Fife care worker struck off after service user injured by poor handling

Leanne Hankin was found to have failed on a number of occasions to follow correct moving and handling procedures while working at a care home service for adults, based at Abbotsford Care in Cowdenbeath.

Among the three incidents for which she appeared before the Scottish Social Services Council disciplinary panel, in 2012 Hankin used a hoist to move the service user on her own, despite clear requirements for two people to undertake the task.

Panel told Hankin it found that “on or around 15 October 2012, in relation to service user AA, fail to follow correct moving and handling procedures as you moved AA using a hoist on your own, by your actions, acted contrary to the requirements of AA’s Care Plan, which stated two persons were required to move AA using a hoist.”

The panel added that the actions “caused or contributed to AA falling and sustaining injury”.

The panel stated that there were two further incident in July 2019, involving three service users who were handled incorrectly.

The panel continued: “Your behaviour amounts to misconduct because you put service users at risk of harm.

"You failed to follow correct moving and handling procedures by moving several service users using a hoist on your own. You therefore failed to follow the requirements of service users’ care plans, which caused harm and placed service users at risk of harm.”

It added: "Given your significant experience in care you would be expected to have been aware of the dangers that exist if moving and handling procedures are not used correctly.”

The panel concluded that Hankin had been in a senior position during the time of some allegations, and “therefore were expected to set the standards for less experienced members of staff.

It concluded: “This causes concern regarding your failure to protect the welfare of vulnerable service users and put their needs first.

"Furthermore, you have failed to demonstrate any insight or regret.

“Therefore that, coupled with the fact the behaviour occurred fairly recently, indicates that your fitness to practice is currently impaired.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.