A care worker who held a towel over the face of a disabled resident to stop him spitting on her has been struck off.
Christine Grant, 55, was reported after the incident which saw the towel held over the man’s face for six seconds.
She claimed she had used the towel to stop her victim, who had complex needs following a brain injury, from spitting on her.
A probe led to her being sacked from the care centre in Nairn and a police investigation was later launched which led to her being charged with assault.
Grant appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court earlier this year and admitted assaulting the man in September last year.
She was then hauled before the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) who ruled she had to be struck off for professional misconduct.
‘Please don’t send me to prison’
In court, Grant, of Inverness, told Sheriff Gary Aitken: “I deserve to be punished, I will never work in the care sector again. I have never been in trouble before. If I could change things, I would.
“But please don’t send me to prison. I will lose everything. I have already lost my job and livelihood. I have worked in the sector since 1996.”
In a written ruling, the SSSC said: “You have been convicted of the assault of a service user in relation to an incident that occurred while at work where you pushed and held a towel against their nose and mouth.
“Your behaviour was likely to have caused the service user distress and emotional harm.
“You subjected a service user to an assault that was severe enough to warrant a conviction.
“This demonstrates an underlying values issue and the SSSC can take no guarantee that the behaviour will not be repeated and considers there is a risk of repetition.”
The panel added: “The SSSC considers a removal order is the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest and to maintain the continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession and the SSSC as the regulator of the profession.”