A domiciliary care manager from Rhondda Cynon Taf has been removed from the Register of Social Care Workers after a Social Care Wales hearing found her fitness to practise is currently impaired because of her criminal conviction.
The hearing was told that Tracy Kolade stole more than £2,000 from the bank account of a vulnerable resident in her care over an eight-month period, making 12 separate cash withdrawals.
Ms Kolade was subsequently convicted of fraud at Cardiff Crown Court in September 2020 and was sentenced in October 2020 to 10 months’ imprisonment and required to pay a victim surcharge of £140.
After considering the evidence, the panel found Ms Kolade’s fitness to practise was currently impaired because of her criminal conviction.
The panel explained its decision, by saying: “This was a very significant abuse of the trust placed in [Ms Kolade] by her client and others. One of her key responsibilities was to assist her clients to look after their money.
“The record of the sentencing remarks shows that she made only partial recompense to the client, and that she was not open and honest when the offending behaviour came to light.
“In fact, she tried to shift blame onto another unnamed person, and she did not plead guilty until a late stage in the criminal proceedings, by which point, her client had suffered the additional anxiety, which is recorded within a victim impact statement, of the potential need to see Ms Kolade at a trial.”
The panel continued: “We have concluded that [Ms Kolade] showed a lack of integrity, presents a risk of harm to individuals using services and breached a number of the fundamental tenets of the care profession.”
The panel decided to remove Ms Kolade from the Register, saying: “A Removal Order is clearly the only appropriate disposal in all the circumstances, and it is proportionate given the seriousness of Ms Kolade’s offending. It properly reflects the harm which Ms Kolade caused to the individual concerned and to public confidence.”
Ms Kolade was not present at the one-day remote hearing, which took place over Zoom on 22 March 2021.