Safeguarding Vulnerable
Individuals
If you suspect an individual may be being abused you must follow the correct protocols in order to assess the situation. You have a duty of care within your role to take any accusation very seriously. You must have both a written and verbal report of your suspicions and make your service manager or line manager aware of this suspicion. From there, the service manager will take this further to the regional manager. The regional manager will then decide if your suspicions are a case of serious abuse or something that just needs to be kept a serious eye on. If this is a serious case, the regional manager will then follow the local authority procedure.
If an individual tells you that they are being abused you must take it seriously. The person may be in danger and is trusting you with this allegation. You must ensure that you acknowledge that the person is distressed and reassure them that you understand. One of the key factors includes telling the individual that you may have tell other people if you feel they could be in danger. Listen patiently to ensure all the facts are collected, but never question their beliefs or make promises that you may not be able to keep. A statement must be taken in their own words including any gestures. You must then follow the same protocols as above.
You must ensure that any evidence of abuse is kept safe and confidential from any other service user, members of staff and strangers as it is a serious allegation that needs to be taken further.
Neglect by others:-
Signs: poor hygiene, not being fed
Symptoms: looking dirty, malnutrition
Self neglect:-
Signs: self malnutrition, self mutilation
Symptoms: covering up, loss of appetite
Institutional:-
Signs: enforced rules, making decisions for them
Symptoms: rebellion and submissive
Financial:-
Signs: stealing, keeping things from them
Symptoms: loss of belongings/money
Emotional/psychological:-
Signs: verbal, taunting,...