Flintshire social worker removed from Register for breaching lone working policy and failing to report assault
A social worker from Flintshire has been removed from the Register of Social Care Workers after a hearing found her fitness to practise was impaired because of misconduct.
Louise Medenica was employed as a former support worker for MIND North East Wales. She was accused of meeting a client, who was threatening to harm himself, alone in a remote car park outside office hours in June 2016, in breach of the organisation’s lone working policy.
The hearing was told that during the meeting an associate of Ms Medenica arrived at the car park and assaulted the client.
Ms Medenica subsequently failed to tell her employer about the meeting or the assault, and failed to record it.
Having heard the evidence, the committee decided that Ms Medenica’s fitness to practise was currently impaired because of misconduct.
Explaining its decision, the committee said: “In our view, Ms Medenica presents a risk to individuals using services because she has a very limited appreciation of why her actions were inappropriate and therefore might take a similar course in the future.”
The committee decided to remove Ms Medenica from the Register, saying: “Ms Medenica’s actions caused serious harm and involved concealment of wrongdoing.
“She has shown a persistent lack of insight into the serious consequences that arose from her arrangement of the meeting in the car park and her failure to report the assault.
“We are satisfied that her failure to report the assault amounted to a knowing disregard for her professional obligations.”
Ms Medenica was not present at the two-day hearing at the Holiday Inn, Chester West last week.
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