Carer Struck Off for Threatening Elderly Man

Amina Sani, a carer at the now-renamed Morar Highland care home, has been struck off the social care register after a panel found her actions constituted a "significant abuse of trust and power." The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) panel heard that Sani repeatedly threatened the resident, who has dementia, with police intervention and told him, "do you think that man is going to hit you?" Video footage showed Sani and a colleague laughing as the man screamed "no" and "leave me alone" during a planned shower.

Su Christie, the man's daughter, told the panel that her father had a lifelong fear of showers due to childhood trauma. "You could tell by the things he was doing, the things he was saying, that his distress was growing and growing throughout that interaction and there was no attempt to bring him down or de-escalate him whatsoever," Christie said. "He was frightened."

The panel ruled that Sani also pulled the man's duvet off without warning, causing him further distress and agitation. "It is clear throughout the video clips that you did not show any kindness or compassion to the resident," said panel chairman Iain Burke. "At one point you and your colleague can be seen laughing in response to something the resident says or does. It does not appear to us to be laughing with the resident, but it appears more disrespectful in nature. We find that the resident suffered harm and you did not respect his dignity."

Burke added that Sani's attitude and behavior were "fundamentally incompatible" with registration as a social care worker and that her treatment of the resident was "not something that could be remediated with training." The panel acknowledged submissions that Sani was let down by her employer, noting "institutional failure," but stated that this did not absolve her of personal responsibility. Sani's legal representative indicated that she wished to apologize to the family.

Morar Living, the owner of the home, stated that it acted promptly when concerns were raised, suspending employees and conducting investigations. The company denied claims that Sani was not trained properly. Castlehill, now Morar Highland, was graded "good" in its most recent care inspection. A separate hearing regarding the behavior of another carer, Oluwabunmi Salami, who admitted to raising and lowering the man's bed without warning, was ongoing.