July 2, 2016
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Outline
 Using evidence from Unit work and others *thanks
for your help!
 Use examples to highlight some points for
discussion
 Will focus mainly on vulnerable adults (not
alleged abusers)
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Adult safeguarding
 Long standing concerns
about mistreatment (calls
for legal protection)
 Adult safeguarding roots in
long-stay institutions but
also family
 ‘Vulnerable adults’ majorly
influenced by elder abuse
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Care home workers terrified dementia
patients with horror hand-puppets 'for fun’
Two care home nurses are facing jail for
using a glove puppet to bully elderly women as a
joke. (They) were paid to look after the frail
grandmothers - but instead the pair 'scared
them for just for the fun of it'. (They) laughed
while using a green goblin puppet to terrify
women patients aged 87 and 91 in the home for
the elderly.
Definitions: endless, conflicting &
hidden
 Risk
 Vulnerable
 Compromised
care
 Poor practice
 Neglect and
self-neglect
July 2, 2016
IOP
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Policy reaction:
Winterbourne View
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Building blocks of
Safeguarding Responses

 Safeguarding
Adults
Boards
 Attention to
legal powers
 Vulnerable
adults
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Care and Support white paper
2012
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July 2, 2016
Duty to investigate in safeguarding cases
No emergency and compulsory powers unless
the Government wants them
Repeal of section 47 of the National Assistance
Act 1948
Statutory Adult Safeguarding Boards (social
services, NHS and the police)
Statutory Serious Case Reviews (safeguarding
adults reviews)
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What do safeguarding
professionals do?
Prevention
Referral - screen
Investigate
Evidence collection
Support for alleged victims
Work with alleged perpetrators
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Prevention levels
 Primary
prevention
 Secondary
 Tertiary
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Primary prevention
Examples
 Family vigilance
 Neighbourliness
 Vetting & barring
 CRB checks
 Office of Public
Guardian
 Trading standards
 Professional regulation
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Secondary prevention
 Training
 Advocacy
 Investigation
 Expressed in policy
and procedures
 Authorisation eg
Lasting power of
Attorney
 Media stories eg scams
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Tertiary prevention
 Criminal prosecutions
 Best evidence provision
 Inspection and
regulation
 Care monitoring
 People monitoring
 Learning from what
went wrong
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Debate: Bad apples or rotten barrels?
 False positives and false
negatives
 Moving from abuse to
harm
 Subjective and objective
 Family conflict eg some
recent DoLS cases
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Theory Lite
 Carer stress?
 Gender & power
 Hate & prejudice
 Vulnerable
Situations
 Searching for risk
factors
 New emphases survivors &
resilience
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Missing areas
 Cost and cost
effectiveness
 More emerging
on outcomes
 What works
 How to address
false positives and
false negatives
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http://www.kcl.ac.uk/scwru/
Website
The Social Care Workforce
Research Unit receives
funding from the
Department of Health
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