An Aberdeen recovery support worker who invited a female client to her home for a “sleepover” has been struck off.
During a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) hearing, Gillian Cortmann was found to be unfit to practise after she also borrowed money, accepted gifts and shared her own personal information.
Cortmann, a support worker in a care at home service, was removed from the register today.
Breaking support worker and client boundaries, she also added the client on Facebook, and asked her to lie to managers about where she was when she was staying at Cortmann’s home.
Cortmann was charged with 15 offences, each of which broke the SSSC code of practice.
What were the 15 charges?
SSSC decided there was evidence that while employed as a recovery worker in Aberdeen, and during the course of that employment between 2017 and October 9 2019, that Cortmann committed the following acts.
- Borrowed £20
- Borrowed £30
- Borrowed £25 or £30
- Borrowed £25 from client and failed to repay this
- Gave your personal mobile number the client
- Added the client as a friend on Facebook
- Sent messages to the client from your personal mobile number
- Accept curtains, mugs, pans, a table lamp and ornaments from the client
- Accept a gift of glasses from the client
- On an exact date unknown in or around September 2019 invite to your house for coffee
- On an exact date unknown in or around September 2019 invite the client to sleepover at your house
- Tell the client, she could tell your employer that she was staying with a friend and that no one would know
- Prior to borrowing money from the client share personal information with the client
- Send messages via Facebook messenger to the client
- Cause distress to the client by your actions
Crossed personal boundaries
Between 2017 and October 9, 2019, Cortmann borrowed at least £100 from her client on four occasions, one of which she failed to repay.
Prior to borrowing the money, she shared extensive private information with her client.
Details of what she shared was not shared in a report into the hearing, published by the SSSC today.
Cortmann was also found to have added the client as a friend on Facebook and gave her personal mobile number to her.
The support worker accepted curtains, mugs, pans, a table lamp, ornaments and a gift of glasses from the client.
In September 2019, she invited the client to her house for coffee, and then in the same month she asked her to have a sleepover.
Cortmann then told the client to say she was “staying with a friend.”
The report said: “You took advantage of a vulnerable service user who was known to you and you repeatedly abused your position of trust.
“Your behaviour mostly took place while you were working and meant to be caring for and looking after the needs of a vulnerable service user.
It continued: “Your behaviour was deliberate and constitutes an abuse of trust of the relationship between a service user and a registered worker.
“Your actions demonstrate a pattern of behaviour which is attitudinal in nature and raises concerns over your values.”
‘No factors in Cortmann’s favour’
“Your behaviour placed a service user at risk of emotional harm and some of your behaviour caused the service user distress,” it concluded.
The hearing found “no factors” in Cortmann’s favour.
After the online hearing, it was found that Cortmann had failed to follow guidance in the SSSC Code of Practice for Social Service Workers.
As such, it was decided to issue a removal order notice. Cortmann had an opportunity to raise an appeal but has not done so.
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