Stonehaven mobile carer receives warning after not checking on sheltered housing resident

A Stonehaven mobile care worker has received a warning for not checking on a sheltered housing resident, despite recording that she did.

Pamela Jane Ritchie failed to carry out a scheduled check on a service user in her care on August 27, 2020.

She then recorded on her daily contact log that she had made contact when this was not true.

As a result, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has issued a warning with conditions to stay on her registration for the next 12 months.

The watchdog found her actions were made in a “dishonest manner” and her fitness to practice had been impaired.

In her defense, she claimed she was “very busy” on the day in question, which led to her forgetting to contact the person, identified only as AA.

Ms Ritchie was employed as a mobile sheltered housing officer by Aberdeenshire Council in Stonehaven at the time. The SSSC says she resigned from the post during the disciplinary process.

Due to not checking in on the person she was solely responsible for, Ms Ritchie was found to have increased the “risk of harm”.

Habit of recording contact before it had been made

The SSSC report added it appears Ms Ritchie got herself into a habit of recording in the log she had made contact with service users, before contact had actually been made.

She acknowledged in her comments to her employer that she made a “major error of judgment” in acting in this way, but there was “no evidence of malice”.

The report did note the seriousness of the dishonesty was at the “lower end of the scale”.

When issuing the warning, the watchdog did note the behavior appeared to be “out of character”.

They also found Ms Ritchie has a good previous history with the SSSC and received a reference from a former line manager that she is a “lovely person”.

Carer resigns during disciplinary

However, despite being an experienced member of staff, the report found that once Ms Ritchie’s error had been discovered there was a lack of “detailed insight and reflection” about the incident.

She was found not to have engaged with the watchdog’s investigation and failed to say what she would do differently next time.

It was also found that she never submitted a required essay on certain aspects of the codes and what they mean. Instead, she resigned.

The 12-month warning also places conditions on Ms Ritchie’s employment in future roles in the care service.

A spokesman for Aberdeenshire Council said: “We accept the findings of the Scottish Social Services Council.”