safeguarding

• Safeguarding


  Action taken to promote children and vulnerable individuals' welfare and protect them from harm
• Abuse


  Action which intentionally causes harm or abuse
• Discrimination


  To treat someone less favorably due to a protected characteristic
• Exploitation


  Treating someone unfairly as they seem to be less advantaged with no return, for their benefit
• Neglect


  Failure to provide adequate care for an individual
• Duty of care


  Legal duty to provide reasonable standard of care that protects a client's safety
• Policy


  Actions which need to happen
• Procedure


  How to perform a policy step-by-step
• Legislation


  Laws which protect individuals and to understand what's acceptable
• Disclosure


  Private information is exposed
• Multi-agency


  Different organisations collaborate
• Person-centred planning


  Individuals put at the centre of planning and decisions which affect them
• Personal development plan


  A plan for individuals to set their goals and support their wellbeing
• Disclosure and Barring Service

  Helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people working in risky roles
• Risk


  How likely a hazard is to occur
• Whistleblowing


  A worker passes on information concerning wrongdoing
• Types of abuse


  • Physical
  • Sexual
  • Emotional
  • Neglect
  • Financial
  • Institutional
  • Bullying
  • Discrimination
  • Exploitation
• Physical abuse


  • Deliberately hurting or injuring someone e.g. hitting someone, misuse of medicine
  • Signs: bruises, black eyes, broken bones, open wounds, underweight
  • Symptoms: easily frightened, isolates themselves, failure to thrive
• Sexual abuse


  • Forcing an individual to take part in sexual activities e.g. rape
  • Signs: STIs, change in behaviour towards others, inappropriate behaviour
  • Symptoms: avoid being alone, self-harm, addiction to drink/drugs
• Emotional abuse


  • Non-physical behaviours that intend to frighten, control or harm someone
  • Signs: frequent mood swings, lack of social skills
  • Symptoms: isolates themselves, lack of confidence, poor mental health
• Neglect


  • Not enough care/attention is being provided to someone or something e.g. not feeding a child
  • Signs: bruises, malnourished, poor personal hygiene, failure to thrive
  • Symptoms: can't maintain relationships, poor social/communication
• Financial abuse


  • Someone has power/control over someone else's economic resources e.g. stealing someone's pension, frauds
  • Signs: selling possessions, don't pay bills, not wearing jewellery
  • Symptoms: poor mental health, can't provide for themselves
• Institutional abuse


  • Mistreatment of people brought about by inadequate care or practice e.g. unclean environment
  • Signs: unclean, not making own decisions, poor staff practice
  • Symptoms: poor physical health, becoming frightened
• Bullying


  • Unwanted behaviour which offends someone e.g. name calling
  • Signs: doesn't speak, unexplained injuries, asking for money
  • Symptoms: lack in confidence, change in behaviour, fear of going out
• Discrimination


  • Treating someone different due to protected characteristics
  • Signs: verbal abuse, not accepting help
  • Symptoms: anxiety, not including themselves
• Exploitation


  • Private information is exposed against their will e.g. health records
  • Signs: not showing up, losing money, unexplained injuries
  • Symptoms: mental health issues, lack of self-esteem, withdrawn, resigned
• 58,000 children at risk of being abused according to NSPCC
• 1 in 20 children in UK have been sexually abused
• Self-neglect


  Individual is unable or unwilling to meet their basic needs and requirements
• Factors which lead to abusive situations


  • Isolated due to their circumstances
  • Normalised behaviour
  • Feel dependent on the abusers
  • Learning disabilities
  • Not believed due to conditions so are vulnerable
  • Lack mental capacity
  • Sensory impairments
  • Physical disabilities
  • Want to please others, often dependent on others, don't understand their rights or what's happening
  • May not know how to complain
• Learning disability


  • Reduced ability to understand new/complex information, reduced ability to cope independently, take longer to learn and may require support to develop new skills
• Dementia


  • Multiple types of dementia - memory loss, effects similar to start/problems with concentration/conversations/visual skills/difficulty making decisions/disorientation, more vulnerable to abuse because they don't understand what's happening, can't remember what has happened, difficulty with communication
• Lack of mental capacity

  • Can't make their own decisions but can still be provided a choice, may be temporarily e.g. head injury has impact on an individual not knowing what they've agreed to, may suffer from dementia, why don't understand communication difficulties not able to speak but can understand and communicate with a device, can't speak clearly or convey clearly, more vulnerable to abuse because they are not able to articulate what's happening
• Physical disability


  • Limitation on a person's physical functioning e.g. hearing, epilepsy, mobility problems, swimming, they are dependent on others, so feel powerless to stop abuse from happening
• Looked after children


  • Child looked after by the local authority, live in care homes until 18, often don't have a stable relationship, they are unaccompanied asylum seeking children with no proof of age, they are more vulnerable to abuse because: may feel abuse is normal behaviour due to poor life experience, struggle to form trusting relationships
• Environmental factors which may make abuse more likely


  • Hazardous environment
  • Relationships aren't formed correctly
  • Isolated from everyone
  • Living in places with no legal rights e.g. squat, with friends, poor conditions
  • Homelessness
  • CORE services with institutional practices
  • Health and social care settings
  • Independent living facilities
• CORE services with institutional practices

  • Rigid routine, intrusive practices which don't respect their privacy but becomes the norm for residents and staff, can be a culture of coerced or unacceptable practice, very hard for abuse to be reported when most staff are involved, no one to report if all care is seen as acceptable, vulnerability of residents as they're depending on such services, one-to-one situations so no proof of power imbalance
• Living at home


  • Dependent on carers which may be their family, they won't report abuse as the carer is their dependence, have been brought up to be 'seen not heard' so may be blamed if they speak up about family issues, lack of privacy as there's no service provided
• Health and social care settings

  • Abuse could come from other residents, carers or the institution, bullying, invasion of privacy and isolation are common, relationships aren't balanced in power as patients have a role of compliance as they don't want to disrupt care
• Independent living facilities


  • Commonly used by elderly or vulnerable individuals, may be abused by other residents, may have limited access to family/friends to report abuse to or staff