Safeguarding Assignment 2
Legislation, policies and workplace procedures which reduce the risk of abuse
Hand In Deadline: 19th November 2014

Task 1: You must write a report that covers: * Legislation * Recruitment practices * Sector Guidance * Strategies and * Procedures that are used to safeguard vulnerable adults. In addition you must say how these can be used to help reduce 2 different types of abuse.

This report will be looking at how legislation, policies and workplace procedures reduce the risk of abuse.
Legislations are put in place to reduce the risk of abuse in certain environments and workplaces that are targeted by abusers. The definition for legislation is the act or process of making or enacting laws.
In this report I will be covering the six legislations that are most known to us these are; The Sexual Offences act, The Care Standards Act, The Mental health Act, The Equality Act, The Human Rights and The Data Protection Act.
The first one I will be covering is The Sexual Offences Act 2003. This Act lists the different types of sex offences. How sex offenders are monitored, how the police have to be informed if the sex offender has changed address or been away from home for more than seven days and it also covers sexual abuse of vulnerable people with mental disorder. This can help spot abuse within different environments, prevent abuse from occurring and stops sex offenders from abusing again within a matter of weeks.
The second act I wanted and had to mention which I think is the most important is The Care Standards Act 2000. This act was set up by the National Care Standards Commission. The organisation regulates care work and inspects care services to check standards are high and stay high. The Care Standard Act was set up for care services like nursing homes, residential homes, domiciliary (home) care agencies and private health care services. This is so every patient or service user feels safe within their own homes or when in care when unable to look after themselves.
The third legislation is the Mental Health Act 2007. This allows for a patient to be admitted to a mental health unit and receive treatment without their consent if the patient ought to be admitted for his or her own health or safety, or the protection of others. This legislation can help reduce the risk of emotional, physical institutional abuse and neglect. An approved mental health professional or nearest relative can apply for admission for assessment, which can last up to 28 days. The admission must be authorised by two doctors before any decisions are made.
The Human Rights Act 1998 brings the rights from the European Convention of Human Rights into the UK law. This act makes it illegal for a public organisation i.e. the government department, council, health authority, or the police to ignore your rights, unless there is law which means it could act differently. They have 16 rights in the act in place to stop discrimination i.e. freedom of religion and belief.
The Data Protection Act is another act put in place to control how your personal information is used by organisations, businesses or the government. Everyone responsible for using data has strict rules to follow. Which is why it has been given the name ‘data protection principles’ and if these rules aren’t followed you will be given a warning within your work place substantially resulting in the individual losing their job.
And the last legislation out of the 6 is the Equality Act 2010 which legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. This Act protects against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation in different areas. The Equality act provides protection for people discriminated against because of their background.
A recruitment practice is the process of finding the best qualified candidate for a job. When applying for a job working with vulnerable people having a DBS check is essential. This is so the organisation/company knows a bit more about you as a person i.e. where you live, who you live with, your parents names, you full name date of birth ,contact number, emails etc., and that you may or may not have a criminal record. Jobs that involve carrying out certain activities for children and adults may require an enhanced DBS check with a check of the barred lists. There is another procedure that helps to protect vulnerable people; it is called the DBS barred list. This will check whether someone’s included in the 2 DBS ‘barred lists’ (previously called ISA barred lists) of individuals who are unsuitable for working with children and adults. People who are on the barred list are limited when it comes to finding jobs in Health and Social Care because most jobs are working with vulnerable children and adults. It’s against the law for employers to employ someone or allow them to volunteer for this kind of work if they know they’re on one of the barred lists.
Having these barred lists prevent abuse because they stop unsafe people from working with vulnerable adults and children. Also it stops them from being given a position of trust within the work place.
The reason it reduces the risk of physical abuse is because its stops people with a history of being violent working with vulnerable adults.
The reason it reduces emotional abuse is because they stop people with a history of being verbally abusive towards others form working with vulnerable adults.
The reason it reduces sexual abuse is because they stop people with a history of being sexually abusive from working with vulnerable adults and children.
They stop people with a history of being racist, homophobic, etc. from working with vulnerable adults which helps reduce the risk of discriminatory abuse.
They also stop people with a history of neglecting service users working from vulnerable adults which helps reduce the risk of neglect.
Strategies to reduce the risk of abuse:
Sharing information helps spot abuse. Different agencies are experts at different parts of safeguarding. Therefore, working together will make safeguarding more effective. Multi- Agency working this is when different health and social care agencies work together. It also means that all agencies involved will have a co-ordinate and consistent approach to the service user’s care. This can help reduce physical, sexual, emotional abuse and exploitation. Partnership working is where different professionals within organisations work closely together. This enables better communication and information sharing to take place. This may take the form of discussions between staff, team meetings, communications via emails and the use of written records such as a daily log. Working in partnership with adults using services, families and informal carers is when staff works closely with the service user and their family and friends. This approach encourages service users to trust staff and also empowers them. This means the service users are more likely to talk to staff about their worries, fears and tell them if they are being abused. The equality that is part of this partnership working should encourage, growth of self- esteem, self-confidence and the strength to speak out against abuse.
Decision- making processes and forums: a forum is a meeting where ideas and views can be exchanged. For example, this could be a monthly meeting of residents in a care home. This gives the service users ownership of the decisions that affect their lives.

Policies are clear guidelines about expected behaviour from professionals; these policies are put in place to guide the professionals in the right direction when it comes to their jobs and knowing what is expected of them. As well as the professionals being guided in the right direction and knowing what is expected of them, service users have standards as well and should be as followed when asked in care.
It is essential for all professionals in Health and Social Care jobs to have ongoing training. This is so they become more acknowledged on how to deal with abusive situations and what the indicators of abuse are. Training would include who to contact if they suspect abuse is taking place and what to do if someone tells them they are experiencing abuse.
The Role of the Care Quality is set up to ensure organisations are working in the best interests of individuals and following the rules and regulations that apply to them, an independent regulator of health and social care services has been established. The Care Quality Commission regularly inspects care establishments to check standards and has the power to force them to improve or close them down.
Guidance means giving direction, indicating how something should be done. There have been various guidelines drawn up to reduce the risk of abuse to vulnerable adults and give guidance to employers. These guidelines are called ‘sector guidelines’ because it gives guidance to the part of the services that deal with vulnerable people.
‘No Secrets’ sets out a code of practice for the protection of vulnerable adults.it explains how commissioners and providers of health and social care services should work together to produce and implement local policies and procedures.
The Association of Directors of social services (ADSS) published the guidance with the aim of developing ‘Safeguarding Adults’ work throughout England. It collects the best practice together into a set of good practice standards – which is intended to be used as a guide by all those in adult protection work.
Dignity in care initiative was written for people who want to make a difference and improve standards of dignity in care. Dignity in care provider’s information for service users on what they can expect from health and social care services. It also contains practical guidance to help service providers and practitioners in developing their practice, with the aim of ensuring that all people who receive health and social care services are treated with dignity and respect.
The nursing and midwifery council (NMC) code of conduct applies to: registered midwifes and Registered nurses. The NMC has processes to investigate allegations made against nurses and midwifes who may not have followed the code. The NMC states that Registered Midwives and Nurses should make the care of people your first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity, work with others to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of those in your care, their families and carers, and the wider community. Provide a high standard of practice and care at all times. Be open and honest, act with integrity and uphold the reputation of your profession.
Organisational policy, the trust put this policy in place to ensure the safety and protection of all children, young people and adults. This was also to ensure that systems are in place to proactively safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults.
The purpose of this safeguarding children and adults policy is to enable the trust to: provide a structured approach for all the healthcare staff with regard to arrangements for safeguarding children and adults. Provide a framework under which protection and safeguarding procedures and practice are carried out.
Some of the policy’s principles are; staff training and continuing professional development so that staff have an understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and those of other professionals and organisations in relation to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults. Safe working practices including recruitment and vetting procedures.
Local guidelines guides people to deal with any urgent situations immediately, it gives guidance on what information to gather. The local guidelines are put in place to consider what needs to be put in place to keep person safe.
Regional guidelines some of the guidance for people working with vulnerable adults includes: that different agencies should work together and communicate effectively, to be clear about who which agency or professional is responsible for the different aspects of safeguarding, to promote the empowerment of service users and to support the rights of service users to independence and choice.
The Code of Ethics for Social Work applies to all social workers who are British association of Social Workers (BASW) members in all roles, sectors and settings in the UK. Social workers have the responsibility to promote and work to the code of Ethics in carrying out their responsibilities.
The code is based on three values, the first one is Human Rights social- work which is based on the respect for the inherit worth and dignity of all people. The second one is Social justice social-workers; they have the responsibility to promote social justice. And number three is Professional integrity- social workers, they have a responsibility to respect and uphold the values and principles of the profession and in a reliable, honest and trustworthy manner.
Reducing the risk of abuse:
Having legislations, procedures and strategies in place help reduce the risk of emotional abuse. This is because professionals have to come together and spot the abuse at the start and try and stop it before it can’t be helped. For example having the DBS barred list stops people with a history of violence etc. working with vulnerable adults. Dignity within care services, showing respect towards the service user gaining respect which stops emotional abuse or helps it at least. No secrets within your profession, this guides agencies on sharing information so staff can easily spot emotional abuse. Setting up a complaints procedure which allows service users to report any emotional abuse they experience or witness within the care setting. As said before staff training is essential keeping all staff up to date with how to deal with abusive situations and who to go to when they have witnessed emotional abuse within a care setting. And finally working in partnership with adults using services, meaning they work alongside their families discussing treatment how they are on their own etc. this hopefully helps with trust issues between the service user and the professional (carer) making it a much easier process for everyone. Reducing the risk of emotional abuse by being able to tell carers if they have been abused or witnessed abuse.

Having legislations, procedures and strategies in place help reduce the risk of institutional abuse because professionals have guidelines to follow and they know that if they don’t follow these guidelines their job will be at risk. Care Standards Act 2000 links in with this because it empowers organisations to close down care homes if they aren’t following the guidelines and doing what is expected of them, which protects vulnerable adults. The role of care quality commission, the commission can inspect care services to check for signs of institutional abuse. There is also something called the whistle blowing procedure where staff can report the care organisation they work for and if they think it is following all guidelines keeping vulnerable adults safe and lastly the complaints procedure allowing any service user to report abuse straight away. Making them feel safer within their own homes, care homes etc.
This report has looked at all the different legislations and how it can reduce all of the different types of abuse that can happen within a care setting. How different organisations put together can work out strategies to make the service user feel safer when in care and how vital it is for all adults to be DBS checked before being put in a care home, residential home health and social care setting etc. Hopefully I have met all the guidelines and expressed to you how important legislations are when it comes to working in a health and social care setting.