GoodOaks Reading and West Berks honours the Suicide Prevention Day
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Care Act 2014
Adult Safeguarding, what it is and why it matters:
- It is a means of protecting an adult’s safety, free from abuse and neglect. It means people and organisations working together to prevent and stop such abuse and neglect, whilst making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is promoted, including, where appropriate, due regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. This must recognise that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.
Without taking measures to ensure safeguarding, care providers risk putting clients in danger of harm and no one should face abuse or neglect because of their care and support needs. As well as the types of abuse you may be familiar with (sexual, physical etc) abuse can present in lesser known ways such as financial, which could include scamming or theft, or self neglect – A lack of self care that could potentially threaten a person’s personal health or safety.
Local Authorities work with health care professionals to look at ways of promoting people’s wellbeing and will want to see that care providers have taken all reasonable measures to safeguard, using reliable assessment methods. They also require evidence that this has been recorded, communicated and decisions have been evaluated, policies have been followed and a proactive approach has been taken.
CQC will also help to safeguard people and will use information they received to look at the risks. They are committed to protecting people’s right to live in safety and without abuse or neglect. They work with organisations to reduce the risk of neglect or abuse with the aim to stop it from happening completely.
CQC will carry out inspections and will expect those working in homecare to raise and identify all concerns they may have. They will take action if care services do not have the correct policies and procedures in place to keep people safe and all of their findings are published in their inspection reports for transparency.
Who could be at risk and why ?
The simple answer is that sadly, many people could be at risk including older people, people with long term illness, people with mental health needs, physical impairments to name just a few. Many people in the community may also live with communication difficulties, physical dependency, isolation, discrimination all of which are factors that increase their risk of abuse and neglect. At times this can easily go unnoticed which is why you must never make assumptions or hold back any information, provided you have a legitimate reason and you understand and comply with the law.
Safeguarding: Our role
As a homecare provider we work with individuals in a way that safeguards them from abuse and neglect but still supports their right to make choices and have control about how they want to live. We never assume that someone else will recognise and report what we have seen or heard. It’s our responsibility to safeguard the individuals we provide a service to. When raising a concern, we listen carefully and calmly and reassure them that they will be involved in all decisions to ensure they are safe.
At GoodOaks we are believe that it is our business to be proactive in our practice to reduce and prevent abuse which is why we adhere to the three R’s Recognise |Report| Record . We train our staff to work with individuals in a way that safeguards them from abuse and neglect but still supports their right to make choices and have control about how they want to live. We train them to never assume that somebody else will recognise and report what you have seen or heard and that it is our responsibility to safeguard the individuals that we provide care for. Safeguarding training is vital for each member of the team and courses are continuously monitored and updated.
If the safeguarding concern cannot be passed onto the Registered Manager for any reason, the report should be made to the Designated Safeguarding Lead at Head Office, who will then take advice and follow the appropriate guidance.
Why safeguarding is important
Safeguarding is a vitally important part of our service and we work hard to ensure we take the appropriate action to protect the people under our care.
At GoodOaks we understand the importance of safeguarding and how it can help us keep each individual we serve safe. To speak to a member of our team click HERE
