Safeguarding Adults: Policy and Procedure
1. Policy Statement
The Springfield Project operates from a Christian ethos, and is committed to the wellbeing of all people, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The Springfield Project practices in an empowering way and believes that all everyone has the right to self-determination and to make choices about how they live their lives. The Springfield Project seeks to establish and maintain an environment where everyone using our services feels secure, able to seek advice and support and where service users know that they are listened to. The Springfield Project recognises that it may work with service users who may need more support to enable them to make independent choices and to live life to the full.
This Safeguarding Adults policy outlines the Springfield Project’s responsibilities in relation to safeguarding adults with care and support needs. The policy seeks to ensure the safety of adults with care and support needs by outlining clear procedures and ensuring that all staff members and volunteers are clear about their responsibilities.
This Policy should be read in conjunction with the Staff Code of Conduct, Confidentiality Policy, Equal Opportunities Policy, the Child Safeguarding Policy, the Professional Boundaries Guidance and the Whistle blowing Policy.
The development of this policy has been based on the Care Act 2014 and Adult Safeguarding: Multi Agency Policy & Procedures for the protection of adults with care and support needs; West Midlands 2015.
2. Definitions
This Policy relates to the safeguarding of adults with care and support needs. An adult with care or support needs is defined as someone over the age of 18 who is, or may be, in need of social care services by reason of mental health, age or illness, and who is, or may be, unable to take care of themselves, or protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation. ‘Care and Support Needs’ means the mixture of practical, financial and emotional support for adults who need extra help to manage their lives and be independent. For example, people with care and support needs might be: elderly and frail due to ill health, disability or cognitive impairment; have a learning disability; have mental health needs, including dementia or personality disorder; have a long term illness/condition; misuse substances or alcohol.
For the purposes of this policy The Springfield Project defines abuse as any behaviour that causes the recipient significant harm. This would include physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and financial abuse and neglect.
The characteristics of adult abuse can take a number of forms and cause victims to suffer pain, fear and distress reaching well beyond the time of the actual incident(s). Victims may be too afraid or embarrassed to raise any
complaint. They may be reluctant to discuss their concerns with other people or unsure who to trust or approach with their worries.
There may be some situations where victims are unaware that they are being abused or have difficulty in communicating this information to others.
3. Making Safeguarding Personal
Helping people to make their own decisions about the way they live and the care they receive is fundamental good practice. People want control over their own lives and what happens to them. Our approach to safeguarding should be no different; safeguarding should not be a process we apply to people, but instead has to be something we do with them, on their own terms.
4. The six principles of safeguarding
The Springfield Project fully incorporates the six principles of adult safeguarding included in the Care Act 2014. These six principles are
5.1 Empowerment
People are supported and encouraged to make their own decisions and give informed consent.
5.2 Prevention
It is better to take action before harm occurs.
5.3 Proportionality
The least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented.
5.4 Protection
Support and representation for those in greatest need.
5.5 Partnership
The Springfield Project offers local solutions through working closely with the local communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse.
5.6 Accountability
Accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding.
6 Policy Principles
• The Springfield Project will operate the requirements of Safer Recruitment as set out in local safeguarding board procedures.
• The Springfield Project will ensure all staff and volunteers undergo a DBS check that is regularly reviewed (at least every 3 years). This will include a check of the Adults barred list where appropriate. • The Springfield Project will ensure all staff are familiar with this policy and that relevant staff are trained in its implementation.
• The Springfield Project will ensure that service users are aware of this policy and are able to access it. Service users will be made aware of the limitations to confidentiality where there are safeguarding concerns.
• The Springfield Project will ensure that service users are clear about who they can go to for help and what action will be taken if they report issues of abuse.
• Where we are asked to provide a service to a person who has been convicted of offences against adults with care and support needs Springfield Project staff will complete a comprehensive risk assessment to ensure suitability for the service.
• The Springfield Project will ensure that all staff have access to, and are aware of, the Springfield Project policies on Professional Boundaries and Whistle Blowing in order that they can take the appropriate steps should they be concerned that a member of staff is behaving inappropriately towards adults with care and support needs. The Springfield Project will fully support any staff member who “blows the whistle” on suspected abuse within The Springfield Project in line with the organisation’s Whistle Blowing policy.
5. Training of Staff and Volunteers
5.1 The induction procedure for all new staff and volunteers will include basic information about recognising and responding to adult protection issues. Staff and volunteers will be introduced to the Designated Safeguarding Leads for both adults and children during their induction.
5.2 Staff at all levels of the organisation will be expected to undertake mandatory adult protection training through the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Partnership or other approved provider. 5.3 The Designated Safeguarding Leads for Adults will attend Adult Protection training for managers regularly to update their knowledge and inform practice in the Project.
5.4 All staff, volunteers and students are made aware of the conduct expected of them, which is detailed below in section 2.8.
6. Types of Abuse
The government’s Care and Support Guidance for the Care Act 2014 lists 10 types of abuse. This is not an exhaustive list.
• Domestic abuse
This includes controlling and coercive behaviour, forced marriage, female genital mutilation or “honour”-based violence
• Discriminatory abuse
This includes unequal treatment based on age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex or sexual orientation (the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010 and disability hate crime
• Financial or material abuse
Theft, fraud, coercion over wills, misusing someone’s money, property or other belongings without their agreement
• Institutional abuse
Through rigid regimes, systemic poor care, poor organisational culture, lack of resources, denial of choice, lack of dignity and respect for service users
• Physical abuse
Hitting, burning, pushing or kicking someone, rough handling, unreasonable restraint (including misuse of medication), locking someone in a room
• Neglect or acts of omission
By people responsible for giving care; including ignoring medical, emotional or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health, care and support or educational services, the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition and heating
• Sexual abuse
Rape, inappropriate touching or forcing someone to take part in or witness any sexual act against their will • Psychological or emotional abuse
Intimidation, bullying, shouting, swearing, taunting, threatening or humiliating someone, or radicalisation
• Self-neglect
Neglecting to care for oneself or environment
• Slavery
Trafficking, forced labour and domestic servitude
7. Domestic Violence and Abuse
The Project aims to provide a safe environment where women and men can seek support for issues around domestic violence and abuse. The Project provides specialist support for domestic violence through the Freedom Programme and a lead worker within the Family Support Team. The Project is represented on the local Domestic Violence forum and has strong links with specialist domestic violence providers.
• Our policy is to support the individual to make informed choices and to empower them to act in their best interests of themselves and any children.
• Where the individual has children and is unable to prioritise their children’s safety, advice should be sought from the Designated Leads for Child Protection within the Springfield Project. In some situations it will be necessary to apply child protection procedures in situations of domestic violence. The decision to make a referral should be made in conjunction with the Children’s Trust’s Right Help, Right Time guidance relating to domestic violence.
• Staff should be aware that seeking support around domestic violence can increase risk for the individual. The safety of the individual and any children should be the priority at all times. Conversations with perpetrators should not take place without specialist advice.
8 Honour-based violence, forced marriage
The project recognises that children and adults may be vulnerable to honour-based violence or forced marriage. Concerns about honour-based violence will be dealt with in accordance with Child Protection Procedures. The Springfield Project keeps itself up to date on the latest advice and guidance provided to assist in addressing specific vulnerabilities and forms of exploitation. The Birmingham Safeguarding Board has issued a Forced Marriage Protocol which can be found here:
http://lscpbirmingham.org.uk/images/Forced_Marriage_Protocol.pdf
9. Reporting Procedures
Everyone within The Springfield Project has a responsibility to safeguard the physical and emotional health of adults with care and support needs. Within The Springfield Project there are Designated Leads for Safeguarding Adults with care and support needs. The Designated Leads will ensure that at least one of the named officers is available to staff and volunteers at all times, ensuring that contact numbers are available to all staff and volunteers.
Rosalyn Clare Volunteer Coordinator
Sayma Bibi Family Support Manager
10 RESPONDING TO SUSPICIONS OF ABUSE
• Where a member of staff or volunteer is concerned about a risk of harm to an adult with care or support needs, the Springfield Project Designated Lead for Safeguarding Adults should be informed as soon as possible.
• In consultation with the staff member, the Designated Lead for Safeguarding Adults will decide what action will be taken, including a decision on whether to report the matter to the police and/or raise a safeguarding concern.
• If the decision is made to raise a Safeguarding concern this should be communicated with the service user, unless to do so would further increase risk.
• It is not the responsibility of anyone within The Springfield Project to conduct formal investigations into the abuse of adults with care and support needs. This is the responsibility of statutory services and the police. • The member of staff should make a written record of the allegation or suspicion of abuse or neglect. The record must be signed and dated and placed on file. If there is an immediate risk to the adult with care and support needs, where there is an emergency situation or where a crime has been committed, the details of the concern should be passed on to the police. In other situations where there is concern of abuse or neglect of an adult with care and support needs the Designated Lead should make a referral to the Birmingham City Council Adults and Communities Access Point. Current contact details of the relevant teams can be found in Appendix A.
• If you are concerned someone under the age of 18 is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, you should refer to the Designated Safeguarding Lead for Safeguarding Children at the Springfield Project.
11 RESPONDING TO ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE AGAINST PERSONS IN A POSITION OF TRUST • For the purpose of safeguarding, all staff, volunteers, students and trustees are regarded as ‘persons in a position of trust’.
• If a concern arises against any person in a position of trust, this must be notified to the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the CEO. This also applies to concerns arising against a member of the Board of Trustees.
• If the concern relates to the Designated Safeguarding Lead this must be notified to the CEO. • If the concern relates to the CEO this must be notified to the Designated Safeguarding Trustee, Fiona Cross Sudworth.
• If any concern raises a query as to a person’s suitability to work with vulnerable adults or children that person will immediately be taken to one side and informed that an allegation has been made against them. At this point they will not be told of the nature of the allegation. The Springfield Project will follow the relevant safeguarding and personnel procedures. These will be in line with the West Midlands Position of Trust Framework.
• The Designated Safeguarding Lead will:
• Consider if the information indicates that any immediate risk management actions are needed, or referrals into adult or children safeguarding processes,
• Consider whether the allegation or concern indicates a criminal offence has occurred or may occur. If so, the allegation or concern must be reported to the Police; early liaison with Police should take place to agree next steps and to
• avoid contamination of evidence; if a criminal investigation is required, this may take primacy over an agency or organisation’s internal investigation,
• Refer to the relevant Local Authority LADO where the information indicates the person also works with and could pose a risk of harm to children,
• Make a decision whether the information should be disclosed to the person in a Person in a Position of Trust’s employer.
• If a staff member is found to have behaved inappropriately or abusively in any way, in addition to the matter being reported to the police, this will be dealt with in accordance with Springfield Project disciplinary procedures and consideration given as to whether a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and other regulatory bodies is required.
• Where a staff member is concerned about reporting a possible incident of abuse they are encouraged to refer to The Springfield Project’s Whistle Blowing policy which outlines the protection they are afforded.
12 RESPONDING TO SUSPICIONS OF VIOLENT EXTREMISM (the PREVENT agenda)
This may involve adults with care and support needs being exploited and coerced into risky and illegal behaviour based around ideology. It is important to be cautious in assessing violent extremism to avoid inappropriately labelling or stigmatising individuals because they fit a specific profile. Where staff have concerns of this nature they should discuss these with the designated Safeguarding Adults lead or another manager within the organisation at the earliest opportunity.
13 INFORMATION SHARING
Where The Springfield Project is concerned about the abuse of an adult with care and support needs, staff will consider whether it is in the interest of that person to share information with other agencies. Before information is shared The Springfield Project expects staff to consider the following questions:
• Is an adult with care and support needs in immediate danger?
• What is the purpose of sharing a piece of information?
• Does the adult with care and support needs give consent to the sharing of information? • If not, why not?
• What will you do if the service user withholds consent?
• Will sharing or not sharing information put the adult with care and support needs at increased risk?
The Springfield Project needs to balance its duty to protect adults with care and support needs with organisational ethos regarding an adult’s right to self-determination and choice. In deciding whether to share information on a safeguarding adults issue The Springfield Project will consider the following variables: • Wishes of the service user and capacity to make informed decisions
• Extent of vulnerability
• Nature and extent of abuse concerned
• Length of time abuse has been occurring
• Impact on the individual concerned
• Risk of abuse being repeated
• Risk to other adults with care and support needs
The Springfield Project will normally only disclose information with consent from the service user. Where the service user withholds consent staff will work with the designated Safeguarding Adults lead to assess the appropriateness and necessity of sharing information without consent.
| Policy implementation and review | Responsible Officer: Sarah Robbins |
| This procedure was approved on 2nd May 2022. | |
| Policy review | This policy will be reviewed every three years or earlier as required. Policy review date: May 2025 |
Appendix A
How to report abuse:
In an emergency phone 999
If you think there has been a crime contact the police straightaway.
Call West Midlands Police on 0345 113 5000 or 101. From outside the West Midlands phone 0345 113 5000.
If it is not an emergency and you want to report adult abuse please call the “Adults & Communities Access Point” (ACAP) on 0121 303 1234 and press option 1 on your keypad. Normal office hours are 9 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday.
You may also email your concerns but they encourage a phone call first wherever possible to ensure that they are aware of your concerns.
Report a safeguarding concern to Birmingham City Council via its portal at:
http://bit.ly/2S89nhs
Please send any e-mail messages to [email protected].
If you need to send secure and sensitive information to ACAP and if you have an` approved government secure email address there is a secure GCSX inbox: [email protected] If you are a member of staff (paid or unpaid) from any organisation / agency please confirm your telephone call by sending a completed copy of the Multi-agency alert form by email or by fax: 0121 303 6245 Access the Multi Agency Alert Form here, a Microsoft Word version is also available.
Out of Hours Access
If you believe that the referral you are making is urgent and needs to be responded to when Adult Social Care staff are not routinely available, please contact the Out of Hours team on 0121 464 9001 or email [email protected].or the police and tell them you are worried about possible adult abuse. They will then put you in touch with the right person to talk to.
The Emergency Duty Team is available at the following times:
5pm to 9am (Monday to Friday)
Someone who is in a ‘Position of Trust’
If your enquiry is about someone who is in a ‘POSITION OF TRUST’ please phone 0121 303 6906. You can find out more about people in a ‘position of trust’ in Birmingham’s Local Practice Guidance, Guidance Note 5.
If you are concerned someone under the age of 18 is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, you should contact:
Children’s Advice & Support Service (CASS) on 0121 303 1888 or e-mail.
If you have access to secure e-mail: [email protected], if you do not have access to a secure e-mail: [email protected]
Full information about safeguarding adults can be found in Adult Safeguarding: Multi-agency policy and procedures for the protection of adults with care and support needs in the West Midlands at www.bsab.org
Other teams and contacts
Please be aware that you can also directly contact the hospital social work teams, the mental health social work teams and Birmingham Institute for the Deaf (BID) where they are the appropriate team for the person you are concerned about. Please see contact details below.
Mental Health
Central Birmingham – Phone: 0121 303 5188
South Birmingham – Phone: 0121 301 2830
North Birmingham – Phone: 0121 464 5123
Hospital social-work teams
Good Hope Hospital Phone: 0121 424 7880
Heartlands and Solihull Hospital Phone: 0121 424 1622
Moseley Hall Hospital Phone: 0121 442 3509
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital Phone: 0121 685 4194
Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospital Phone: 0121 507 4623 or 0121 507 4622 or 0121 507 4626 Queen Elizabeth Hospital (part of University Hospitals Birmingham) – Phone: 0121 371 4593 West Heath Hospital Phone: 0121 627 8237