A Lanarkshire carer has been given warning after exploiting a 'vulnerable' person by taking money amounting to £380.
Lynn Langford took the money from a service user between April and June 2021 while employed as a support worker in Lanark.
She was reported to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and has received a warning to stay on their registration for a period of 36 months with conditions imposed.
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Ms Langford provided the service user with her bank account details and accepted her first payment from the service user on April 28, with three more payments occurring on April 30, May 5, and May 9. The money paid to her over this period amounted to £300.
On May 10, she accepted two further bank transfers of £50 and £30. She also accepted a pair of trainers on an unknown date after September 2020 and before June 2021.
Ms Langford also sent the service user a Facebook friend request and between April 2021 and June 2021, sent regular messages to the service user using Facebook messenger.
A report by the SSSC also found that Ms Langford "failed to co-operate with [her] employer’s investigation into the matters".
"The hearing found that her actions "exploited a vulnerable service user for [her] own financial gain" which "amounts to an abuse of trust".
It stated: "Social service workers should not exploit people who use services. Social service workers should not abuse the trust of people who use services. By accepting several payments from service user AA amounting to £380 you have exploited a vulnerable service user for your own financial gain.
"Your behaviour amounts to an abuse of trust of people who use services, and this is serious. Your behaviour placed AA at risk of financial and emotional harm and could be viewed as fundamentally incompatible with registration with the SSSC.
"Social service workers should not form inappropriate relationships with people who use services. Sending AA a friend request on Facebook, corresponding with AA via Facebook messenger and accepting a pair of trainers from AA amounts to a breach of professional boundaries.Your behaviour demonstrates that you have formed an inappropriate relationship with AA, as you have potentially created an unrealistic expectation that all social service workers will communicate in this way. This behaviour falls below the acceptable standard of care expected of a social service worker and would therefore amount to misconduct."
The report found that Ms Langford had "demonstrated some insight and acknowledged that your behaviour was wrong" but added there was "a risk of similar behaviour being repeated".
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