Care worker who barricaded service user in room loses appeal

A care worker who barricaded a man with severe physical and mental disabilities in a room with a mop handle has lost his appeal over his removal from the Protection of Vulnerable Adults list.

Mark Johnson was working for a domiciliary care agency in Liverpool when he was allocated to the 24-year-old service user, who was partially sighted, unable to communicate through speech and could only move around on his knees.

The service user was cared for in his own bungalow and had unrestricted access throughout the property. But after they returned from attending a social event together in December 2007, Johnson placed a mop handle across the man’s bedroom door, the Care Standards Tribunal found.

Another care worker found the service user next morning kneeling beside his bed in a distressed state.

She reported the incident to the agency, which contacted Liverpool Council’s adult protection team.

The Secretary of State for Health placed Johnson on the Protection of Vulnerable Adults and Children lists in June 2009. Johnson appealed to the Care Standards Tribunal the following September.

Johnson denied that he had placed a broom or mop handle across the bedroom door. He claimed he was being made a scapegoat for failings at the agency, and that the decision to place him on the Pova and Poca lists was disproportionate.

However, the tribunal found there was enough evidence from credible witnesses that the incident had taken place and concluded that Johnson’s misconduct had placed the service user at risk of harm.

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