A social worker from Manchester, who was registered to work in Wales, has been removed from the Register of Social Care Workers after a Social Care Wales review hearing found her fitness to practise is currently impaired because of an act of serious aggression against other individuals.
Emily Jo Brown was suspended from working in a registered social care role in Wales for eight months after a Social Care Wales hearing in February 2021 found her fitness to practise was impaired.
The two-day hearing was told that Ms Brown behaved violently outside her place of work while under the influence of alcohol.
Last week, a one-day hearing was held over Zoom to review Ms Brown’s progress and to decide whether her fitness to practise was still currently impaired.
Appearing before the panel, Ms Brown showed some regret for her actions.
But after considering the evidence, the panel decided that Ms Brown hadn’t developed full insight into her actions and hadn’t put measures in place to show how she’d remedied her behaviour.
The panel therefore found Ms Brown’s fitness to practice was still currently impaired.
Explaining its decision, the panel told Ms Brown: “The [previous] panel determined that the impairment of your fitness to practise was capable of being remediated but that you lacked insight, focusing on the impact of your behaviour on your own life rather than acknowledging the impact on the victims.
“The panel found you lacked a full understanding of Social Care Wales’s role and your own responsibilities as a registered person. This review was your opportunity to show what had changed since that time.”
The panel continued: “We concluded that you had had an opportunity to reflect and to coherently present what you had learnt [today], but that you could not do so.”
Explaining further, the panel said: “We decided you had not done enough to address the concerns, which were identified by the panel on the last occasion, and that your presentation gave additional concern about your suitability to return to the workplace.
“We have limited confidence about whether you would be able to prevent yourself from reacting impulsively under pressure in the future.”
The panel decided to remove Ms Brown from the Register, saying: “[T]he risks identified in February are still present and your presentation today has amplified our concern about your suitability to return to social work.”
The panel continued: “We have decided that it is necessary to impose a Removal Order to protect the public and, in particular, to uphold confidence in social work in Wales.”