A north-east care worker has been struck off after stealing more than £2,000 from a vulnerable resident.
Rachael Michie used bank cards belonging to a woman who required 24-hour care to withdraw the cash between September 15, 2021 and February 15, 2022.
She was convicted of the offence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court in September last year.
The court was told she assisted the woman in her 60s with her banking and kept track of all transactions in a log book as part of her role.
Ms Michie took advantage of this position and used the vulnerable woman’s bank cards to withdraw a total of £2,300 for herself over five months.
She was working as a relief worker for Inspire at Hollybank in Inverurie at the time.
Now, Ms Michie has been removed from the Scottish Social Services Council register.
Care worker struck off following ‘serious’ misconduct
The watchdog described her actions as “extremely dishonest” and an abuse of trust in the workplace.
They said her misconduct is “fundamentally incompatible” with her role in social services and she has a “high” risk of repeating her behaviour.
The report states: “A social services worker should be truthful, honest and trustworthy. You have been convicted of stealing bank cards from a vulnerable service user and using those bank cards to steal £2,300 from the services users’ bank account.
“This behaviour could cause both financial and emotional harm to service users and their families.
“It would cause the public to lose confidence in the social services profession if you were given the opportunity to repeat such behaviour.
“Your behaviour has been repeated on various occasions over the period of around five months. This indicates a pattern of behaviour.
“Whilst you have shown insight and regret, and have apologised for your behaviour, the level of dishonesty raises questions as to your values and indicates it may not be capable of remediation.
“Your behaviour being at the more serious end of the scale, coupled with the risk of repetition being assessed as high, invokes public protection concerns.”
The SSSC recognised Ms Michie had shown regret and apologised for her actions, but have made the decision to remove her from the register in the interests of the public.
Money repaid to resident by Inspire
Inspire confirmed Ms Michie has not worked for the company since her misconduct was discovered.
The charity has also repaid the sum of the stolen money to the resident.
A spokesman said: “”We are committed to providing the highest standard of care and take a zero-tolerance policy to financial abuse of those we support.
“Our charity has robust financial procedures in place to protect individuals and to prevent and respond to any such misconduct.
“Following a thorough internal investigation and subsequent police investigation, Rachael Michie was dismissed from our employment with immediate effect.
“We have worked closely with the police and other relevant authorities to fully corroborate this process, as well as ensuring relevant SSSC guidelines were followed to the letter.
“Inspire has also repaid, in full, the money that was stolen from the individual and offered continued support during this time.”
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