A care home worker who used a resident’s bank card to pay for his monthly bus pass, mobile phone bill and an Uber ride was said to be “not thinking clearly” due to lockdown.
Robert Crossan was spared being struck off after his explanation was accepted by Scotland’s care watchdog.
He was working as a senior carer at Jordanhill Care Home in Glasgow at the time of the incidents in April and May 2020.
He used the bank card without the resident’s permission on three separate occasions.
Crossan paid First Bus £53 for a monthly travel pass to get him to and from work. He paid O2 £64.39 for his mobile phone bill to keep in touch with work. And he paid Uber £6.63 to get him home from work due to public transport issues caused by COVID and the time of day.
The resident’s family contacted the care home over the payments and the woman’s bank card was removed from her bedroom for safekeeping.
Crossan, unaware the family had been in touch over the card’s misuse, reported himself to his employer and said he had been “preparing to confess for a few days”.
He tried to pay the money back, but his boss refused and reported the incident to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
Crossan resigned at the end of May 2020 and reportedly went to the police. The SSSC said there was “no allegation of dishonesty”.
In a written ruling following a hearing last week, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) said: “At the time, the country was subject to COVID-19 restrictions.
“These factors caused your working conditions in the care home to be difficult.
“You spent some days off going to the funerals of residents who had died.
“Your evidence, which the panel accepted, was that the combination of factors meant that you were not thinking clearly.”
The watchdog found Crossan’s fitness to practise impaired but said a removal order was “not warranted” and would be “disproportionate and harsh”.
The SSSC instead imposed a warning on his registration for four years.
Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
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Crossan returned to work at the care home in October 2022, where he has been described as an “exceptionally good worker”.
All those who gave evidence described his conduct as “out of character”.
The SSSC branded it a “very serious breach of trust” but accepted Crossan had reflected on his actions and would “act differently now”.
The panel said there was also public interest in “keeping good, committed workers, who can be trusted not to repeat their misconduct, in the workforce”.
The SSSC concluded: “You submitted, and the panel accepted, that an informed member of the public would be willing to give you a second chance.”
Foxcare Ltd, which owns Jordanhill Care Home, was contacted for comment.
