There are quite a few factors that may affect the vulnerability of a resident these can be; age, old and young. Physical ability, are they frail, are they immature, do they have a physical or sensory impairment. Do they have a problem with learning, mental health issues or depression? Have they recently lost a loved one, have they been discriminated against due to religion. All these can make a person more vulnerable to abuse. Anyone in the social care setting can be implicated in an allegation of abuse like the carer, the person in charge and the manager. It is important to follow the policies and procedures of the work setting, fill in a form and you need to include some basic information. Who is the alleged victim? Who is the alleged abuser? What type of abuse is it? Where did abuse happen? When did abuse happen? Report all allegations to person in charge no matter how small, make accurate reports and keep it accurate and clear. Keep all information to yourself do not tell anyone and avoid listening to rumours.
If a resident alleges that a carer has abused them then I would report it to the person in charge. The person in charge should then tell the manager . If the resident tells me any information about the abuse then I would fill in a form which is kept in the staff room and write down all the information I was told. I would not say anything to the person accused of the abuse it will all be confidential and dealt with by the manager. All written reports should contain all details of abuse, then must be signed ,dated and witnessed. The witness should sign and date as well. Photographs should be taken of all injuries . All reports should be kept confidential, and stored in a secure way. No-one has access to these details but the management staff. It is important to keep to a time scale so any evidence will not be ruined.
There are national policies and local systems that relate to safeguarding and protection from abuse. The national policies are; Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA), Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS), Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks, “No Secrets” National framework , Health And Social Care codes of practice (2000), Safeguarding Adults policy (2009), Care Quality Commission, “Working Together To safeguard Children” (2006), “Every Child Matters” (2003), Common Assessment Framework (CAF). Local Systems are ; Employer’s policies and procedures, Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs), Local Safeguarding Adult’s Boards (LSABs), Local Area Agreement’s (LAAs).
Social services can have social workers, care assistants and residential children and adult’s home workers. Health Services can have Doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and Health Visitors. Voluntary Services are MIND, NSPCC, Age UK and the police. All these agencies have a responsibility to oversee the safeguarding assessment, consult the police and chair meetings . They can coordinate and monitor investigations , and provide information and outcomes to the Safeguarding Coordinator.
Reports on serious failures to protect individuals from abuse are: The Laming report into the death of Victoria Climbie (2000), Haringey council report into the death of Baby Peter (2007), Bedfordshire council report into the torture and death of Michael Gilbert (Blue Lagoon murder,2009), Birmingham Social Services review into the starvation and death of Khyra Ishaq (2010).
There are several sources of information and advice about own role in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse. You can get up to date information off the internet ,from leaflets and organisations. Government sources are DfE, DoH. Voluntary organisations are NSPCC, Barnardo’s . You can get a lot of information off the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) and the Social Care Institute for Excellence. Always look in the policies and procedures of the care setting they all help towards safeguarding and protecting from abuse.
The likelihood of abuse may be reduced by; working with person-centred values, person centred values remove the vulnerability of a person because it increases the confidence and independence of a person . The individual makes their own decisions and choices. Every person has a right to be protected from harm and violence ,the right to be independent and the right for justice. Encouraging active participation, encouraging the person to participate in activities and personal care decreases their vulnerability. By improving their self confidence ,self esteem and self awareness it reduces their likelihood of abuse. Promoting choice and rights, encouraging independence to make their own decisions and choices and the importance of consenting to things they want and don’t want ,all this helps towards being less dependent on others.
It is important to make the policies and procedures easy to understand and in an accessible place so everyone is aware of how to report and record an abuse situation. It is a legal requirement to have a complaints procedure in the work setting, it must be made known by all staff and there is a strict procedure for following up any complaints.
Unsafe practices can be poor personal care which can affect the individual by not being fed properly ,not washed, toileted, dressed and bathed properly . Making inappropriate contact when handling and moving, failing to check medication dosage is correct, failing to attend training sessions to update knowledge, and breaching confidentiality by sharing knowledge with someone else ,these are all unsafe practices in the work setting and can affect the individual. It is important to report unsafe practices so report the problem to the person in charge first then the manager. Report it by means of mouth and in written form. Anyone can report a suspicion of abuse and everyone has the right to report a suspicion to the social services or the police. You can be disciplined, suspended and dismissed if you don’t report an abuse and follow the correct procedures.