Safeguarding Adults Policy & Procedure
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The Rees Foundation aims to support care experienced people and help them to thrive. While the Rees Foundation provides a confidential service to care experienced adults throughout the UK, all staff, volunteers, and beneficiaries have a duty and a responsibility to promote and safeguard the welfare of children and adults and must take appropriate action if they become aware of any disclosures, allegations, or concerns about inappropriate behaviour towards adults with care and support needs or towards children and young people from others.
The Rees Foundation’s Safeguarding Adults Policy This Policy applies to all staff, including senior managers and the board of directors, Trustees, self-employed consultants, volunteers, or sessional workers; indeed, anyone working or acting in any capacity on behalf of The Rees Foundation. The purpose of this policy is:
Principles The Care Act 2014 extends a duty to promote wellbeing when carrying out any care and support functions in respect of an individual. This is sometimes referred to as “The Wellbeing Principle” because it is a guiding principle that puts wellbeing at the heart of all that we do and the care and support we provide. The Rees Foundation’s Safeguarding Adults Policy incorporates the wellbeing principle together with the six principles of safeguarding adults as set out in the Statement of Government Policy on Adult Safeguarding (DoH, May 2015), as follows:
Lead Responsibility: Melody Douglas, Chief Executive Officer, has lead responsibility for safeguarding arrangements at The Rees Foundation. The Rees Foundation Directors/Trustees have overarching responsibility for ensuring that the safeguarding arrangements at The Rees Foundation are fit for purpose. Legal Framework This policy has been drawn up on the basis of law and guidance that seeks to protect adults with care and support needs and with reference to the West Midlands Adult Safeguarding Board Policy and Procedure (April 2015) in whose area The Rees Foundation is based. Relevant legislation and guidance follows:
Definitions Used The Care Act 2014, which came into force on 1st April 2015, contains the following definitions which are used throughout this policy: Adults with care and support needs? The adult safeguarding duties under the Care Act 2014 apply to an adult, aged 18 or over, who:
Care and support is the mixture of practical, financial, and emotional support for adults who need extra help to manage their lives and be independent – including older people, people with a disability or long-term illness, people with mental health problems, and carers. Care and support includes assessment of people’s needs, provision of services and the allocation of funds to enable a person to purchase their own care and support. It could include care home, home care, personal assistants, day services, or the provision of aids and adaptations. Transitions (Care Leavers) Where someone is over 18 but still receiving children’s services such as being in a ‘Staying Put’ arrangement, and a safeguarding concern is raised, this should be dealt with through adult safeguarding procedures. Where appropriate, this should involve the local authority’s children’s safeguarding colleagues as well as any relevant partners (e.g., police or NHS) or other persons relevant to the case. This also applies where someone is moving to a different local authority area after receiving a transition assessment but before moving to adult social care. Abuse Defining abuse is complex and rests on many factors. The term “abuse” can be subject to wide interpretation. However, abuse is often defined as:
Abuse may be physical, verbal, or psychological, it may be an act of neglect, or occur where a vulnerable person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which they have not or cannot consent. Whilst it is acknowledged that abuse can take different forms, a consensus view is that it can be determined in the following ways:
County Lines is where illegal drugs are transported from one area to another, often across police and local authority boundaries (although not exclusively), usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs – Definition taken from National Crime Agency Cuckooing is where gangs use violence and abuse to target the homes of vulnerable people and use them as bases for drug dealing. – Definition taken from Crimestoppers A hate crime is any criminal offence that is motivated by hostility or prejudice based upon the victim's: • disability; • race; • religion or belief; • sexual orientation; • transgender identity. Exploitation by radicalisers who promote violence Individuals may be susceptible to recruitment into violent extremism by radicalisers. Violent extremists often use a persuasive rationale and charismatic individuals to attract people to their cause. The aim is to attract people to their reasoning, inspire new recruits, embed their extreme views, and persuade vulnerable individuals of the legitimacy of their cause. The Home Office leads on the anti-terrorism strategy. See Prevent Strategy 2011. – Taken from West Midlands Safeguarding Adults Policy and procedures The Rees Foundation Safeguarding Adults Procedure: 2. Responding to adults at risk Abuse can take place anywhere and in any relationship. It may occur when in a person’s own home, whether living alone or with others. It may occur in a work setting, educational establishment or in the community. A person may be at risk from a relative or family member or a risk to themselves if their situation appears hopeless to them. The Rees Foundation provides support to care experienced adults, many of whom are facing difficult and emotionally stressful situations, such as mental health difficulties, financial hardship, unemployment, relationship difficulties and face the risk of homelessness. Therefore, it is not surprising that people may be at risk during these times, either from themselves or from others. The Rees Foundation support may take place over the telephone, or face to face. Any intervention will therefore need to be determined by the environment or the context in which the alleged abuse or perceived risk has occurred, and the wishes and feelings of the person concerned. Assessment of the environment or context is relevant as it may be important for the person concerned to be interviewed away from the sphere of influence of the alleged abuser or the setting in order to be able to make a free choice as to how they wish to proceed. Consent: It is always essential in adult safeguarding to consider whether the adult has capacity to make informed consent in all aspects of their life. REMEMBER- It is best practice to always seek the views and wishes of the adult involved at the earliest opportunity as possible, unless it is not safe or if in doing so will increase the risk to the person. This should help to guide what next steps should be taken and whether the concern should be reported as an adult safeguarding concern or should be dealt with by another means. Safeguarding Log: The Rees Foundation will maintain a log of all concerns raised with them under this procedure, together with a record of the discussion that took place and decisions made. If a Safeguarding referral is made, contact details of the local authority adult services team to whom the referral was made, and the action taken by them will be recorded. These will be reviewed by the Board of Rees each month. How do you decide if a concern should be reported? The possibility of abuse can come to light in various ways, for example:
If you have any concerns about the welfare of an adult or a child, or a child or an adult makes an allegation of abuse to you, you must share these with your line manager at The Rees Foundation immediately. Your line manager will decide, in discussion with you and the designated lead for safeguarding, whether the criteria for a safeguarding referral are met. In an emergency you should not wait to contact managers or the duty team but should contact the appropriate emergency service, e.g., police or ambulance and seek immediate assistance. If abuse by a The Rees Foundation employee or a person working with a child or an adult is alleged or suspected, the same procedure should be followed. The Rees Foundation whistleblowing policy and complaints procedure may also apply. Good Practice Guide – Responding to Disclosures Remember, it may have taken a great amount of courage for the person to tell you that something has happened or that they are at risk, and fear of not being believed can cause people not to tell.
Good Practice Guide – Recording It is vital that a written record of any incident or allegation of crime is made as soon as possible after the information is obtained. Written records must reflect as accurately as possible what was said and done by the people involved in the incident or concern. The report will need to include:
Remember to:
3. The Rees Foundation Referral Process - Reporting Concerns 3.1 All concerns about the safety or wellbeing of anyone should be reported immediately to your line manager at The Rees Foundation who will discuss and agree next steps with you. 3.2 The line Manager at The Rees Foundation will discuss your concerns with the Chief Executive Officer who will consider whether this meets the criteria for a safeguarding referral to the local authority. 3.3 If the matter is considered to be a safeguarding issue, the line manager will request a written report from the worker who has reported the concerns and inform that worker of the action to be taken. The concerns, discussion and agreed action will be recorded into The Rees Foundation Safeguarding Log by the line manager. 3.4 The line manager at The Rees Foundation will refer the concern/allegation to the relevant adult safeguarding team within 24 hours of the issue being raised with them by the worker. A verbal referral to Adult Social care must be followed up in writing within 24 hours. A record will be made of the name and designation of the person to whom The Rees Foundation passes on the information of concern (referral) and confirmation of any action taken with reference to said referral will be requested. 3.5 The adult social care safeguarding team will decide on the appropriate response and will inform the line manager of the action to be taken. If no acknowledgement of the referral is received within 3 days, the line manager will refer the matter to the relevant Adult Safeguarding Board in whose area the person at risk lives, and with reference to that Local Authority’s own Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures. 3.6 The line Manager will update the Safeguarding Log with action being taken and advise The Rees Foundation worker of any further action or input required from them. 3.7. All referrals must follow Data Protection policy and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations). For more information, please refer to The Rees Foundation’s policy. See Flowchart at bottom of page: Responding & Reporting (WMASB) Appendix 1: Dealing with Safeguarding Concerns. 4. Allegations or concerns about employees The Rees Foundation has clear policies in line with West Midlands Adult Safeguarding Policy and Procedures for dealing with allegations or concerns about people who work with adults at risk (persons in a position of trust). Any or all such allegations or concerns will be reported to the Adult Safeguarding Board for Worcestershire within whose jurisdiction The Rees Foundation is located. 5. Whistleblowing The Rees Foundation also has a Whistleblowing Policy, which reflects the principles in Sir Robert Francis’s Freedom to Speak Up Review, under which staff can raise concerns about the behaviour of workers or managers, without fear of redress. (https://freedomtospeakup.org.uk) Anyone employed or deployed by The Rees Foundation, including self- employed workers, volunteers, workers who have concerns about a colleague should report these immediately to Melody Douglas, Chief Executive Officer, for the appropriate action to be taken. 6. Referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service If the Rees Foundation removes an individual from post, (paid worker or unpaid volunteer) due to concerns about their behaviour or would have done so if the individual had still been employed, The Rees Foundation will make a referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service. 7. Safer Recruitment The Rees Foundation operates Safe Recruitment practices in relation to staff and the deployment of self-employed workers and volunteers. All staff, self-employed workers and volunteers are subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks, and are subject to application, CV, proof of identity and address, interview and 2 referees, who are contacted directly for verbal confirmation of their reference. In addition, The Rees Foundation;
8. Review of Safeguarding Policy and Procedure The Rees Foundation is committed to reviewing this policy annually. This Policy was created in November 2018 with reference to the Care Act 2014 and the West Midlands Adults Safeguarding Policy and Procedure April 2019. Availability of this Procedure: The Rees Foundation will make this Policy available to all Rees Foundation staff, self-employed workers, volunteers, service users, or other person upon request. Contact details for The Rees Foundation: General Email: [email protected] Chief Executive Officer – Melody Douglas – 07970 740085 – [email protected] References: West Midlands Adults Safeguarding Policy and Procedures http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/downloads/file/5646/west_midlands_adult_safeguarding_policy_and_procedures Freedom to Speak Up: Department of Health (Sir Robert Francis, 2014) (https://freedomtospeakup.org.uk) The Care Act 2014 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/23/contents/enacted Revised Prevent duty guidance: for England and Wales - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Signposting to National agencies: Domestic abuse: how to get help - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) I need help - information and support on domestic abuse (womensaid.org.uk) Domestic violence and abuse - getting help - Citizens Advice Let's stop 'cuckooing' | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) Home - Victim Support Personal safety | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) County Lines - National Crime Agency Protecting children from radicalisation | NSPCC I hereby confirm that his policy is current and effective, Melody Douglas, Chief Executive Officer
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