A personal carer has been reprimanded after she borrowed a total of £40 from a vulnerable lady she was looking after.
June Shields accepted the cash during two occasions while she was employed by East Ayrshire Council’s Health and Social Care Partnership.
Cumnock-based Shields, who is no longer employed by the organisation, took £20 from the woman on two different occasions, dating back to November 2019 and January 2020.
And, some time before March 25 2020, Shields attended the client’s home outside of her normal working hours.
The client’s name has been withheld for confidentiality reasons and they were referred to only as ‘AA’.
Shields’ behaviour amounted to “misconduct," according to the industry watchdog, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), and said she should not have accepted the money “under any circumstances.”
In a written judgement the SSSC told Shields: “You (Shields) borrowed money from AA on two occasions. This was in breach of your employer’s policy which is set out in the Personal Carers’ Handbook.
“It states that loans of money must not be accepted under any circumstances from people who use services. You failed to use your power and authority responsibly and your behaviour had the potential to cause financial and emotional harm to AA.”
The SSSC also said that Shields, whose town of employment at the time was Cumnock, placed her client in a “difficult position” of having to ask for repayment when the loans were “not repaid promptly.”
And, as a result, this caused the client “emotional harm” as she was “upset” at having to ask for the money to be paid back.
The report goes on: “You (Shields) visited AA outside of your working hours. You failed to maintain professional boundaries and showed a disregard for safeguards put in place to keep AA and social care workers safe. Breaching boundaries can create unrealistic expectations and confuse a professional relationship.”
The SSSC said Shields’ behaviour appeared to have resulted from “poor judgement” rather than malicious intent.
They also noted there had been “no previous concerns” over her practise as she had been with the same employer since 2007.
However, the SSSC remained concerned that Shields did not “fully understand” the importance of maintaining professional boundaries and she did not demonstrate that she will not repeat “similar behaviour.”
As a result, a warning was placed on Shields’s registration for 12 months with a condition of practice attached.
The SSSC added: “The public would expect the SSSC to find that your fitness to practise is impaired and to mark that conduct of this nature is unacceptable. It is likely that your behaviour would damage the reputation of the profession should no action be taken.”
A spokesperson for East Ayrshire Council said: “East Ayrshire Council does not comment on individual cases in order to protect a person’s right to privacy.
“The council is aware of this historic incident and works closely with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), as a regulatory body, in sharing information in line with regulatory transparency and public protection. The person is no longer an East Ayrshire employee.”
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