Safeguarding adults
What is safeguarding?
‘Safeguarding’ refers to the steps we take to protect vulnerable adults from the risk of harm, abuse or exploitation. A vulnerable adult is any person who is at risk of harm but cannot protect themselves because of illness, frailty or disability.
Safeguarding and NHS Birmingham East and North
NHS BEN is committed to ensuring that effective safeguarding arrangements are in place in all the services we commission. We do this through contract monitoring, joint working, and developing and supporting best practice with all partner agencies.
Different types of abuse
There are many ways in which a vulnerable adult may potentially be subject to harm or abuse.
- Physical – such as hitting, burning, pushing, kicking or inappropriately restraining someone.
- Emotional – such as bullying, taunting, threatening or humiliating someone
- Neglect – such as not providing necessary food, care or medicine
- Sexual – such as inappropriate touching, or forcing someone to take part in sexual acts against their will
- Financial – such as misusing, keeping or taking someone’s money, property or belongings
- Discrimination – ill treatment or harassment on the grounds of age, sex, disability, religious beliefs or ethnic groups
- Institutional – where the needs of the individual patient come second to the running or needs of the institution
‘No Secrets’: Department of Health guidance
Department of Health guidance makes clear that safeguarding must be carried out on a multi-agency basis. In other words that health services, social care and the police must work together in order to be effective, rather than acting in isolation
‘No Secrets’ Department of Health Guidance
Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board
To deliver on the vision outlined in ‘No Secrets’, Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board (BSAB) was formed. The board’s remit is to oversee and develop effective multi-agency safeguarding adults arrangements across the city. Senior representatives from a wide range of agencies sit on the board. For NHS BEN our representative is Val Jones, Director of Nursing.
Birmingham Safeguarding Adults Board
Making alerts and responding to concerns
The lead agency for responding to allegations of abuse of vulnerable adults in Birmingham is Adults and Communities. If you have concerns that a vulnerable adult is at risk of abuse, you should raise a safeguarding alert by contacting Adults and Communities as soon as possible. They will then co-ordinate a multi-agency response, and ensure that measures are put in place to protect the vulnerable person. This may include a commissioning response from NHS BEN.
Adults and Communities contact details
Professional accountability
All health care practitioners working in any commissioned service, whatever their professional discipline, must be committed to protecting and upholding the human rights of vulnerable adults. In nursing, for example, the NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council have recently highlighted that safeguarding is a fundamental part of everyday nursing practice, and the NMC is actively working to promote improved awareness in this field.
Nursing and Midwifery Council safeguarding resources
Dignity in Care
The concept of personal dignity links very closely to adult safeguarding. If we actively promote the dignity of all vulnerable adults then the risk of abuse and harm is diminished. We therefore expect a strong commitment to upholding patient dignity in any service we commission. To find out more about the Dignity in Care campaign, and how to become a ‘Dignity Champion’ follow this link:
Dignity in Care resources and information
The Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission regulates health and social care across the country. All provider services, including those commissioned by NHS BEN, have a requirement to meet outcome 7 of CQC’s Essential Standards of Quality and Safety: ‘Safeguarding people who use services from abuse’. Regulation 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 enforces this obligation. You can find out more via the CQC website:
Care Quality Commission safeguarding information
Enquiries
NHS BEN’s executive lead for Safegaurding is Val Jones, Director of Nursing.
For general enquiries and information about NHS BEN’s safeguarding arrangements please contact: Joe Martin, Lead Nurse for Safeguarding Adults on 0121 380 9248
or email: joseph.martin@nhs.net
