Kilwinning: Care home resident was showered against her will

Care assistant Joy McGuire was given a warning on her registration for 18 months by the watchdog – after causing distress to the Buckreddan Care Home resident and her family when they were unable to see her under lockdown.

The Scottish Social Services Council [SSSC] panel found on evidence that McGuire - who the Times was told was previously dismissed from Buckreddan after the incident - instructed the woman to have a shower when she did not want to back in May 19 last year.

McGuire then washed the woman in the shower anyway, when this was contrary to the resident’s care plan and protested she did not want her to.

She then forced the woman to have to put her pyjamas on, when she did not want to and told her that she must go to bed, causing the vulnerable woman distress.

The SSSC panel said: “You failed to treat [the resident] as an individual who took care of her own personal care.

“Social service workers are required to respect and maintain the dignity of those of who services, and in this case, [the resident] was distressed that you had seen her, a service user who takes care of her own personal care and needs, naked.

“You are required to promote the independence of people who use services and empower them to understand and exercise their rights, however on this occasion you failed to allow the resident to exercise her rights in decisions about her washing and dressing needs, along with her bedtime.

“Your actions caused emotional harm to not only [the resident], who was noted to be very distressed and shaken by what happened, but to [her] family who, due to restrictions in place due to COVID-19, were unable to visit to comfort her, and reassure themselves that [she] was OK.

“By undertaking actions which were not asked of you, and were not warranted, you have breached the trust placed into you by service users, their families, your colleagues and the general public.”