A heartless Scottish caregiver who taunted an elderly patient by snapping a demeaning photo of them on the toilet has been banned from the profession. Cara MacLennan, 20, struck a disrespectful pose next to the senior citizen and flashed a "v" for victory sign during her stint at Eilean Dubh Care Home in Fortrose, back in February last year. Hailing from Fortrose in the Highlands, MacLennan took to Snapchat to share the image, captioning it with a mocking "can't see me ha ha ha" and "doesn't know what I'm doing".

The disparaging snapshot was further spread by one of her friends onto Facebook, catching viral attention. The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) subsequently stripped MacLennan of her caring credentials, condemning her conduct as "abuse".

A published ruling on Monday condemned MacLennan's actions starkly: "You have taken a selfie photograph of a resident and thereafter added derogatory remarks about her, before sending this to a friend via a social media platform." It continued with a stern reprimand: "Your behaviour of sending the photograph had consequences, whereby these were posted by a third person on a public Facebook page which caused concern to the public in general.", reports the Daily Record.

Detailing the gravity of the offence, the report stated: "The first incident took place within the workplace, where you were expected to care for the resident in an appropriate manner, thus your behaviour placed the resident at the risk of emotional harm." The verdict was unequivocal: "Your behaviour therefore amounts to an abuse of trust and showed a level of disregard for the Codes of Practice and amounted to abuse of a vulnerable resident."

The hearing also revealed that MacLennan had falsified information on a job application for a care assistant position. She had deceptively claimed to have left her previous role due to being offered another job, when in reality, she had been terminated. Furthermore, MacLennan had failed to disclose that she was under investigation by the SSSC for the incident.

The panel's ruling stated: "You were dismissed from your employment and failed to disclose the reason for this dismissal which shows a level of dishonesty and concealment. You also demonstrated a lack of integrity by not disclosing that you were subject to a SSSC investigation."

Her actions were deemed "extremely serious" and "fundamentally incompatible with continuing registration." MacLennan was subsequently prohibited from working in social care indefinitely. The Panel added: "The SSSC considers a Removal Order is the most appropriate sanction as it is both necessary and justified in the public interest and to maintain the continuing trust and confidence in the social service profession."

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