WIREDGOV

A social worker who failed to seek immediate medical attention for her toddler and lied to doctors about how her injuries occurred has been removed from the profession by the General Social Care Council (GSCC).

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons and was referred to as Ms C during the two-day hearing, was also found to have had a heroin addiction which she did not disclose to her employer.

On 7 March 2008, Ms C’s 13-month-old daughter was admitted to hospital with what doctors described as ‘life threatening injuries’ which were caused by the child’s father. The medical evidence showed she had a perforated intestine, which led to peritonitis which was consistent with blows to her abdomen. She also had serious bruising to her back and the doctors found an older fracture to a bone in her skull. The father has since been convicted of grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years.

The Committee, which met over two days in London, heard that Ms C did not seek immediate medical attention for the child when she discovered she was unwell. Ms C, who did not attend the hearing or provide mitigation, later failed to provide a truthful account to the doctors of how her daughter's injuries occurred, thereby jeopardising her health, and gave untrue evidence to an unnamed County Court in order to protect the child’s father.

They also heard evidence from a representative of Ms C’s employer who conducted an investigation after discovering her use of heroin and methadone. The local authority, which also cannot be named, found she failed to disclose her addiction on their pre-employment health questionnaire and during the term of her employment there, between January 2006 and 3 December 2007. She worked in adult services.

In removing Ms C from the register and barring her from practice, the committee found that she lied to protect her partner at the expense of her daughter’s wellbeing and health. They noted that a delayed diagnosis potentially threatened the child’s life. She showed a persistent lack of insight into the seriousness of her actions and continuing and profound dishonesty. Her actions demonstrated  a clear departure from the standards set out in the Code of Practice for Social Care Workers which all social workers sign up to.

Rosie Varley, Chair of the GSCC, said: “People who use services need to have confidence that social workers are committed to ensuring their welfare and safety and that of others. The majority of the 93,000 social workers on our register do not think twice about doing this.

As a regulator, the GSCC's role is to safeguard public protection. If a social worker’s behaviour, in or outside work, calls into question their judgement, honesty or commitment to helping others we must take action. We do this in order to ensure that only those who are fit, trained and committed to putting the interests of service users first are able to practise as social workers.”