What is Adult Safeguarding?
Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.
It is about people and organisations working together to prevent the risks or experience of abuse or neglect, whilst making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted. This could include the adult’s views, wishes, feelings or beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.
The aims of Adult Safeguarding are to:
- prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to adults with care and support needs
- stop abuse or neglect wherever possible
- safeguard adults in a way that supports them in making choices and having control about how they want to live
- promote an approach that concentrates on improving life for the adults concerned
- raise public awareness so that communities as a whole, alongside professionals, play their part in preventing, identifying and responding to abuse and neglect
- provide information and support in accessible ways to help people understand the different types of abuse, how to stay safe and what to do to raise a concern about the safety or well-being of an adult
- address what has caused the abuse or neglect
[Source: Care and Support statutory guidance sections 14.7, 14.11]
What is a safeguarding concern?
A safeguarding concern is when a person is concerned about someone’s well-being. These concerns may be about a family member, a neighbour or a friend and could be around different types of Neglect or Abuse.
The Care and Support statutory guidance states that safeguarding duties apply to an adult who:
- has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs),
- is experiencing, or is at risk of, abuse or neglect, and
- as a result of those needs is unable to protect themself against abuse or neglect, or the risk of it.
What are ‘care and support needs’?
An adult with care and support needs may be:
- an older adult
- an adult with a physical disability, a learning difficulty, or a sensory impairment
- someone with mental health needs, including dementia or a personality disorder
- an adult with a long-term health condition
- someone who uses substances or alcohol to the extent that it affects their ability to manage day-to-day living
- a carer, caring for family member or friend
One-Minute Guide to Care and Support Needs
Carers could also be involved in a situation that may require a safeguarding response, for example:
- a carer may witness or speak up about abuse or neglect
- a carer may experience intentional or unintentional harm from the adult they are trying to support or from professionals and organisations they are in contact with
- a carer may unintentionally or intentionally harm or neglect the adult they support on their own or with others
Types of Abuse and Neglect
The Care and Support statutory guidance outlines ten types of abuse:
- Physical abuse
- Domestic violence or abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Psychological or emotional abuse
- Financial or material abuse
- Modern slavery
- Discriminatory abuse
- Organisational or institutional abuse
- Neglect or acts of omission
- Self-neglect
Types of Abuse
- Financial abuse. This can be things like misusing, withholding or taking someone’s money.
- Domestic Abuse, such as; hitting someone, locking them in a room or pushing them. It is not always physical, and includes coercive and controlling behaviour.
- Psychological abuse. This can be someone subjecting or exposing another person to behaviour that may result in psychological trauma.
- Emotional Abuse, such as; a person may be being bullied or humiliated.
Types of Neglect
- Acts of omission. This can be when a professional fails to provide something they are supposed to, for example not providing access to glasses, hearing aids etc.
- Self-neglect, such as lack of self-care to an extent that it threatens personal health and safety.
- Physical neglect. This can mean someone does not receive the necessary food, medication, or that they need.
- Emotional Neglect. This can mean someone does not receive the necessary emotional support and encouragement.
Modern Slavery
- Human trafficking
- Forced labour
- Domestic servitude
- Sexual exploitation, such as escort work, prostitution and pornography
- Debt bondage – being forced to work to pay off debts that they never will be able to
Making Safeguarding Personal
What is Making Safeguarding Personal?
Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) enables safeguarding to be done with, not to, people – ‘no decision about me, without me’.
MSP focuses on making safeguarding work person-centered and outcome-focused. It ensures that the adult involved is always at the heart of safeguarding inquiries, with their wishes and views considered as early as possible. When considering an individual’s wishes and thoughts, you must also consider:
- Positive Risk Taking – As individuals we all have the ability & choice to take risks. The principle of making an ‘unwise decision’ is enshrined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
- Supported Decision Making – a Care Act Advocate (CAA) must be appointed if the adult has significant difficulty following the process and has no family or friends to support them. If they lack capacity, an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) must be instructed to support them through the safeguarding intervention. Supported decision making focuses on the outcomes the person wishes to achieve, what is working in their lives and what is not. There should be a mechanism to clearly guide and record the ‘conversation’ about choice and risk.
- Freedom from Undue Influence – if a person declines an intervention because of undue influence or coercion, such a choice should not be taken at face value. Support may be required to help a person make a decision free from such influence.
Involving the Individual
When evaluating whether MSP was properly applied, here are some questions for the individual about their experience of the safeguarding journey:
- Did you understand why people did what they did to try and keep you safe?
- Do you feel listened to during conversations and meetings with people about helping you feel safe?
- How happy are you with the end result of what people did to keep you safe?
- Do you feel safer now because of the help from people dealing with your concern?
What Does this mean for Safeguarding?
MSP is about talking to people at the start of and during their care to understand what they want to achieve, and then checking at the end if those goals were met. MSP in adult safeguarding means:
- It’s led by the person
- It focuses on outcomes
- It involves the person and gives them more choice and control
- It improves quality of life, wellbeing, and safety
- It focuses more on people than on processes
Making Safeguarding Personal:
- Is NOT to be seen in the context of a formal safeguarding enquiry (Care Act, 2014, Section 42 enquiry)
- Is NOT about a focus on personalised front line practice
‘Risking Happiness’ is a video commissioned by Gloucestershire CCG and Gloucestershire County Council that highlights the negative effects of overlooking individuals’ thoughts or wishes during safeguarding.
The Care Act 2014 guidance requires adult safeguarding practice to be person led and outcome focused, incorporating MSP as the recommended approach to safeguarding alongside the 6 safeguarding principles:
The Six Principles of Safeguarding
These principles are embedded in the Care Act and apply to all health and care settings:
- Empowerment – people being supported and encouraged to make their own decisions and informed consent
- Prevention – it is better to take action before harm occurs
- Proportionality – the least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented
- Protection – support and representation for those in greatest need
- Partnership – local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting abuse and neglect
- Accountability – Accountability and transparency in safeguarding practice
Source: scie.org.uk
For more MSP resources, visit the ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ section of our Resources page
Public Resources
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