A MENTAL health worker who kicked and pushed a vulnerable patient in his care has been struck off.

Support worker Stephen Dunn abused the man while working at Surehaven Hospital in Glasgow.

Care watchdogs found him guilty of "extremely serious" misconduct for kicking the man, who has mental health problems, on the body and pushing him on the back of the neck, placing him "at risk of emotional, psychological and physical harm".

The day later he cuddled or hugged the man, at the Drumchapel Road hospital, behaviour deemed by the Social Service Council (SSC) to be "inappropriate".

Mr Dunn was charged by police days after the assault, which happened on October 27, 2013.

He pleaded guilty and was fined £400 when he appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court in April this year.

Surehaven is a 21-bed low security hospital for patients between the age of 16 and 65 "who may be liable to be detained under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003", according to it's website.

Following the assault, Mr Dunn was dismissed by the hospital and began working with The Mungo Foundation, which supports vulnerable adults in the city, as a relief project worker.

But he failed to tell his new employers that he had been sacked or that he had been investigated by police and charged with assault - at this stage the case had not yet come to court.

The SSC said that Mr Dunn's dishonesty "prevented his employer from taking any appropriate action to protect service users and placed service users at risk of harm".

The SSC also found that Mr Dunn told an officer at The Mungo Foundation, on March 7 2014, that he had not been charged by police.

He also told his manager that he left Surehaven Hospital because he "wasn't being treated fairly" and that the hospital was "expecting too much" of him.

Mr Dunn also neglected to tell The Mungo Foundation that he was being considered by Disclosure Scotland as someone who could be prevented from working with vulnerable adults.

After considering the case, the SSC, decided to issue a "Removal Order", striking Mr Dunn from the Social Services Council register.

A report into the misconduct states that Mr Dunn "demonstrated dishonest behaviour on a number of occasions" and "lied to his employer attempting to conceal his wrong doing".

It adds that he "abused the trust placed in him as a social service worker" that "it appears there is a significant likelihood of the behaviour being repeated" and that it "demonstrated harmful deep-seated personality or attitude or behavioural problems".

The report states that the removal order is the only appropriate way of dealing with the case adding: "The misconduct is extremely serious."

The SSC document adds that the Mr Dunn "admitted the facts and misconduct and consented to the imposition of the removal order".

Glasgow Sheriff Court papers confirm that Mr Dunn plead guilty to the assaulting a man on October 27, 2010.

He appeared for sentencing in April and was fined £400.

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service confirmed that Mr Dunn's case concluded in April this year and that there are no active proceedings against him.