A SCOTS carer has been struck off the register after being convicted of assaulting a 10-year-old child and repeatedly slapping him on the head.
Chelsea O’Shea was found guilty of assaulting the child known to her whilst employed at Ballumbie Court Care Home in Dundee in September of 2018.
The carer was later convicted with the offence at Dundee Sheriff Court in August 2019 and has now been struck off the register by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
Ballumbie Court Care Home, a care facility for those with dementia and learning difficulties, suspended O’shea immediately after learning of the incident.
The home later dismissed O’Shea after an internal investigation.
The SSSC published a removal order for the former carer, having found her guilty of failing to inform her employer about the charge.
In their decision report, the council wrote: “You were convicted of assaulting a child known to you.
“The behaviour involved physical harm to a child and is very serious.
“A conviction of this nature raises concerns about your underlying values and your suitability to work within a caring workforce.
“By failing to inform your employer that you had been charged with an offence, you
deprived your employer of relevant information about your ongoing suitability to work within social services.
“By concealing this information from your employer, you acted dishonestly, which undermines your trustworthiness, and was a breach of the trust placed into you by your employer.
“You have not engaged with the SSSC’s investigation, so the SSSC have not received any comments from you in relation to any insight, apology, or regret in relation to your behaviour.
“Without your comments on the behaviour, the SSSC is unable to take any assurances about how you may approach matters differently in future.
“Without these assurances, the SSSC considers that there is a risk that your behaviour would be repeated, which would place further vulnerable people at the risk of harm.”
In their reasoning for the decision, they added: “The behaviour is physically abusive and dishonest.
“Your behaviour is very serious and fundamentally contradicts the standards of conduct expected from those registered with the SSSC.
“Such violent and dishonest behaviour is attitudinal in nature and raises concerns over your values.
“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 workforce.”
Speaking today (MON) a spokesperson for Ballumbie Court Care Home: “We take our responsibility to provide high quality, kind care to all our Residents very seriously, so we always support taking action to protect older people in care.
“While this situation did not occur in the home and does not involve any Residents or Colleagues, we welcome the Scottish Social Services Council decision to serve this individual with a Removal Order for failing to disclose the charges brought against them in their personal life.
“When we were first informed of the individual’s actions, we immediately removed them from the home and they were formally suspended from employment within the same day for failing to disclose the charges they faced. They have not been employed by HC-One since.
“We will always take action against any Colleague that falls short of the values and standards we expect, and Residents rightfully deserve.”
