Carer who told resident “I’ll knock your head off your shoulders” struck off

A SCOTS support worker who chased a resident shouting “come back you f**king b***d or I’ll knock your head off your shoulders” has been struck off.

James Stephen was removed from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register today following the foul-mouthed outburst in September 2019.

Stephen chased the resident with learning difficulties around the building after the care user told him to stay away while accusing Stephen of giving him a cold.

The resident shouted “f*k off and die and I hope your f**king wife dies” while Stephen continued to chase him.

Stephen retaliated by shouting: “Come back you f**ing b***d or I’ll knock your head off your shoulders you f*ing b****d.”

The support worker then told a colleague: “I am getting f***ing sick of this, he’s always making remarks” in front of the service user.

Today the SSSC issued Stephen, who worked for Ark Housing Association Ltd at the time of the incident, with a removal order.

The panel said: “Social service workers must be reliable and dependable and must recognise the responsibility, power and authority that they have when working with people who use services.

“Social service workers must not abuse, neglect or harm those who use services and must not put themselves or others at unnecessary risk.

“You chased service user AA on more than one occasion, swore at him and threatened physical violence.

“You also shouted at AA on another occasion.

“Your behaviour fell far short of what is expected of a worker registered with the SSSC.”

They continued: “The allegations are very serious in nature, the most serious being the
incident involving you chasing AA.

“Not only did you chase AA and swear at him but after a short period of time you repeated your actions by chasing and swearing at AA again.

“Your threatening actions are a sign of a disregard for the safety and wellbeing of others and is behaviour which is at odds with somebody working with vulnerable people.

“AA is a vulnerable person living with a learning difficulty, who is known to display challenging behaviour at times.

“You worked with AA regularly and were aware of his challenging behaviour.”

The SSSC stated that Stephen fully cooperated with their investigation and had no formal history with the regulatory body.

They added that he showed “limited insight” but recognised that his behavior was unacceptable.

On making their decision, the panel concluded: “Part of your job role required you to take action in order to de-escalate his behaviour when required.

“Instead, you reacted to his comments in a wholly inappropriate manner by chasing him and then swearing at him.

“Your actions placed AA at risk of emotional and physical harm.

“The SSSC considers a removal order is the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest and to maintain the continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession.”

Speaking today Bobby Duffy, Chief Executive of Ark, said: “This individual has not been employed by Ark since December 2019.

“We do not tolerate any type of abuse of our supported people by Ark employees and will always take swift and appropriate action to address issues, if they arise.”