A care worker has been struck off after abusing elderly residents at a nursing home in Inverclyde.

Christy Jamieson, who was employed by HC-One Ltd, was found to have abused his power and trust in relation to vulnerable, elderly people, while working at Merino Court Nursing Home in Greenock.

Jamieson's behaviour was said to have caused "actual harm" in some cases and the "risk of harm" in others.

At a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) fitness to practise hearing this month, a panel rapped Jamieson for a multitude of failings between December 2015 and 2016.

During his time at the nursing home, Jamieson told a dementia patient "they are not coming to see you", "your family put you in here" and "your family's all grown up and they don't have time to come and see you" when the woman called out for her relatives. He is said to have then laughed at the resident when she got upset.

He then sat the woman next to another resident and told them "[she] said something about you" to start an argument between the pair.

A few months later, he then caused the woman further distress by leaving a bathroom door in a public area wide open while she went to the toilet.

Following witness statements, Jamieson was found to have failed to support the rights of service users to control their lives. He was also found to have failed to respect and maintain their dignity.

In addition to shouting at residents, smacking a woman on the arm and pinching a man's nose to get him to swallow, he also acted dishonestly by lying about giving residents showers.

Instead, on numerous occasions Jamieson would give them "the wet look" by pouring water on their hair to make it appear as if they had been showered. He would then falsely fill in their personal hygiene records.

A colleague also testified that Jamieson made inappropriate comments by claiming he had sex behind a door at work and was on the receiving end of a sex act on a set of stairs.

Jamieson, who had worked in the home since 2010 and was described by a workmate as being "loved by everybody", admitted he acted "inappropriately" by putting his hand up to a resident's nose and mouth.

However, he denied pinching the man's nose and refuted all the other accusations - instead raising concerns about evidence being fabricated.

Jamieson initially engaged with the SSSC at the beginning of the process, but by January 2019 took no further part in the proceedings and failed to attend his hearing.

Because of this, the panel were unable to ascertain whether Jamieson had shown insight into his behaviour and could not be assured that the risk of repetition was low.

The panel stated that the allegations found proved amounted to an abuse of power and trust in relation to vulnerable, elderly people.

They said: "The panel is satisfied that your behaviour was serious. It caused actual harm in some cases and the risk of harm in others.

"It showed dishonesty and a failure to safeguard the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in society.

"The panel considered that your behaviour was serious, deliberate and repeated. It involved a significant abuse of the trust placed in you to care for vulnerable, elderly people.

"You have shown a persistent lack of insight into the seriousness of your failings.

"There was no evidence that there has been any remediation.

"The panel therefore considered that a removal order was both necessary for the protection of service users and to maintain the continuing trust in the profession and in the SSSC as regulator."

Following Jamieson's removal from the register, a spokesperson from HC-One Limited on behalf of Merino Court Nursing Home said: "The behaviour of this individual goes against the principles of compassion, kindness and dignity that we pride ourselves on as an organisation and staff team.

"At the time of the incident in 2016, the individual in question was suspended and later left our employment.

"We strongly support the SSSC in ensuring care workers in Scotland meet the highest standards.

"Since the incident, Merino Court has twice been rated 'very good' by the Care Inspectorate, underlining that our staff team is committed to delivering the kindest possible care to all of our residents.

"We also receive regular positive feedback from residents and relatives, with the home being rated 9.7/10 on the independent comparison website carehome.co.uk."