A QUALIFIED social worker formerly employed by Monmouthshire council has been removed from the register by the Care Council for Wales.

Alan Ralph Kalawsky, who was a disability service manager for the council for 14 years and had a number of adult service centres under his management, was suspended by the council in February 2012.

Kalawasky was accused of failing to investigate the conduct of a number of care workers under his management. The allegations included that his investigations into a complaint by a service user in March 2010 were flawed and that he failed to investigate an incident in July 2010 when a service user known as BG complained that a care worker had threatened to burn his toy monkey.

At a conduct hearing, which concluded in Cardiff yesterday, the committee found that of the four allegations against Kalawsky, who did not attend the hearing, charge one was proved that he failed to take appropriate action to safeguard vulnerable service users and address the inappropriate and/or abusive behaviour of staff, except for a sub charge that he failed to investigate issues around the way staff were behaving towards service users. The committee found it was not proved that Kalawsky failed to provide adequate support to staff member LD with regard to performance management and discipline of staff member DD despite being made aware but charges three and four were proved of deficient management with regard to ICT and other equipment and that he acted inappropriately with regard to council property.

The committee’s chairwoman, Helen Potts told the hearing it had considered the representations of the council’s presenter, Luisa Gibbons, and the Care Council for Wales’ Code of Practice for Social Workers and found Kalawsky guilty of misconduct in respect of three charges.

Ms Potts said the committee was in ‘no doubt’ that Kalawsky’s behaviour in failing to appropriate action to safeguard vulnerable service users called into question his suitability to remain on the register for social care workers and therefore amounts to misconduct.

After considering the facts, the committee said that whilst Kalawsky was a hard-working individual who showed commitment to the service it had no evidence of regret, apology, reflection or of steps to improve practice.

Ms Potts said: “There were a series of failures rather than an isolated misjudgement.”

“This was a serious case in which vulnerable service users were abused and mistreated in a social care setting. The committee had no doubt that public confidence in the social care profession had been damaged by these events.”

“The public expects social workers to safeguard vulnerable service users and to take action to address inappropriate or abusive behaviour by colleagues.”

She said there were fundamental errors in basic social work practice and that the committee had decided to impose a Removal Order.