Safeguarding Adults in Health Services

1. Introduction

Health services are accountable to patients for their safety and well-being through delivering high-quality care. Quality is defined as providing care that is effective and safe and which results in a positive patient experience. Some patients may be unable to uphold their rights and protect themselves from harm or abuse. They may have the greatest dependency and yet be unable to hold the service to account for the quality of care they receive.

Health services have particular responsibilities to ensure that those patients receive high-quality care and that their rights are upheld, including their right to be safe by:

The Healthcare Safeguarding team sit in the Chief Nurse care group and consist of a Designated Nurse Safeguarding Adults and Children and Named Nurses for Adults and Children respectively. These roles provide an expert resource for all members of the multi-disciplinary team and are available for help and support. The team provide mandatory safeguarding training at L3 & L2 based on best practice. The Healthcare Safeguarding team are responsible for ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge to act to safeguard as necessary, driving safeguarding practice improvements and ensuring that actions required of Health in relation to Serious Case Reviews and all learning are firmly embedded.

2. General Practitioners (GP) Role in Safeguarding Adults

GPs have a significant role in Safeguarding Adults. This includes:

• Raising an Alert to the Single Point of Referral should they suspect or know of abuse, in line with these Procedures;
• Playing an active role in Strategy Discussions or Meetings and Safeguarding Plan Meetings;
• Providing professional evaluation of health information about an adult at risk where appropriate.

3. Patient/Client-Led Safeguarding

Patients/clients must have control of their care, having the information and support to make choices and be in control of their treatment. The following defines a positive patient experience:

• Getting good treatment in a comfortable, caring and safe environment, delivered in a calm and reassuring way;
• Having information to make choices;
• Feeling confident and in control;
• Being talked to and listened to as an equal;
• Being treated with honesty, respect and dignity.

4. Role of all Health Staff

Health services will:

• Ensure that staff and volunteers recognise poor practice and respond accordingly;
• Have clear operational procedures for all staff and volunteers;
• Provide access to training appropriate to level of responsibility;
• Ensure staff receive clinical and managerial supervision which allows them to reflect on their practice and the impact of their actions on others;
• Ensure appropriate Risk Assessments to support timely and appropriate action;
• Work collaboratively with service users and carers, support witnesses and support people causing harm who are also adults at risk;
• Ensure information is shared according to agreed information-sharing protocols;
• Ensure accessible information is available to adults and Carers that explains what abuse is and how they can raise a concern.

5. Jersey Ambulance Service

There are a number of ways in which Ambulance staff may receive information or make observations, which suggest that an Adult at Risk has been abused, or is at risk of harm. Ambulance staff will often be the first professionals on the scene and their actions and recording of information may be crucial to subsequent enquiries.

Ambulance staff will not investigate suspicions. If the patient is conveyed to hospital, the staff should inform a senior member of the Accident & Emergency staff, or nursing staff if conveying to another department, of their concerns about possible abuse or the risk of harm. They will complete a patient report form and give a copy to the staff at Accident & Emergency or other location where clinical responsibility is being handed over.

Ambulance staff will also follow local procedures for contacting the Single Point of Referral and raising a Safeguarding Concern.

6. Patient and Client Liaison Services and Complaints Departments

Patient and client liaison services and complaints departments are based in acute health care settings and have been established to provide confidential advice and support to patients, families and carers. This includes providing confidential assistance in resolving problems and concerns. They act as a focal point for feedback from patients to inform service developments and as such can act as an early warning system about concerns including quality of care.

The staff are in a position to recognise that a concern, which is raised with them by either a patient or a carer or friend, could indicate that the person is at risk of abuse or Neglect. They should raise that concern with their senior managers and could also discuss their concerns with the Health Safeguarding Team. Either the Named Nurse Safeguarding Adults or Designated Nurse Safeguarding Adults & Children are available for help and support and can be contacted at healthsafeguardingteam@health.gov.je or 01534 445442 to ensure that appropriate action is taken under the Safeguarding Adults Procedures.