A care worker who carried a service user over his shoulder and mocked her on social media has been given a two-year warning on their registration.

Tegan Kathleen Watt was given the sanction by the Scottish Social Service Council (SSSC) for the incidents that took place at Barchester Healthcare’s Balcutha Court Care Home between 29 September and 8 October 2022.

The hearing found Watt put the service user at risk of physical harm by carrying her on her shoulder to bed and moving her by placing her arms under her arms and carrying her to a chair.

Watt used a mobile phone to record her actions which she posted on social media with the captions: “look at how we love her” and  “listen to her moan”.

The SSSC told Watt: “Your actions display a careless disregard for the dignity and privacy of a service user and call into question your attitude and values as a person who works in the caring profession and whose job is to uphold proper standards of care and conduct.”

A Barchester spokesperson said: “At Balclutha Court the safety and wellbeing of our residents is of the utmost importance and we have zero tolerance to those that don’t uphold that principle. We worked closely with the relevant authorities to address the incident last year and the member of staff was immediately dismissed. We would like to reassure everyone of our commitment to provide the highest quality care for those residing at Balclutha Court.”