Ayrshire carer filmed leaving 'frail' woman on floor and heading to next appointment

A carer who was caught on camera leaving a frail woman lying on the floor before heading off to her next appointment has been banned from the profession.

Margaret Howat was found to have left the woman’s house despite the fact she had fallen, was unable to get back up and had no access to food or water.

The North Ayrshire Council carer’s actions were described as “shocking” by the industry watchdog during an investigation.

Ms Howat had been asked to visit the woman’s house on December 1, 2022, to provide “routine support and assistance” over lunch.

While she was in another room in the property, the woman, who was described as “very frail with limited ability to remember or communicate”, suffered a fall.

Unbeknownst the carer, the woman had fallen and broken ribs a week earlier.

Ms Howat tried to “encourage and physically assist” her up from the floor but couldn’t manage.

Howat, who had been a carer for over two decades, then left the woman on the floor and went and sat in her work van before heading to another job.

She wrote in her notes that the woman was “OK” and “settled in the lounge”.

An investigation by the Scottish Social Services Council found that there was a motion-activated camera set up in plain sight in the living room by the woman’s daughter.

Footage from the camera showed the woman losing her footing and falling.

After finding the woman on the floor, Howat decided not to press the alert button for assistance, nor contact the emergency out-of-hours number or the woman’s next of kin.

The woman’s daughter came into the house an hour after Howat had left and found her mum “flat on her back on the floor, shaking and visibly and audibly distressed”.

After getting her mum settled, she checked the video footage to see what had happened and immediately called the service manager.

The carer admitted to her boss that she had left the woman on the floor and that she “hadn’t been thinking”.

The SSSC report described the incident as “shocking”.

Their report stated: “You left a frail, vulnerable service user on the floor. You did not know whether she had been injured in the fall. She was not near her food and drink.

“She was put at risk of harm. Not only was there a risk of harm, but she was also subjected to the indignity of being left where she would not have wanted to be.

“There was a protocol for dealing with falls. You had been a care worker for 22 years. You knew what ought to be done. A fall was a serious matter.

“The falls team could be contacted by you by telephone through the out-of-hours service or by using the alert system installed in AA’s house.

“You could easily have remedied the situation.

“The Panel accepted that the situation in which you found yourself was stressful. But it was not unusual for care workers to find themselves in that kind of situation.

“Whatever had overcome you passed to the extent that you could get in your van and compose yourself. You went to your next calls.

“You were able, later in the day, to speak to CC on the telephone. If you had the presence of mind to do those things, you could have called for help for AA.”

The panel found Howat’s fitness to practise impaired by misconduct removed her from the register.

A North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on individual circumstances, nor on personnel matters.

“However, North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership can confirm that this person is no longer employed by North Ayrshire Council.”