Adults with disabilities or mental ill health, older people and others with 'community care' needs have been shown to not only be more likely to experience abuse than the population at large but they are also less likely to be able to take the necessary steps or access the appropriate services or support to keep themselves safe.
Whilst most people will have some awareness of Safeguarding Children and Child Protection there is still not as much awareness about Safeguarding Adults.
In Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland we have had a Multi Agency Policy and Procedures to safeguard adults with community care needs from abuse in place since 2001. The policy and procedures were revised in 2004 and are available as hard copies from the Adult Protection Co-Ordinator (01858 465 331) and can also be found below.
Abuse is defined as
"the violation of an individuals human or civil rights by any person or persons."
Remember if you have concerns that someone may be experiencing harm then please refer to the Access Service at 1 Grey Friars, telephone 0116 2549922.
Abuse can be:-
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Physical - for example..hitting, slapping, kicking, biting, pinching, inappropriate moving and handling techniques, over medicating, inappropriate restraint, burning.
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Psychological - for example…threatening, intimidating, ignoring, shouting, putting down.
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Neglect or acts of omission - for example..a carer not meeting a person’s care needs, not feeding.
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Sexual - for example...engaging someone in any sexual act that they have not consented to or cannot understand.
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Financial - for example…theft of money or possessions, misuse of benefits, misuse of power of attorney.
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Discriminatory - Any abuse based on discrimination for example..not providing someone with culturally appropriate meals, inappropriate “nicknames”, denying someone access to sex education.
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Institutional - for example...repeated incidents of poor practice or neglect within an organisation, services that are based on the needs of staff / managers rather than service users.
Abuse can be intentional or can be the result of well meaning ignorance.
Abuse can be perpetrated by anyone - relatives, partners, friends, care workers, or strangers - and can happen anywhere.
Remember if you have concerns that someone may be experiencing harm then please refer to the Access Service at 1 Grey Friars, telephone 0116 2549922.
Training is available to all staff and volunteers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland whose work brings them into contact with people with community care needs.
The training looks at how the risks of abuse can be minimized and staff responsibilities for responding to allegations or concerns about suspected abuse.
For Leicester Safeguarding Adults training queries, please contact Jon Ibbitson on 0116 256 8212, Safeguarding Adults Unit, T1-3, 3rd Floor, 5 Greyfriars, Leicester, LE1 5PH safeguardingadults.training@leicester.gov.uk'
For Leicestershire and Rutland Safeguarding Adult training queries please contact Madeleine McNeil on 0116 305 6400, Learning and Development Service, Ground floor, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1YG safeguardingadults@leics.gov.uk
