What is ‘Safeguarding Adults’?

It means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect.

Adult Safeguarding is for adults with ‘Care and Support Needs’

The aims of Adult Safeguarding are to:

  • Prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect
  • Stop abuse or neglect wherever possible
  • Support adults 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 awareness with the public. This helps communities play their part in preventing and identifying abuse and neglect
  • Raise awareness with professionals, supporting them to identify and respond to abuse and neglect
  • Provide accessible information/support to help people understand the various types of abuse, or raise concerns about someone’s safety or wellbeing
  • Address what has caused the abuse or neglect

Section 42 of the Care Act 2014 states that safeguarding enquiries should be made where:

  • a person has needs for care and support;
  • is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect; and
  • as a result of their care and support needs, is unable to protect themselves against abuse or neglect, or the risk of it.

They may be a person who:

  • is elderly and frail due to ill health, physical disability or cognitive impairment
  • has a learning disability
  • has a physical disability and/or a sensory impairment
  • has mental health needs, including dementia
  • has a long-term illness or condition
  • misuses substances or alcohol
  • is a carer (family member/friend) and is subject to abuse
  • does not have capacity to make a decision and is in need of care and support

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. 

‘Abuse’ is when someone does something to you that you do not like and you want it to stop, whether it is mentally or physically. 

‘Neglect’ is when you are not being given the care and support that you need to live your life, even if it is self-neglect.

It is essential that we make sure the person’s views, wishes, feelings and beliefs are a key part of deciding on any action that may be taken when considering a safeguarding concern.

Key safeguarding concerns

The person may be at risk of:

  • financial abuse, such as misusing, withholding or taking someone’s money
  • domestic abuse, such as hitting, locking someone in a room or pushing them 
  • self-neglect within their own home
  • neglect within their care/residential home, such as not providing necessary food, medication or care
  • hoarding within their own home
  • emotional abuse such as, bullying or humiliating them

Types of Abuse and Neglect

Types of Abuse

There are several types of abuse, including:

  • 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

There are many types of neglect, including:

  • 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

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, recommended questions for the individual about their experience of the safeguarding journey are:

  • 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? 

‘Risking Happiness’ is a short video commissioned by Gloucestershire CCG & Gloucestershire County Council in 2015. It highlights the negative effects of overlooking individuals’ thoughts or wishes during safeguarding.

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

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


A selection of resources around MSP are located in the ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ section of our Resources page