GSCC case: Colleague ‘stunned’ by bid to solicit counselling work

A former colleague of a social worker facing misconduct allegations has said he was “stunned” when Wladyslaw Piotr Kiczma asked him to advertise Kiczma’s services as a private counsellor to clients.

John Noakes was a community psychiatric nurse at Brimingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust in 2005 when Kiczma, on secondment to the trust, gave him business cards to pass on to his clients.

Noakes told a General Social Care Council conduct hearing that the behaviour was “unprofessional and unethical” and he put the cards in his car and thought no more about it. He added that in hindsight he should have reported the incident.

Another witness, Michael Light, who had been Kiczma’s manager, said he had been unaware that he had been giving a patient from the trust private counselling at his home. Light said that had Kiczma asked permission to offer counselling to patients, he would have been refused.

Not for personal gain

“We are not there to pick people off for personal gain,” said Light.

It is alleged that Kiczma went on to provide private counselling services to Mr H between 2005 and 2006. He was later suspended from his job and made subject to disciplinary proceedings.

The General Social Care Council alleges that Kiczma did not notify it of these proceedings. 

No denial

Kiczma, 65 and retired, did not appear at the hearing because of ill health and had not denied the allegations.

He has made written submissions relating to a number of allegations that he carried out inappropriate physical examinations of children, while in charge at Stuart’s Road children’s home between 1974 and 1983. In these statements, Kiczma said he had carried out Free From Infection (FFI) checks and on rare occasions they had included examination of children’s genitals.

FFI checks, which were standard practice at the time, were designed to ensure that children arriving in care homes did not have infections such as scabies, which could be passed on to other children.

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