Professional regulator was wrong to oppose appeal

Sheriff rules that medical reasons should excuse late court application.

A Social worker who was struck off should be allowed to appeal the finding where he could show that he had been affected by depression and anxiety, in a ruling against the Scottish Social Services Council.

The Sheriff at Dundee found that the Registrant – a client of Beltrami & Co – should not be denied the right of appeal because he was 14 days late in lodging documents in court, where he could produce medical records to show the extensive treatment he was receiving.

A panel of the SSSC, who are responsible for regulating the care sector, removed R after finding him guilty of a number of counts of misconduct after a six–day hearing in January. But Beltrami & Co told Dundee Sheriff Court that although R denied the misconduct, he had taken no part in proceedings because his health problems had led to him avoiding stressful situations. He had also failed to take legal advice until the deadline for lodging an appeal had passed.

The SSSC opposed R’s application for his appeal to be allowed late due to his health problems. They argued that the appeal should only be allowed in “exceptional circumstances”, relying on a series of rulings by the courts in England in cases where late appeals by people struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Optical Council were rejected.

However, Beltrami & Co argued that the law in Scotland was different, based on cases in the Court of Session involving the NMC and Police Scotland. The court also had to take account of the very short delay in lodging the case, which meant there was little impact on the SSSC, in comparison with the impact on R, who cannot now return to social work for at least three years.

The Sheriff allowed the appeal to proceed to a full hearing later this year at Dundee Sheriff Court, where Beltrami & Co will argue that the SSSC panel’s decision to strike off R should be quashed, as the panel have come to the wrong decision in his absence.