Principles of safeguarding and protection in health and social care Different types of abuse that could happen to an individual: Physical abuse is a form of bodily contact intended to cause some type of feeling and harm. Signs of this may be punching, hitting, kicking, scratching or slapping. Sexual abuse is when is when a form of sexual activity is forced upon a person, without any consent given. Signs of this could be unexplained bleeding from the genital area or S. T. I. Bruising around the breasts. Emotional/psychological abuse is when you are possibly being threatened or actions that may cause mental harm.
Signs of this could be mood change, depression due to someone being constantly put down. Financial abuse is when someone is using your personal money unauthorised. Signs of this could be when someone does not have any money for food or clothes. Also when valuable items disappear unexplained. Institutional abuse is when an organisation fails to provide adequate and professional care to someone who is vulnerable. Signs of this could be when the individual has lack of choice. Also they may be dirty due to inadequate care Self neglect i when an individual fails to attend to their personal needs.
This is a behavioural condition. Signs of this maybe when someone losses weight due to not eating. Failing to take medication. Neglect by others is when someone else is responsible for providing care for the individual and fails too. Signs of this could be when someone has bedsores that are not being seen too. Medication not being ordered in correctly and the service user going without. Factors that may contribute to someone being more vulnerable to abuse are if the staffs are not trained to correct standards. Also if the service user suffered abuse as a child then they are likely to experience it much worse as an adult.
People with low self esteem and no sense of self worth are vulnerable also those with health issue such as dementia or a physical disability. The action to take if there are suspicions an individual is being abused is to report it to a collegue, management, social services, or it may be a safeguarding issue. Always make sure you report snd document everything in writing and only the facts, no opinions. Always listen and never judge someone. If someone tells you they are being abused you need to inform them that the information has to be passed on to the relevant people.
Record and report facts straight away, never tamper with any evidence and call for help. That way evidence is preserved. Local systems may include adult protection arrangements or organisational policies and procedures. Safeguarding and safeguarding training which is to protect each and every person. Care quality commission inspect care providers to make sure they are meeting the correct standards of care. The police are available to report any incidents too, they will then deal with prosecution. Social services also have input and have their own safeguarding procedures.
Crb checks are done to check police records. There are two levels of crb that can be checked. These are done prior to the carer going out to work on their own. There is also the mental capacity act thats is there to protect those from abuse which also sets guidelines. If needing any support or advice you can go to all of the above services. So you have your manager, social services, police and care quality commission. The likelihood of abuse may be reduced by working with the service user, so getting them involved in making decisions, making them aware of their rights and respecting their independence.
For example if they have porridge one day for breakfast and then the next day they ask for toast then that is there choice and you should respect their right to make change. Active participation is very important and by getting a service user involved as much as possible is good to making sure there care needs and rights are met. By making sure there care plan is up to date as much as you possibly can, will keep all care workers and outside organisations up to date with information.
The importance of accessible complaints procedure, is if it is easy to make a complaint then service users should not feel scared about doing so. If it is not accessible then staff and service users will not know how to make a complaint, there for easy access. Unsafe practices that may affect the well being of the individuals could be poor working practices when the staff are tired or rushing. If you do not have the correct resources and operational equipment in place to carry out transfers, or if in the first place the staff do not get the correc6t training or update training to do the job.
If unsafe practices have been identified then action needs to be taken. This is called whistle blowing and you need to report this straight away and make sure you document everything straight away. This needs to be made to a senior member of staff or to your line manager. If you notice that no action has been taken even though you have reported this then you need to go above whoever you may have reported this too. So if your line manager has not done anything then go to their supervisor. If still no response you can report to care quality commission.
