Care home worker struck off for grabbing resident by throat

A care home worker has been struck off for pushing his finger onto a resident’s forehead and grabbing him round the throat.

Robert Simpson also pushed the man on the shoulders, causing the resident to fall backwards.

In addition, Simpson swore at the resident and branded him a “disgusting wee man” or words to that effect.

Simpson ‘lost control’ while working at Arcadia Gardens in Glasgow in April 2018.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) found his fitness to practise impaired and removed him from the care register on March 28 this year.

In a written ruling, the watchdog said: “Workers should deliver high standards of care, ensuring that service users do not suffer any form of harm, whether emotional, verbal, physical or otherwise.

“By physically and verbally abusing a service user in your care, you have fallen far short of the standards expected of you.”

The SSSC panel said Simpson’s behaviour demonstrated a “violent loss of self-control towards a vulnerable service user”.

The watchdog claimed Simpson had repeatedly changed his position on whether he accepted the allegations or not.

Although he engaged with the investigation, the panel stated: “You have shown no insight, regret or remorse.

“You instead appear to try and justify your behaviour by saying you were reacting to the service user’s aggressive behaviour.

“Despite having been employed with the service for a number of years, you appear to have a lack of understanding as to the needs and behaviours of the service user that you were caring for. This is concerning.

“Due to the seriousness of the behaviour and your lack of insight, it does not appear that the behaviour is easily remediable.

“It cannot be concluded that the behaviour would not be repeated. The behaviour is such that the public interest aspect is engaged. For these reasons, your current fitness to practise is impaired.”

The SSSC concluded that a removal order was the “most appropriate sanction”.

A spokesperson for HC-One, which operates the home, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone living in our homes are our highest priorities, and we will always act to protect them.

“This individual’s behaviour goes against everything we stand for as an organisation. When the incident was first reported to us in 2018, we took immediate action to suspend the individual, investigate, and then terminate their employment.

“This historic case in no way represents the care provided at the home today, or the kindness and compassion of our team.

“The home remains committed to ensuring all colleagues uphold the high standards of care that residents expect and deserve.

“We have a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviour and will always take swift and comprehensive action against any individual that breaches the trust placed in them.”