A residential child care worker from Bridgend has been removed from the Register of Social Care Workers after a Social Care Wales hearing found his fitness to practise is currently impaired because of serious misconduct.
The hearing was told that in December 2018 Anthony Abbiss inappropriately grabbed the leg of a vulnerable young person in his care and dragged them along a landing area at the children’s home where he worked.
After considering the evidence, the panel concluded that Mr Abbiss’s actions fell short of the standards set out in the Code of Professional Practice for Social Care.
The panel decided that Mr Abbiss’s fitness to practise was currently impaired because of serious misconduct.
Explaining its decision, the panel said: “We have found that [Mr Abbiss] dragged a vulnerable young person in his care by the leg when no physical intervention was necessary. This was clearly very inappropriate.
“[The young person in his care] was emotionally vulnerable and Mr Abbiss’s behaviour posed a real threat to [their] well-being.”
The panel continued: “Acting so as to harm a child rather than to help them is clearly in breach of one of the most fundamental principles of social care and we cannot be confident that a future breach would not occur.”
The panel decided to remove Mr Abbiss from the Register, saying: “The nature and seriousness of the impairment of Mr Abbiss’s fitness to practise means that it is not appropriate for us to take no action…”
The panel continued: “Mr Abbiss has narrowed our choices by not participating in this hearing and by indicating that he does not wish to continue to work in regulated social care.
“We have decided that a Removal Order is the only appropriate disposal and that it is the necessary and proportionate outcome.”
Mr Abbiss was not present at the two-day remote hearing, which was held over Zoom last week.