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Safeguarding people's right to live their lives free of abuse

This page contains some information that will be useful to heath and social care professionals in their adult safeguarding work.

All people, no matter where they live or what their circumstances, are entitled to a life free from exploitation and abuse.

Adults are autonomous, they make their own decisions. This principle of self determination must guide our Adult Protection activities wherever possible.

Some adults will be making decisions under duress and will need extra support. Others will not have the mental capacity to make informed decisions about their own protection; they need to have as much choice as possible within the principle of the duty of care.

All adults are entitled to access the criminal justice system; and the police may be involved if it is believed that a crime has been committed. In an emergency, dial 999.

Adults need to be made aware of their rights, and how to get help if they are being abused.

Any adult disclosing abuse must be listened to, taken seriously and believed, unless there is a good, substantiated reason that disproves what they are saying.

The vulnerable adult, and their protection needs, should be at the centre of any investigation.

Interventions to protect must, wherever possible, follow principles of adult self determination, consent, and minimal intervention needed to protect the vulnerable adult.

• What is Abuse?
• What is Safeguarding?
• Who is responsible for Safeguarding?
• Is the Safeguarding plan proportionate to the risk of abuse?
• Support during the Safeguarding Process

Abuse occurs when one person by doing, or failing to do something they should, causes harm or distress. The person responsible can be anyone in a position of trust. This includes care/support workers, family, friends and neighbours or staff of an organisation (both statutory and independent sector). It can also mean casual callers to the vulnerable person.

It can take several forms:

• Physical – this could include being hit, slapped pushed, kicked, misuse of medication, restraint or inappropriate care and treatment.
• Sexual – this can include rape, sexual assault or sexual relationships to which the vulnerable adult is either unwilling or unable to agree to.
• Emotional/psychological – including being made to feel abandoned, threatened, blamed, or humiliated. This can include coercion, harassment, verbal abuse isolation or withdrawal of services or supportive networks.
• Financial or material – including theft, fraud, exploitation or the misuse of property, money or belongings.
• Neglect and acts of omission – including the failure to provide health or social care and withholding the necessities of life including medication, adequate food and heating.
• Discriminatory – behaviour or words that are racist, sexist, based on someone’s sexual orientation (for example being gay or bisexual) or disability. It can also include harassment or slurs, or similar treatment.
• Institutional abuse – repeated, systematic practices within an institution or regime of “care” which cause harm, deprive people of their right, neglect people’s wellbeing and/or take advantage of their vulnerability or lack of capacity. This may include environments which convey a perpetual and/or repeated subjective sense of a lack of safety amongst users and/or carers.

Safeguarding is the action that can be taken to support an adult “who is or may be eligible for community care services” (ADSS, ‘Safeguarding Adults – A National Framework of Standards for good practice and outcomes in adult protection work’ 2005) to keep their independence, well being and choice and to exercise their human right to live free from abuse and neglect. For the purposes of this policy and procedure, Community Care Services are defined as social services provided by the local authority.

People who are not eligible for community care services (social services from the local authority) may still be subject to abuse. They should be offered support and advice in accessing services that will enable them to keep their independence, well being and to live free from abuse and neglect.

If you are concerned that a child or young person needs protecting from physical, emotional or sexual abuse, or neglect, contact the Children’s and Young Person's Safeguarding Service:

Email: safeguarding@rbk.kingston.gov.uk
Website: Child Protection

All the people employed to provide care for a person who is or may be eligible for community care services are responsible for safeguarding. They could be based in a community, residential, nursing care or hospital setting. They could be police officers, social workers, nurses, doctors or anyone employed in a caring role.

Abuse should always be reported where it occurs. When abuse takes place within a particular area, the host local authority will always take responsibility for coordinating the Safeguarding Adults Process, even if the service users are funded by another local authority.

A reporting process exists so that the local authority can ensure that safeguarding is effective and that learning can be identified and reflected in future work.

For an overview of the Safeguarding Process, see below under 'Related Documents'.

Each situation is different. A consensus amongst the multi-agency team will be key to deciding whether the action proposed in the safeguarding plan is proportionate to the risk of abuse. The team will need to consider:

• The mental capacity of the vulnerable adult
• The wishes of the vulnerable adult
• The legal basis for the action that is proposed

Successful safeguarding is based on good communication between all the people and agencies involved in the vulnerable adult’s life. It should aim to maximise their access to the resources necessary to protect them from further abuse.

A successful safeguarding plan will enable the vulnerable adult to live as they chose, free from abuse.

The Adult Safeguarding Coordinator for people aged 18 or more (Royal Borough of Kingston, Safeguarding Adults and Mental Capacity Act Coordinator) can be contacted for advice or support at any point during this process.

Tel: 020 8547 4735
Fax: 020 8547 6142
Email: adult.safeguarding@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

All staff should follow the recording, information sharing and whistle blowing policies within the organisation by which they are employed or seconded to. This includes the partner organisations that are signatories to this policy:

• Kingston Primary Care Trust
• Kingston Hospital Trust
• South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
• The Metropolitan Police Service
• Royal Borough of Kingston

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) requires local authorities administering adult safeguarding services to ask adults at risk, those alleged to have caused harm and carers whether they felt safe, whether their views were taken into account, whether they felt they were treated fairly.

We in RBK, in partnership with Kingston University, have developed questionnaires to measure service user satisfaction at the case conference stage in the safeguarding process.

Separate questionnaires have been developed for Adults at Risk, People Alleged to Have Caused Harm and Family members and friends (See under the 'Staying safe' web page for the questionnaires). The questionnaires are anonymised to protect confidentiality during the analysis stage.

A briefing paper for Safeguarding Adults Managers and a covering letter explaining the purpose of the questionnires for participants are attached below.