A social care worker based in Stornoway has been issued a warning after concealing medication errors on the job.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) determined there was evidence the senior employee failed to report three medication errors made by other staff.
Upon discovering a resident had not received their teatime dose of medication over three days in October last year, Julie Macdonald removed the medicine and put it in her locker.
She also wrote the initials of those on duty in the blank boxes of a medication record sheet.
The watchdog established she had impaired her fitness to practice by deliberately concealing these errors.
Ms Macdonald, who was employed by Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar in Stornoway, admitted to her actions and expressed regret and remorse.
She described the incident as a “lapse in judgment” to protect other staff.
Warning for Stornoway social care worker
In the report, the SSSC said the resident could have been placed at “some risk of harm” as colleagues would believe they had received their medication.
Further, filling out the sheet with her colleagues’ initials also implicated them, and showed a “disregard for the systems in place to protect vulnerable residents and colleagues”.
The report states: “Given the isolated nature of your behaviour, against a long career with no issues, as well as your regret and insight shown, we consider the risk of this being repeated to be low.
“There are therefore no current public protection concerns. The behaviour was however unacceptable, raising public interest concerns that do need to be addressed.”
The watchdog decided the most appropriate option was to place a warning on her registration for one year.
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar did not wish to comment.
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