Addiction Counsellor Struck Off Over ‘Uncouth’ Behaviour

A Bicester addiction counsellor who bought wine for an alcoholic patient and discussed his sexual exploits with another has been struck off.

Carlo Grimaldi, 54, was removed from the register of social workers by the General Social Care Council (GSCC).

A disciplinary panel found that he formed an inappropriate personal relationship with a patient, known only as Ms A, while working at the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust’s Julier Centre in Bicester.

The woman, who at one point was drinking 20 to 30 units of alcohol a day, said she received sexually explicit text messages from Mr Grimaldi, met him outside of work and had sex with him.

Another patient, Ms B, also complained about his conduct after he mentioned his sexual relationships with a colleague and a GP.

Mr Grimaldi told other staff she was a student social worker and left her alone in his office when in fact she was a patient. He allowed her to sit in on other patients’ appointments, and in one instance to put questions to one of them.

Mr Grimaldi’s manager Mark Stevens said this could damage the health of Ms B, who was described in the hearing as “a serious drug user”.

Mr Stevens said he was concerned about Mr Grimaldi’s behaviour before the allegations came to light because of the poor quality of his work and his general behaviour, which included swearing in front of patients.

Mr Stevens said: “I would describe Carlo Grimaldi’s behaviour as uncouth.”

The GSCC hearing found that all the allegations had been proved, and after deliberations removed the worker from their register. This means he cannot be employed as a social worker in the UK.