Safeguarding Adults

A Workbook for Social Care Workers

Suzan Collins

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2009
• Print ISBN: 9781843109280
• eBook ISBN: 9781846429330
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Work
• Index: Social Sciences

Working in residential or domiciliary settings involves a responsibility to safeguard adults from harm and abuse. This workbook will provide staff and relatives with the ability to make sensible choices concerning prevention and protection, as well as responding to and reporting concerns.

Safeguarding Adults examines the different forms of abuse, where abuse can take place and how and where to report the suspected abuse. The workbook meets the requirements of care standards and promotes best practice by enabling staff to feel confident contributing to keeping the people they support safe from harm and abuse.

Designed to meet the requirements of Health and Social Care (Adults) NVQ Level 3, Unit 35, this workbook is also a valuable source of guidance for any social care worker wanting or needing to improve their practice in relation to safeguarding adults from harm and abuse.

Different Types of Abuse

In this section, you will be reading about different types of abuses and the possible signs and symptoms that can be present. Please be aware that these are possible signs and symptoms of abuse, but they can also be signs and symptoms of something else, e.g. a person you are supporting may have bruises on her hip because she keeps tripping over the carpet. You will need to record everything that concerns you.

This section describes signs and symptoms of the service user. However, be aware that the abuser could also show signs, such as always wanting to be with the service user, or not allowing visitors or telephone calls.

Types of abuse:

•physical

•financial or material

•sexual

•psychological and emotional

•neglect and acts of omission

•self-neglect

•discriminatory

•institutional.

PHYSICAL ABUSE

Physical abuse can include the following:

•punching

•pinching

•slapping

•shaking

•hitting

•sedating

•pushing

•restraining

•scratching

•kicking

•rough handling.

Physical abuse in medication can take the form of undermedicating, overmedicating or withholding medication, and also inappropriately altering medication labels and/or records.

Signs and symptoms of physical abuse can include the following:

•loss of hair in one area and sore scalp

•anxiety or fear

•unexplained injuries

•self-harm

•marks resulting from a slap

•fractures

•sprains

•unexplained burns (e.g. on back of hands)

•drowsiness

•flinching and cowering

•many bruises inconsistent with an explanation (e.g. knocked self, had a fall)

•the service user needs medical advice but will not go to see the GP or frequently changes GPs.

You should not use control and restraint unless there is an agreed procedure in place and you have received appropriate training.

Control and restraint should be used only as a last resort. Each time this is used, a control and restraint form must be completed.

	Is control and restraint happening in your workplace?	Yes/No
	If you have answered ‘Yes’, is there an agreed procedure in place?	Yes/No
	Have staff received appropriate training?	Yes/No

If control and restraint is happening in your workplace and there is not an agreed procedure in place and/or staff have not received training you must report this immediately.

You can report it to:

•management

•CQC.

A service user tells you that she has bruises on her arms and that the staff did it because she would not do the washing up. What do you do?

FINANCIAL OR MATERIAL ABUSE

Financial or material abuse can include the following:

•taking things that belong to the service user

•taking money

•misusing money

•being pressurized to give mo...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• Introduction
• Prevention and Protection
• Needs and Preferences
• The Principles of Care
• Who is a Vulnerable Adult?
• What is Abuse?
• Notifiable Incidents
• Factors that May Make Abuse More Likely to Occur
• Different Types of Abuse
• Power
• Circumstances Where Abuse Can Occur
• Providing Opportunities to Share Concerns
• Reporting and Responding to Concerns
• Barriers to Reporting Concerns
• Self-harm
• Questions to Test your Knowledge
• True and False Exercises
• Self-Assessment Tool
• Certificate
• Knowledge Specification Chart
• Legislation and Useful Websites
• References
• Back Page