An Edinburgh carer took a photo of a service user without their permission and also trawled through their browsing history without them knowing.
Sebastiano Lanza was handed a 12-month warning on his registration by the Scottish Social Services Council after he was also found to have sent images of the patient into a group chat with colleagues and made derogatory comments. Within the same group chat, he also made horrible remarks about patients and even said he would 'help them commit suicide'.
Lanza was working as a support worker for Blackwood Homes and Care in Edinburgh when the incidents took place at a patient's own home where he also took photo of their browsing history and shared them into the same group chat with colleagues.
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A spokesperson for Blackwood confirmed that as soon as they were made aware of the allegations, they referred the case to the SSSC and added that Mr Lanza has not worked for the company since 2021, with the incidents taking place between January and March that year.
The council decided to put a 12-month warning on Lanza's registration if he continued his career within the care industry and said that he did not respect the privacy or dignity of people who use such services.
They commented: "You were part of a Whatsapp messaging group with colleagues. Within this group you posted derogatory statements and a photograph of a service user. Such messages are damaging to public confidence in social service workers. You accessed a service user’s browser history without his permission, took photos of the results and shared those with colleagues.
"This was an invasion of the service user’s privacy. Your actions raise significant concerns about social service worker’s underlying values and whether they should be placed in a position of trust. Your actions had the potential to adversely affect the reputation of the profession and calls into question your suitability to work in a registered role. You also did not report derogatory messages your colleagues sent within the Whatsapp group to your employer. By not reporting these messages, you allowed your colleagues’ derogatory behaviour to continue."
The report also cited how Lanza used terms such as "spastics" and "c****" while referring to those within his care, as well as describing them as "disgusting" and "cretins."
The report continued: "You stated in a message that you would help a vulnerable service user commit suicide. There is no information to suggest you caused direct harm to users of services. There was however a risk of emotional harm, had service users been made aware of the fact they were being referred to in such negative terms in a Whatsapp chat with those that were caring for them.
Lanza cooperated with the SSSC throughout their investigation and prior to such incidents, had no history with the council.
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