Safeguarding People Using a Care Service from Abuse or Harm Overarching (Wales) Policy

Policy Aims

This safeguarding policy sets out the:

principles and values underlying this care service’s approach to the safeguarding of the people using its services
ways in which the service does this
steps taken to avoid abuse/harm taking place
actions taken to deal with abuse/harm if it occurs.

This care service is committed to safeguarding people using the service from all forms of abuse/harm. It recognises that it must always protect people receiving its care and identify and deal with specific instances of abuse/harm if they occur.

It will continue to exercise its safeguarding responsibilities fully in any emergency that might arise such as another pandemic.

The policy is written in line with the safeguarding standards (26–31) for care homes and domiciliary support services developed under the Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017 and best safeguarding practice guidance.

The service seeks to comply in all respects with current safeguarding legislation and regulations, as developed by the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.

It seeks to work in line with local authority safeguarding adults policies and procedures and guidance from the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW). It recognises the importance of national guidance such as the:

Wales Safeguarding Procedures, which provides a framework for a consistent approach to safeguarding throughout Wales
applicable volumes of Working Together to Safeguard People, particularly Vol 6 Handling Individual Cases
practice guidance found on www.safeguarding.wales that supports the Wales Safeguarding Procedures
explanatory training resources issued by Social Care Wales.

The policy has also taken note of the National Institute for Clinical and Health Excellence: N189, Safeguarding Adults in Care Homes (NICE, 2021) as applicable to Wales care services.

Staff will also need to be reminded of their duties to protect vulnerable people, which are included in their job descriptions and Code of Practice for Social Care Workers.

{{org_field_name}} recognises that people using the service who lack mental capacity are particularly vulnerable to abuse/harm and exploitation. It is accordingly mindful of the need to follow the principles and practice guidance that has accompanied the Mental Capacity Act 2005. These apply particularly to investigations of possible abuse/harm in which it is important to seek means of ascertaining the experiences and views of any victim or indeed alleged perpetrator who might lack capacity, eg by seeking the services of independent advocates.

Safeguarding Framework

{{org_field_name}} is always aiming for the very best quality of care and will not be satisfied with anything that falls short of this. It takes every possible action to prevent abuse/harm and to deal with it as promptly and effectively as possible if it occurs.

The service understands that local safeguarding arrangements and developments follow common nationally approved principles.

{{org_field_name}} applies the principles underpinning all adult protection legislation and official guidance, which require consideration of:

the wishes of the adult at risk and what they seek as an outcome of any safeguarding process
the importance of working in co-production with the adult at risk or adult who has been harmed
the views of others, eg nearest relative, primary carer or guardian
the importance of the adult at risk participating as fully as possible
making sure that the adult at risk is not treated less favourably than someone not considered to be in this position
the adult’s abilities, background and characteristics, eg sexual orientation or religious persuasion, which could be factors in the perpetration of the abuse/harm.

In applying these principles, the service seeks to work in line with local authority support and protection policies and procedures and Care Inspectorate Wales guidance.

Safeguarding Responsibilities

The service has a Designated Safeguarding Person (DSP) or “Lead”, who provides a one-stop point of contact for addressing initially all safeguarding concerns in the service and in corresponding and communicating with external agencies, particularly the local authority adult safeguarding team.

The current Designated Safeguarding Person/Lead is:

Name:	_________________________________
Position:	_________________________________
Contact details:	_________________________________

Duty to Report

To comply with 126 of the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014, the care service will exercise its duty to report to social services, or in some circumstances to the police, as bodies that have the statutory powers to investigate suspected abuse or neglect when it has evidence of any adult at risk who:

is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs) as a result of those needs is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.

People in Positions of Trust (PIPOT)

The care service is also aware of its responsibilities under the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 to act appropriately if it has intelligence of or receives information about any of its employees or volunteers that raises concerns about the safekeeping and wellbeing of any child or vulnerable adult.

The care service will always deal with this information in line with safeguarding principles with particular attention to people’s right s to confidentiality and data protection.

On receipt of any such information the service manager/safeguarding lead will always carry out an immediate risk assessment and where there is evidence that anyone is at risk discuss the concerns with the safeguarding authority or even police if there is evidence that a crime might have been committed.

Where the care service has evidence that a person would pose a risk to vulnerable people if employed in position of trust elsewhere, for example, having left the care provider’s employment before it has been able to complete a full disciplinary investigation after safeguarding allegations have been made against them, it will still raise the matter with the safeguarding authority and Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).

Local Authority Safeguarding

{{org_field_name}} develops its policies and procedures in line with regional Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs) recommendations and guidance, which the service understands follow the All Wales Safeguarding Procedures as found on its website together with relevant documentation for, eg raising alerts and staff training.

The Adults Safeguarding Board/Hub to which this care service relates and reports is: [Add details including:]

Title:

Address

Telephone numbers

Email:

Website:

Local safeguarding adults service manager:

Key liaison staff:

Defining Abuse

{{org_field_name}} recognises that in line with the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014Regulated Services (Service Providers and Responsible Individuals) (Wales) Regulations 2017 abuse/harm of service users may take the following forms:

Physical abuse/harm
Financial or material abuse/harm
Psychological or emotional abuse/harm
Bullying and harassment (including online forms)
Sexual abuse/harm
Neglect and self-neglect
Discriminatory abuse/harm
Self-harm
Inhuman or degrading treatment
Inappropriate or excessive restraint and other forms of organisational abuse/harm.

There are also various forms of antisocial behaviour that intentionally or unintentionally can result in being abused or harmed. These include general rowdiness, creating lots of noise, keeping people awake, interfering and invasions of people’s privacy. {{org_field_name}} might need to act in response to antisocial behaviour with the responsible authorities.

The scope of local authority statutory safeguarding responsibilities includes domestic abuse and violence, modern slavery, female genital mutilation and forced marriage all as forms of abuse that will need to be addressed by {{org_field_name}} if it has evidence that any person using the service was experiencing these forms of abuse.

It is recognised that the service must always protect its users and identify and deal with specific instances of abuse/harm if they occur.

Descriptions and examples of these different forms of abuse can be found in the Safeguarding: Recognising and Reporting Signs of Abuse topic.

Identifying Perpetrators of Abuse/Harm

This care provider accepts that abuse/harm can be committed by a range of possible people. It therefore accepts its responsibility to protect the people using its services from possible abuse/harm from all sources. It also recognises that its staff have a duty to report or refer any evidence they have of a vulnerable person being abused/harmed so that appropriate enquiries can be made. These include the agency’s employees, family members and others, including peers, if the employees find or suspect they are harming a person at risk.

Possible perpetrators are:

the staff and management of {{org_field_name}}
volunteers working in {{org_field_name}}
visiting health and social care practitioners and other official visitors to the person’s home
relatives and friends of people receiving our care
people who have contact with people receiving care while they are temporarily outside
neighbours, people on their social network or living in the community at large
total strangers, including those who engage in random attacks on other people
people who set out to exploit and abuse a vulnerable person.

Staff Responsibilities

All care service staff have a responsibility to:

provide people using the service with the best possible care
never engage in any abusive/harmful action in relation to people receiving care
report anything they witness which is or might be abusive/harmful
co-operate in every possible way in any investigation into alleged abuse, including the appropriate sharing of relevant information
take part in training activities relating to abuse/harm and protection from harm.

Managers’ Responsibilities

{{org_field_name}} requires its managers to take responsibility for:

developing the systems and structures within which it is possible to deliver the best possible care
encouraging a culture and ethos for the service that minimises the risk of any sort of abuse/harm or the risks of it occurring
producing and regularly revising the policies and procedures to prevent and deal with abuse/harm or the risks of it occurring
operating personnel policies which identify, appropriately deal with and, if necessary, exclude from practice potential or actual abusers
providing training for staff in all aspects of safeguarding, abuse/harm and protection
investigating any evidence of abuse/harm speedily and sympathetically
implementing improvements to procedures if an investigation into abuse/harm reveals deficiencies in the way in which the service operates
collaborating with all other relevant agencies in combating abuse/harm and improving the safeguarding and protection of people using the service.

Safe Recruitment Practices

{{org_field_name}} takes great care in the recruitment of staff, carries out all possible checks on recruits to ensure that they are of a high standard and co-operates in all initiatives regarding the sharing of information on care workers who are found to be unsuitable to work with people at risk. The service ensures that new employees working in regulated activity are checked through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and against the barred lists.

Preventing Abuse/Harm

The service is committed to taking all possible steps to prevent abuse/harm from occurring including:

setting out and making widely known the procedures for responding to suspicions or evidence of abuse/harm
operating personnel policies which ensure that all potential staff working in regulated activity are rigorously checked, by the taking up of references and clearance through DBS checks and the barred list checks, with equivalent checks for staff employed from overseas
incorporating material relevant to abuse/harm into staff training at all levels in line with the All Wales Safeguarding Procedures
always being vigilant concerning the possibility of abuse/harm of people using the service from any source
encouraging among staff, people using the service and all other stakeholders a climate of openness and awareness that makes it possible to pass on concerns about behaviour that might be abusive or that might lead to abuse/harm
devising systems that minimise the risk of abuse of people using the service by other people with whom they are in close contact by understanding and dealing appropriately with any form of aggression
maintaining procedures for regulating any contact the staff of the service need to have with the property, money or financial affairs of people using the service
communicating concerns to the designated officers of the local authority safeguarding service and CIW in line with current policies and authoritative professional guidance
helping people using the service as far as possible to avoid or control situations or relationships that would make them vulnerable to abuse/harm.

Identifying Actual or Possible Abuse/Harm

The service aims to identify any instances of actual or possible abuse/harm of people using the service by all possible means including:

fostering an open and trusting communication structure within the service so that staff, people using the service and others feel able to discuss their concerns with someone authorised to act
ensuring that all staff and people using the service know whom they may turn to for advice and action if they become aware or suspect that abuse/harm is occurring
encouraging staff to recognise that a commitment to the highest possible standards of care must, when necessary, overrule loyalty to colleagues individually or corporately
making it clear to staff that failing to report incidents or suspicions of abuse is itself abusive and may lead to disciplinary or criminal proceedings
operating systems of management, supervision, internal inspection and quality control that have the potential to reveal abuse/harm where it exists.

Procedures for When Abuse/Harm Has Occurred or is Alleged to Have Occurred

If abuse/harm is clearly occurring or is alleged to have occurred, the service takes swift action to limit the damage to people using the service and to deal with the abuse, as follows.

Initial procedures

A staff member who witnesses a situation in which a person receiving care is in actual or imminent danger must use their judgment as to the best way to stop what is happening without further damage to anyone involved including themselves.
It is not possible to be prescriptive about this because the circumstances might be different in each case. The staff member could act by immediately intervening personally or by summoning help from the nearest source, which could be from spectator or colleague, use of a panic alarm, phoning a line manager or police.
{{org_field_name}} will carry out risk assessments so that it has contingency plans for responding to the more likely events or when anyone is most likely to be in danger from acts of harm. Staff will be trained in emergency procedures, for example, in responding to violent behaviour.
Any staff to whom actual or suspected abuse/harm is reported — usually the manager or a senior staff member — must act immediately to protect, support or offer additional care to a person who has been harmed.
The manager will discuss with the known or suspected abused/harmed person what actions they consider to be appropriate. In some circumstances, the person might not wish any action to be taken or agree to the abuse being reported to the safeguarding authority.
In such cases, the manager will usually discuss with the Designated Safeguarding Person and consider whether there are reasons under their Duty to Report for overriding the person’s wishes, eg because it is in the public interest and to prevent further harm. This could include seeking advice on the correct action to take without prejudice from the safeguarding authority.
Any “victim” whom it is thought might lack mental capacity to give their consent for the abuse/harm to be reported will be assessed for their capacity to decide and a “best interests” decision will be taken in line with Mental Capacity Act procedures.

Referring incidents of abuse or of alleged abuse

It is the role of the service’s Designated Safeguarding Person (or whoever has authority at the time if unavailable) to alert the safeguarding authority and follow its procedures and guidance from that point on. This could involve an enquiry, followed by strategy meeting and an action plan to be implemented from the strategy meeting with full involvement of the adult at risk, their representatives and others involved in their care and support.
In some instances, the Designated Safeguarding Person/service manager might need to report a matter directly to the police and take guidance from them on the measures to be taken.
The service provider will always take steps to ensure that there is no further risk of the victim being abused/harmed by the alleged or suspected perpetrator.
The service provider will ensure that the needs of the alleged victim of the abuse/harm for any special or additional care, support or protection or for checks on health or wellbeing are met at the outset and subsequently throughout the proceedings.
If the alleged abuser is a staff member and there is sufficient evidence that abuse/harm has or might have occurred, the service manager will suspend the person from duty pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation.
The manager will receive guidance on the steps to be taken following the local authority safeguarding adults strategy meeting, which will be held following the reporting of the abuse or suspected abuse/harm and any advice from the CIW which will have been notified also.
If the evidence is insufficiently strong to warrant suspension, the staff member against whom the allegation has been made will be instructed not to have further unsupervised contact with any people receiving care until the matter is resolved.

(See Resources for a suite of forms to help identify, report and assess suspected abuse.)

Enquiring Into Alleged Abuse/Harm

In many cases, an enquiry will be carried out or led by a member of an external agency in line with the action plan determined by the initial strategy meeting convened by the local authority safeguarding service. If a staff member is expected to carry out the enquiry, they should proceed as follows.

• The person making the enquiries will usually consult the person who may have been abused/harmed to hear their account of what has occurred and their views about what action should be taken, involving the people using services’ relatives, friends or representatives if that is appropriate and in line with the wishes of the individual.
• The enquiry should take into account:
a) the fears and sensitivity of the abused/harmed person
b) any risks of intimidation or reprisals
c) the need to protect and support witnesses
d) any confidentiality or data protection issues
e) the possible involvement of other agencies, including the police, local authority safeguarding team and the CIW
f) the obligation to keep the abused/harmed person and in specific instances the alleged perpetrator on the progress of the investigation.
• It will be important to assure the person who may have been abused/harmed that they will be taken seriously, that their comments will as far as possible be treated confidentially, that they will be protected from reprisals and intimidation, and that they will be kept informed of actions taken and of the outcome.
• It will be important to consider if the person needs independent help or representation in presenting their evidence and, in association with the registered manager, if necessary, will arrange for the appropriate help or support to be made available. This will be in line with the rights of people to have access to Independent Professional Advocacy under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014.
• If the abused/harmed person expressly states a wish that no further action should be taken, the investigating officer will consider whether:
a) a danger to others exists from not investigating further
b) in the light of that assessment it is possible to follow the person’s wishes
c) in any case, precautionary measures should be taken to protect others from the possibility of abuse from the same source.
• Once it is decided that the enquiries should continue, they will look into all aspects of the situation as discreetly and confidentially as possible.
• The enquiries could include interviewing the staff involved in the incident up to that point, hearing and assessing evidence from any others who might be in a position to supply information, exploring every other possible source of evidence, maintaining appropriate contact with any other agencies involved and, if necessary, seeking expert advice on any technical aspects of the situation which are outside the knowledge or expertise available within the organisation.
• Any staff from whom evidence is taken will be assured that they will be dealt with in a fair and equitable manner and informed of their employment, legal and procedural rights.
• The alleged victim of the abuse/harm, and where appropriate their relatives, friends or representatives, will at all times be kept as fully informed as possible of what is happening regarding the suspected abuse/harm.
• The investigation will be carried out as quickly as possible and the findings presented to the local safeguarding adults strategy group, which will then decide what further action to take.

Following the Enquiry

If it seems from the enquiry that on the balance of probabilities abuse/harm did indeed take place, the registered manager will, if the abuser is a staff member, initiate and carry through proceedings according to the service’s disciplinary policy or, if the abuser is not a member of staff, involve other responsible bodies.
If abuse/harm is proved against a staff member, the registered manager will initiate appropriate action, which most likely will be dismissal and referral to the DBS.
Other employment sanctions could apply depending on whether there might have been mitigating or extenuating circumstances. In some cases, retraining could be appropriate.
The person receiving care or representatives will be informed of the outcome of the investigation and any further action and will be consulted about whether any redress or apology would be appropriate and helpful to them.
The registered manager will take appropriate steps to inform the DBS for possible inclusion of the person on its barring lists as someone who is unsuitable to work again with adults, and possibly children, at risk.
At all stages of the process, a careful record will be kept of all actions taken, paying particular attention to the sensitivity of the abused/harmed person.
Where relevant to the resolution of the situation, a plan will be drawn up to address the issues with the alleged or known perpetrator(s), particularly if they will be continuing to form part of the victim’s life, directly or indirectly.

See Safeguarding Enquiry/Investigation Form) for guidance on the process and recording involved.

Planning Further Action

At the end of an incident involving possible or actual abuse/harm, managers should review what has happened with a view to assessing whether the service or its management has been in any way culpable, ineffective or negligent, learning lessons for the way the service should operate in the future, and passing on any appropriate information to other agencies.

If necessary, {{org_field_name}} will review and revise the service’s policies, procedures and training arrangements in response to any material that has emerged from the incident and the investigation. The service might carry this out with advice and guidance from the local authority safeguarding service.

Contacts and Sources of Assistance

List here the names and contact details of:

the local authority social services safeguarding service (including emergency contact telephone numbers)
the relevant CIW office
the police (including Adult Protection Team details if known)
advocacy and victim support services
any medical practitioners who might be needed
other relevant voluntary organisations that could be of help.

Record Keeping

{{org_field_name}} will record all details associated with allegations of abuse/harm are recorded clearly and accurately. The records are kept securely and the service’s rules on confidentiality are carefully followed. Reports are made as required to the CIW and other safeguarding agencies involved.

Referrals to Social Care Wales and the DBS Barred Lists

{{org_field_name}} always complies with its legal requirement to refer a registered care worker, where it has evidence that the staff member in question has been guilty of misconduct by harming or putting at risk of harm a person receiving care or other person at risk from their work, to Social Care Wales for further investigation. The person could then be placed on DBS’s barred lists following the procedures issued by the DBS.

Related Policies

This policy should be read with the several other policies that relate to safeguarding of people receiving care. They include the policies on complaints, physical restraint, the management of a person’s money and financial affairs, recruitment, induction, staff development and training, staff supervision and importantly whistleblowing. The policy on mental capacity will also be relevant in some circumstances.

Our service recognises that safeguarding involves a range of responses to different forms of abuse and potential sources of harm and the different contexts in which abuse occurs. Accordingly, this policy should be read and used in association with a suite of policies all designed to make sure that users are safe from abuse and the risks of their coming to harm are kept to the minimum and well managed.

Key related policies are as follows.

Management of Antisocial Behaviour.
Safeguarding Vulnerable People in Domiciliary Care from Financial Abuse.
Safeguarding from Bullying, Harassment, Exploitation and Other Forms of Social Abuse.
Safeguarding People from Abuse and Harm: Minimising Restraints, Physical Controls and Restrictive Practices in Domiciliary Care.
Disrespectful Behaviour and Abuse of Staff, Including Aggression and Violence and Appropriate Response in Care Homes.
Persons Missing from Their Home.
Safeguarding People Using a Care Service Who Are at Significant Risk of Harm.
Safeguarding People Using a Care Service from the Harmful Actions and Behaviour of Peers and Social Contacts.
Whistleblowing.

[Amend/Add others that are relevant to the approach to safeguarding.]

Training

All new staff receive training in recognising abuse/harm and carrying out their responsibilities under this policy as part of their induction programme in line with the All Wales Induction Framework for Health and Social Care and the All Wales Safeguarding Procedures Training Materials.

All staff will receive further training to ensure that they are familiar with the local authority’s safeguarding of adults at risk of harm policies.

Safeguarding leads, service managers and responsible persons will be expected to receive advanced training appropriate to their roles and responsibilities.

All training is based on achieving in line with respective roles and responsibilities the national safeguarding training, learning and development standards.

Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}

Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}

Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}

WCH256. Safeguarding People Using a Care Service from Abuse or Harm Overarching