Adult Safeguarding

One of the most important roles that you will have when you are working in the clinic is to be aware of any potential safeguarding issues. Many adults suffer from abuse and as a provider of a Health and Social Care Service we are duty bound to be aware of any signs of potential abuse.

What types of abuse could someone be a victim of?

1. Physical; Many women and men are victims of physical abuse of varying types. Sometimes the signs of this abuse are hard to detect but you must maintain an awareness of any signs.
2. Sexual; The extreme example of this is Female Genital Mutilation which although illegal in the UK is still widely practised in certain cultures (we have a separate policy concerning Female Genital Mutilation or FGM). There are other types of sexual abuse such as forcing a person to partake in a sexual act that they do not want to. This is much harder to detect physically but could be more obvious behaviourally.
3. Psychological or emotional; This could be shouting, swearing at, blaming, humiliating or simply ignoring.
4. Discriminatory; This could include racist or sexist remarks or comments on a person’s disability, illness, age or religious beliefs.

So what should you do if you suspect that someone is or has been subject to abuse?

1. Watch and listen; gather the evidence in your own mind.
2. Don’t raise your concerns with the potential victim; this may sound illogical however in our small clinics where the potential victim is with other family members, any of whom could be the perpetrator, it would not be in their interests to publicly raise your concerns.
3. Immediately report your concerns to the clinic manager; tell them what you have seen and agree the next course of action.
4. The manager will report the concern to the Local Authority if there is clear evidence of abuse.
5. Make a note of your observations in the Incident Book.