Care home manager reprimanded for swearing at staff

An adult care home manager has been reprimanded by the Care Council for Wales for shouting and swearing at staff at a care home.

The manager had been accused of verbally abusing staff and residents on several occasions between April 2007 and October 2012, claims that she denied.

The Care Council for Wales’ conduct committee found there was no evidence to support the allegations that she had sworn and shouted at residents of the home, which supports older people with dementia and/or mental infirmity.

However, the committee did conclude that, on the balance of probabilities, she had behaved inappropriately towards staff at the care home on several occasions.

Incidents included telling a care assistant that she was sick of her “f***ing complaining about the rota” and telling staff: “Say what you like about me, I’m f***ing bullet proof.”

On another occasion, she was found to have shouted at a kitchen assistant: “I don’t know why I f***ing bother with this place.”

The committee did, however, note that there were inconsistencies in the statements given by the witnesses and that two of the witnesses had previously been disciplined by the manager and so had reason to be aggrieved.

“The committee’s overall view is that it is likely that there was some discussion between witnesses about their evidence and that they may have influenced each other,” it said in its decision.

Nonetheless, the committee said it believed the manager “did occasionally swear in the home and did occasionally speak inappropriately to certain members of staff”.

It added that, although the incidents were sporadic, they still amounted to misconduct, as the code of practice requires social care workers to treat colleagues appropriately at all times and to work openly and cooperatively with each other.

As a result the committee decided to place a admonishment against her name on the social care register for a year.

The committee also recommended that the manager takes training on how to manage confrontation assertively rather than aggressively.