A SCOTS carer has been struck off after pinning a vulnerable resident with dementia against a wall with their own zimmer frame before throwing him to the ground.
Paul Ferguson was removed from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register yesterday after the shocking incident at an Inverness care home in Oct 2019.
The care regulator found that Ferguson used the resident’s own zimmer frame to push his back against a wall.
He then held the elderly care user against a wall before grabbing at his clothing at the chest area and throwing him to the floor.
Ferguson then straddled the man and pressed down on his chest using his forearm.
The SSSC yesterday issued Ferguson with a removal order after concluding that he had shown no insight into his conduct.
The panel told Ferguson: “Your conduct was violent, aggressive and physically abusive.
“The level of force you used was wholly unwarranted in the circumstances, risking serious physical, emotional and psychological harm to an extremely vulnerable resident with dementia.
“Your actions were an extremely serious breach of that trust and power.
“Your conduct goes against the grain of core caring values and is fundamentally incompatible with professional registration, and to work with some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“You have not been able to show any remediation in practice since this happened, and you show no insight into your conduct.
“The lack of insight particularly raises a concern that you are unable to understand the seriousness of your conduct or its impact.
“We do not consider your behaviour has been remedied and that there is a risk of repetition.”
They continued: “You placed an extremely vulnerable resident at risk of serious physical, emotional and psychological harm.
“You abused the trust of this resident, who had the right to trust you to keep him safe. Although there was some provocation from the resident, it was minor.
“You responded to that provocation by using unnecessary force and proceeding to carry out a physical attack on the resident that cannot be said to have been purely reactionary or in self-defence.
“You were an experienced carer at the time of the incident and had been trained in Adult Support and Protection and dementia awareness.”
The SSSC did note that the former carer had been cooperative with the investigation and that this was an isolated incident.
On making their decision, they concluded: “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.”
