A domiciliary care worker from Carmarthenshire has been removed from the Register of Social Care Workers after a hearing found her fitness to practise is currently impaired.
The hearing was told that on 26 October 2021 Oluwayemisi Sobola was convicted of theft at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court after stealing an iPad that belonged to a deceased resident at the care home where she worked.
She was subsequently sentenced to a Community Order of 100 hours’ unpaid work and ordered to pay court costs of £640 and a surcharge of £95.
Having considered the evidence, the panel decided that Ms Sobola’s fitness to practise was currently impaired because of her criminal conviction.
Explaining its decision, the panel said: “Although we accept the offence appears to be an isolated incident, we are not confident that Ms Sobola’s conduct is highly unlikely to be repeated.”
The panel continued: “She not only stole personal property from a deceased service user but has subsequently denied it and failed to accept any responsibility for her actions.”
The panel added: “We consider public confidence in the social care profession and the upholding of professional standards would be undermined if a finding of current impairment was not made in the circumstances.”
The panel decided to remove Ms Sobola from the Register saying: “[T]his is the only outcome which meets the need to protect members of the public and the need to protect public confidence in view of the serious nature of the offence.”
Ms Sobola was not present at the one-day hearing, which was held earlier this week.