STAFFORDSHIRE SOCIAL WORKER STRUCK OFF FOR ADVISING CHILD TO SELF-HARM
A social worker named David Steare has been deregistered after allegedly advising a highly vulnerable child to engage in self-harm.The report indicates that Steare supposedly instructed the child to 'only cut' herself on selected days at specific times, with her mother present to manage her injuries.
Previously, Steare had faced a suspension totaling 12 months imposed by the Health and Care Professions Council for misconduct.
He served as a senior practitioner within the Children & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) team at Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust.
In 2013, he allegedly advised a recently discharged hospital patient to restrict self-harm to particular days, with her mother attending to her wounds without raising concerns.
While the disciplinary panel acknowledged his approach might be suitable in some situations, they disapproved of his methods overall.
He was found guilty of misconduct for failing to consult other professionals and for conducting an inadequate risk assessment, which heightened the child's potential for harm.
The panel decided he is unfit to return to practice and imposed a ban after determining he did not accept the hearing’s findings.
Chair of the panel Khairun Butt mentioned that, aside from these issues, Steare had maintained an otherwise clean professional record and was motivated by good intentions.
She added, “In the absence of any positive evidence of insight and remediation, the Panel was not satisfied that there has been any material change in circumstances since the last review concerning the risk to service users, and the impact on public trust and confidence.” Steare did not attend the disciplinary hearing and was consequently struck off the register.
