Estelle Dawson was employed as a care assistant at Hillview Care Home in Clydebank when she pushed the man back into his chair in April 2025
By Democrat reporter
STV News is reporting that a care worker who pushed a vulnerable elderly man as he tried to get up from a chair and who hit a colleague has been struck off.
Estelle Dawson was employed by a private company as a care assistant at Hillview Care Home in Singer Road, Clydebank, when she was asked to assist the man in April 2025.
When the man, described as a “vulnerable person who is known to be at risk of falls”, attempted to stand, Dawson pushed him in the chest in an attempt to make him sit.
He stood up again, and Dawson once again pushed him back into the chair, causing him to become distressed.
The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) found that Dawson’s actions “amounted to physical abuse”.
“It may be that you did not intend to cause harm to [the man] but were unsure of how to support him,” the SSSC told Dawson.
“However, your actions amounted to physical abuse, placed [the vulnerable man] at a risk of harm and contributed to him becoming distressed. Later that same shift, you shouted at [another service user] after he went into the bedroom of another resident.”
The SSSC said Dawson strongly denied that she acted in this manner.
The watchdog also found that Dawson previously hit one of her colleagues on the arm, swore at her, and called her names while she was in a client’s home in December 2023.
“You have acted in a manner which falls below the standards expected of a registered worker in two separate employments,” the SSSC told Dawson.
“In December 2023 you were physically and verbally abusive to a colleague within a supported person’s home. In April 2025, while there was an open conduct case in relation to your previous behaviour, you pushed [a vulnerable man] twice and then shouted at [another resident] during the same shift.
“There is a pattern of behaviour which raises concerns about your temperament, attitude and values.”
The SSSC removed Dawson from the care register and banned her from working in the sector as a result of the incident.