A care worker has been struck off after asking someone he was supporting for money.
Alan Witcombe was working as a support practitioner at Turning Point Scotland Wigtownshire and Stewartry West when he “abused the trust and confidence” of a service user by asking them for a loan.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) also found Witcombe had allowed the service user to enter his home on a number of occasions, while he had also turned up at the client’s house despite being suspended and his employers telling him to stay away.
The SSSC felt Witcombe’s fitness to practice was impaired and removed him the parts of their register relating to support workers in housing support and care at home services.
The decision notice stated that between May 2019 and March 2020, Witcombe did “request and/or accept a loan” from the service user, who was also allowed to enter Witcombe’s house on multiple occasions.
And the notice also stated that in March 2020, Witcombe attended the service user’s house despite being explicitly told not to by his employers, who had also suspended him.
The panel felt Witcombe’s fitness to practice had been impaired as social service workers are “expected to act with honesty and integrity at all times” and he had “abused the trust and confidence placed in you as a social service worker”.
They also found his conduct was “at the higher end of the scale of seriousness” and amounted to “serious breaches of professional boundaries”.
They were concerned there was a high chance of Witcombe repeating his behaviour due to the “lack of understanding of the wrongdoing”, with his conduct causing concern about his “personal and professional values”.
In explaining why removing Witcombe from the register was the only option, the decision notice described Witcombe’s behaviour as “premeditated and intentional” and he had “failed to show any understanding of why your behaviour was wrong”.
As a result, it was felt no alternative sanction was appropriate.
Director of operations at Turning Point Scotland, Patrick McKay, said: “We can confirm a former employee was dismissed regarding this incident. We alerted relevant authorities and followed the correct processes.
“It would not be appropriate comment further due to the privacy of the person whom we provided support.”
