Scots carer twisted disabled child's arm and gave them excess medication

A carer has been removed from the register after being convicted of wilfully neglecting a young, vulnerable person in his care.

Thomas Mclachlan was employed as a support worker for Capability Scotland, which provides care, support, and education for disabled children and adults.

Between April 1 and September 7, 2021, it was found that he ill-treated a service user in his care. The carer seized the child by the body and threw them onto a bed.

Mclachlan also twisted the child’s arm and gave them medication in excess of what they were prescribed.

He was found to have covered the wheelchair’s horn to prevent the service user from communicating their care needs.

The court found this offence to be aggravated by prejudice relating to disability.

Mclachlan was convicted of the offences against the service user in November 2023 and banned from the profession.

The Scottish Social Services Council stated the actions of Mclachlan put the young person “at risk of both emotional and physical harm.”

They said the carer’s behaviour was not an isolated incident but took place over several months and showed a pattern of behaviour in which he targeted the same child.

The report read: “The public would have concerns over this type of behaviour. Social service workers are entrusted to care for vulnerable individuals.

“A reasonably informed member of the public would lose confidence in the SSSC as regulator if you were deemed not to be impaired.”