Two social workers struck off over conflict of interest

Two social workers have been struck off the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) register over conflicts of interest.

In the first case, Kamran Zafar Puri was struck off for failing to declare to his employer, Manchester City Council, his connection to a company providing support services and lodging for young people for the Council.

A panel of the HCPC Conduct and Competence Committee heard that Mr Puri did not disclose to the Council his or his wife’s directorship of a the company, First Step Accommodation Limited, which provided services to the Council

The Panel further heard that Mr Puri dishonestly sought to minimise the work he undertook for the company and worked for the company under the name of Tony Holt.

Panel Chair Jacki Pearce commented: “The Panel noted that Mr Puri’s dishonesty had been persistent and deliberate and had occurred over a substantial period of time.

“The Panel considered that Mr Puri had demonstrated a keen understanding of the effect of his misconduct on himself and his career, but that he had not demonstrated any real understanding of how he had let down his colleagues or the young people whose interests he should have put before his own. Further, he had demonstrated no real understanding of the damage his dishonesty was liable to have on the reputation of his profession.”

The Panel decided the most appropriate action was to strike Kamran Zafar Puri from the Register with an Interim Suspension Order in place to cover the appeal period.

In the second case, Sharon Farquharson failed to declare to her employer, Birmingham City Council, of potential conflicts of interest in the procurement of services for the Council.

The panel heard Ms Farquharson authorised payments to the father of her child to undertake removals work and gas installation for the team. She failed to assess or declare a potential conflict of interest. She also used the services of the husband of a member of her team. There was no evidence that she obtained competitive quotes for this service as she claimed.

The Panel further heard that she attempted to obstruct the Council’s investigation into the matter by asking a colleague to make denials and failing to acknowledge her relationship with her child’s father.

Panel Chair Naseem Malik commented:“The Panel considered that the registrant’s actions had been intentional and had been in breach of the provisions identified by the Council. In the Panel’s view, this was conduct unbefitting a practitioner and below the standard expected of an experienced autonomous practitioner who was an experienced senior manager. The misconduct was not an isolated incident and had occurred over a considerable period of time.

“The Registrant has offered no evidence that she has taken any steps to address her former misconduct. Further, there has been no evidence at all to date of any insight into her misconduct.”

The Panel decided the most appropriate action was to strike Sharon Rose Farquharson from the Register with an Interim Suspension Order in place to cover the appeal period.