A social employee who didn’t report seeing a padlock on a baby’s bed room door has been struck off after the boy was later discovered by police locked in his room in a “state of neglect”.
James Ballantyne was reprimanded by Scotland’s care watchdog for not solely failing to report the lock throughout a house go to, but additionally failing to return frequently to the property in Paisley for check-ups.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) discovered Ballantyne’s health to practise impaired, stating: “Your behaviour was not an isolated incident but formed a pattern of behaviour in that you continually failed to assess risks to [the boy] inside his home.
“Your lack of reporting the lock on the [boy’s] door resulted within the baby being discovered by the police locked in his room in a state of neglect and susceptible to bodily and emotional hurt.”
Ballantyne was employed as a social employee with Renfrewshire Council on the time of his misconduct.
Following a deep clear of the property in June 2019, Ballantyne was mentioned to have noticed the padlock fastened outdoors the boy’s bed room door.
He didn’t report it within the case notes and didn’t inform his line supervisor or perform a danger evaluation.
Ballantyne additionally didn’t advise the boy’s guardian to take away the lock within the curiosity of security.
Between June 2019 and May 2020, the SSSC mentioned Ballantyne didn’t return to the property frequently to examine that the requirements of cleanliness have been being maintained all through the home.
As a outcome, the boy was finally discovered by police locked in his room in a state of neglect.
The SSSC mentioned the incident introduced a “risk to life” had there been a hearth and the boy was unable to get out of his locked room.
The watchdog mentioned: “You recognised the neglectful and dangerous conditions [the boy] was experiencing in June 2019 and you failed in your duty to proactively follow this up.
“You didn’t bodily examine or ask to examine [the boy’s] bed room since this time in June 2019 to make sure it was being maintained to an ample situation and the lock had been eliminated.
“As a result, [the boy] was at an ongoing risk of neglect and harm.”
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The SSSC mentioned Ballantyne’s failure to report the lock “denied others the opportunity” to problem his response and danger assess the scenario.
The watchdog mentioned it positioned the boy susceptible to “emotional, psychological and physical harm”.
Ballantyne was mentioned to have demonstrated perception and remorse and cooperated with the SSSC investigation.
In conclusion, the watchdog mentioned a removing order was the “most appropriate sanction” to take care of the “continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession”.
The removing order got here into impact final Tuesday.
Source: information.sky.com”