An East Lothian carer has been slapped with a 12 month warning after pressuring people in her care to buy things from her.
Monika Jones, a care home worker in Haddington, was found to be selling items to people in the care home where she worked as well as charging people in her care for housework. This was despite the fact that the client did not want to buy things from her.
A hearing from the Scottish Social Services Council, released on June 29, showed that Monika repeatedly pressured one of the people in her care to buy from her an electric wheelchair. Later she ended up selling the electric wheelchair to that person for £200 as well as a mirror and a lamp for a combined £50.
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The carer was even found to be planning to sell bedroom furniture to the client. Monika was also found to have charged another person in her care for housework done in the care home, outside of the clients paid-for care package.
The SSSC found that Monika’s actions put the service user at risk of financial harm as well as overstepping her professional boundaries. The council have now put a warning on Monika’s registry for 12 months.
In their hearing, the SSSC said: “By suggesting, on more than one occasion, that a vulnerable service user should purchase furniture from you, you placed the service user at risk of financial harm and failed to maintain appropriate professional boundaries.
“The service user did not want the furniture but felt that she was under some pressure to buy it from you and this has caused the service user distress.
“You have also breached your professional boundaries with service user BB by carrying out house cleaning for BB in exchange for money.
“As a result of your registrable role, you have been able to carry out these transactions and have access to these service users. You have acted in your own interest and benefited from these transactions.
“The behaviour shows a pattern of breaching professional boundaries and there have been incidents of similar behaviour. There was approximately 12 months between the two incidents which is a relatively short time and does not give a reasonable assurance that the behaviour will not be repeated.
“It is acknowledged that you have worked within the profession for 16 years and there have been no similar incidents before these allegations. Although you have acknowledged your behaviour was wrong the SSSC does have concerns that the behaviour may be repeated because of the pattern of behaviour that is present.”
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