regret and remorse following her actions and denied having intentionally harmed the child.

“Social service workers are trusted by service users, their families and the public to treat the people that they care for with dignity and respect,” hearing papers stated.

“Social service workers also have a responsibility to protect others from harm. You cracked an egg over the head of a child in your care.

“While this child was not a service user in that you were not caring for him through a role requiring SSSC registration, he was [information redacted] and you were responsible for his care, safety and wellbeing.”

As a result of this incident, the SSSC placed a 12-month warning on her registration effective from March 16.