A heartless carer has been banned from the profession after stealing an elderly person's bank card and withdrawing money from their account.
Janine Gordon stole the debit card on two occasions while working at Highgate Care Home on Old Edinburgh Road in Uddingston.
She first swiped the card on May 17, 2019 and then again on July 1 the same year and proceeded to use the card and pin to take money from an ATM in the town.
A total of £5,000 was taken which put the user ‘at significant emotional and financial harm.’
Gordon was convicted at Hamilton Sheriff Court on May 4, 2021, and has since been banned from the Scottish Social Services register meaning she won't be allowed to work in the profession.
A report by the Scottish Social Services Council found that the former carer 'failed to display any insight or regret' for her actions and failed to give assurances that the behaviour wouldn't be repeated.
It said: "You have been convicted of theft and theft by opening a lock-fast place. The convictions relate to you taking the bank card of AA, a vulnerable service user, who entrusted you with her PIN. You have withdrawn sums of money amounting to approximately £5,000 from's bank account.
"This amounted to a serious abuse of trust and placed AA at significant emotional and financial harm, all for your own financial gain.
"A social care worker being convicted of such serious offences raises significant value and character concerns that would be unlikely to be easily remediable. You have shown a disregard for the law and for a vulnerable person who you were trusted to care for and support. Your behaviour violated the fundamental values of the caring profession."
A spokesperson for Highgate Care Home added: "We have a zero-tolerance approach to this behaviour and will always take swift and comprehensive action against any individual that breaches the trust placed in them.
"When the incident was discovered in 2019, we immediately contacted the appropriate authorities and took steps to suspend the individual, investigate, and terminate their employment."
