A social worker who offered whisky to a client he helped through
detox for alcohol dependency has been struck off.
Craig McLoughlin, 54, who was employed by Sheffield Council to
work for Sheffield Care Trust in mental health services, was found
by the General Social Care Council's conduct committee to have been
"very drunk" at the time he offered to buy an alcoholic drink for
the service user.
McLoughlin, who was not present at the two-day hearing, accepted
McLoughlin's witness statement as well as his previous good
record.
Admitted abusing power
However, it decided to remove him from the register because he
would "continue to pose a risk to people who use services until
such time as he had addressed the problem". There was no evidence
to show he had sought professional help.
The committee also found McLoughlin had said to his client,
around the anniversary of his father's death, words to the effect
of "don't worry about your dad; I'll be your dad", and told people
in a pub he was the man's social worker.
McLoughlin admitted in a witness statement in 2005 that he had
"abused his power" and had made "inappropriate comments".
The conduct committee concluded there had been a "serious
departure" from the standards set out in the code of practice and
cited sections relating to maintaining the trust of service users
and upholding confidence in social care services.
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