Support worker branded a‘risk‘

A support worker at a care at home service has been labelled an“ongoing public protection risk”after he was convicted of a drink-driving offence.

Kris Fearon was two-and-a-half times the legal drink drive limit when he crashed his car on a roundabout near Fenwick, a urine test later showed.

Fearon was employed at Rainbow Services, in Ayr’s Beresford Terrace, when he committed the offence on October 12, 2019.

He has now been reprimanded by the industry watchdog, the Scottish Social Services Council, (SSSC), who placed a warning on his registration for a period of two years.

The SSSC said Fearon’s fitness to practise was“impaired”because of his criminal conviction.

In its report, the SSSC said:“Social service workers should not put themselves or other people at unnecessary risk and should not behave, while in or outside work, in a way which would bring their suitability to work in social services into question.”

The watchdog also claimed Fearon ‘failed to engage’with the organisation as they investigated the case and that he‘had not’apologised for his behaviour.

An extract from the report said:“The SSSC considers your [Fearon’s] behaviour to be serious and to fall below the standard expected of registered workers.

“Although there was no actual harm caused, the potential for harm was significant.

“You have failed to engage with the SSSC in a meaningful manner other than giving a brief explanation of the difficulties you were going through at the time.

“You have not provided any reflection or insight into your behaviour or the potential consequences of such behaviour.

“There is a lack of reasonable assurances for the SSSC to consider that your behaviour has been fully remediated and to be satisfied your behaviour would not be repeated.

“As such, there remains an ongoing public protection risk.”