Safeguarding Adults

Good Practice in Making a Safeguarding Adult Referral

SAFEGUARDING ADULTS IN NORFOLK

This folder is offered to all Service Providers to assist in the identification and processing of Adult Safeguarding Referrals.

Norfolk Adult Community Services is the lead agency for safeguarding adults regardless of where the alleged abuse has taken place. All referrals should be made to 0344 800 8020. This is a 24 hour number.

This information has been collated by members of the Safeguarding Adult Board and Safeguarding Team. We envisage that this information will be updated continuously and have therefore separated the information to individual pages so up dates can be downloaded from the Safeguarding Adults website and replacement pages easily substituted. Please feel free to download this information and keep as hard copy if it benefits your organisation.

As with all working documents there are undoubtedly gaps and your co-operation in filling them will be greatly appreciated. Any contribution in this area may be sent to the Safeguarding Business Support officer: for her to place, if appropriate on the website.

The Norfolk Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy has a mandate on the final page that your organisation may wish to consider completing. This is evidence to the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board that you are aware of your organisational and personal responsibilities in respect of Safeguarding Adults and you will then automatically be advised of any significant changes to policy, protocols and events.

You may notice that the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Board logo has changed and will incrementally adopted over the next 12 months in preparation for our statutory status.

Linda Naylor

Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator

Norfolk County Council

(Distributed through the NorfolkSafeguarding Adults Board network)

October 2013

Version 2

CONTENTS OF FOLDER

Index – Care Providers

Page
Safeguarding Adults in Norfolk / 1
Index – Contents of Folder / 2

Section 1

Making a Safeguarding Adults Referral / 3
The Alerter / 4
The Vulnerable Adult / 5
The Alleged Abuser / 6
The Alleged Abuse / 7
Additional Specific Questions Relevant to Categories of Abuse / 8
CQC – Essential Standards of Quality and Safety with Regulated Activities / 10
Your Safeguarding Adults Team / 11
Useful Telephone Numbers / 12
Appendix A: Referrers Check List / 14
Appendix B: Guidance for Care Providers – When to notify the Police / 15
Appendix C: What to Record - Recording Template / 16
Appendix D: Body Map / 17

Section 2

Useful Links
  • NorfolkMulti-Agency Safeguarding Adults Procedures
  • NorfolkMulti-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy
  • NorfolkMulti-Agency Safeguarding Adults Legislative Guidance
Further Information:
  • Safeguarding Adults Leaflet – What to do if you think an adult is being abused, harmed, threatened
  • Safeguarding Adults Poster
  • News Letter
  • Reports
  • Disclosure and Barring Service
  • Hate Crime in Norfolk
/ 18

Making a Safeguarding Adult Referral

This should be read in conjunction with the Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Multi-agency Policy, Procedures and Legislative Guidance

Definition of a Vulnerable Adult

Any adult who “is or may be eligible for community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or maybe unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation.

No Secrets, Department of Health 2000

When you have concerns about abuse or harm to a vulnerable adult and you would like further advice, it may be useful to complete the Referrer’s Checklist (see appendix A) as this will organise the information you will require to either discuss your concern or make the referral.

If you are unsure that the referral being made should be treated as a Safeguarding Adults Referral please phone 0344 800 8020 in the first instance and state that you want some advice on a safeguarding query. You will be redirected to a professional who will take the details and give appropriate advice. This will help ensure that inappropriate safeguarding referrals are not made and that the details of those involved are not given to the Police unless needed. In the case of health providers advice can be sought from Safeguarding Adults Leads in each organisation or on the referral telephone number above. Information on contact details for all safeguarding leads is at Appendix B.

If during the course of the referral it is difficult to identify the abuse or the potential harm to the service user then it is possible that raising a Safeguarding Adults Referral is not the most appropriate route to deal with the issues raised. It is worth noting that risks may be evident that are not safeguarding.

Please record any discussion with a Safeguarding professionalor Health lead to ensure that your actions can be accessed if required in the future. A template is offered to support your recording at Appendix C.

The Alerter

Your role in the safeguarding process.

The following information about each individual involved in a Safeguarding Adults Referral will be collected as a matter of Best Practice.

  • The name of the alerter
  • The contact details of the alerter
  • The relationship of the alerter to the alleged victim
  • Organisation of the alerter
  • Has the alerter alerted anyone else or any other organisation of the alleged abuse (e.g. The Care Quality Commission - CQC)?

Remember the alerter can request that they remain anonymous. However, without access to the alerter’s contact details for further clarification this may hinder the investigation.

The Vulnerable Adult

The following information about each individual involved in a Safeguarding Adults Referral should be given as a matter of Best Practice.

If the service user is already known to Community Services there may be plenty of information about the vulnerable adult. It is helpful to check that the information below is accurate and current when making a referral.

  • The name of the vulnerable adult
  • Address of the vulnerable adult
  • Contact details of the vulnerable adult
  • Details of their vulnerability (e.g. mental health, learning difficulty, physical difficulty etc)
  • Their date of birth or age
  • Gender
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion
  • Are there any communication issues?
  • Are there possible capacity issues in relation to making decisions relating to the alleged abuse?
  • Does the vulnerable adult know that a Safeguarding Adults Referral is being made, if no why not?
  • Have they expressed a view on what action, if any, they wish to be taken? (This is helpful to know as it gives the Safeguarding practitioner an idea of what they might expect when they contact the vulnerable adult and how to explain their role.)

The Alleged Abuser

The following information about each individual involved in a Safeguarding Adults Referral should be given as a matter of Best Practice.

If the alleged abuser is a member of staff in any organisation please providethe following information. Employers making a referral should have this information or may be able to give at a later time.

  • the name of the alleged abuser
  • their address
  • contact details
  • their date of birth or age if available
  • National Insurance Number (if known)

(It is important to have the name and address of the alleged abuser if available as a referral to the Disclosure & Barring Service can’t be made without this information)

  • Does the alleged abuser have any vulnerability issues themselves?
  • Are there any capacity issues for the alleged abuser in relation to the alleged abuse?
  • If member of staff in an organisation, is this person still working for them?
  • If the alleged abuser is working in a care home, establish the date they were first employed (also useful for Disclosure and Barring Service referrals).

Link to Disclosure and Barring Service Guidance and referral form

The Alleged Abuse

Please provide a description of what has happened. We need to know:

  • The nature of the abuse e.g. physical, sexual, financial, neglect etc.
  • When the incident or incidents happened?
  • Where it happened, please take address for this.

Where the abuse has happened is particularly important where boundaries are an issue i.e. Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire as they have their own Safeguarding Team to carry out investigations. Additionally a service user may be in the receipt of services within Norfolk but their home address maybe in another locality or local authority. In these cases the referral should be directed to the worker covering the area where the abuse occurred.

  • Was anyone else involved in the incident?
  • Was the incident witnessed and if so who by?
  • Have there been previous concerns regarding the alleged abuser in the past, if so what where they?
  • What, if any, actions have the alerter or organisation they belong to taken to assist the vulnerable adult and minimise the risk to their safety? (e.g. if a care home, have they done a new risk assessment and put a new action plan in place)

Additional Specific Questions Relevant to Categories of Abuse:

When making a referral you may be asked other specific questions which can add to the information and assist in prioritising the response.

Physical Abuse:

  • Are there any marks/bruises visible on the vulnerable adult?
  • If vulnerable adult is a resident of a care home, has the provider been completing body maps? (see Appendix D)
  • Has a GP or any other health professional been contacted/see the injury?
  • A Body Map is available for you to use at Appendix D

Sexual Abuse:

  • Have the Police been notified? Sexual abuse must have been reported immediately to the Police as per the provider reporting flowchart.
  • Is there any physical injury to the person?
  • Is there a current or prior relationship between the alleged abuser and vulnerable adult?
  • A Body Map is available for you to use at Appendix D

Psychological:

  • Again useful to know what the impact has been on the vulnerable adult.
  • Service user’s level of anger or distress.

Financial Abuse:

  • Does the alleged abuser or anyone else have legal authority to manage the vulnerable adult’s finances and if so what is the basis of the authority (e.g. Lasting Power of Attorney, Enduring Power of Attorney appointed deputyship?)
  • Are there any issues regarding the capacity of the vulnerable adult to manage their finances?
  • Is the alerter aware of any debts or any other impact the financial abuse is having on the vulnerable adults situation?

Neglect and Acts of Omission:

  • What has been the effect on the vulnerable adult?
  • Where a provider is being accused of poor care and possible neglect has the alerter raised their complaints with the management of the organisation, if so what has the response been?

Discriminatory Abuse: including racist, sexist, that is based on a person’s disability, and other forms of harassment, slurs or similar treatment.

  • This may include hate crimes or hate incidents.


CQC – Essential Standards of Quality and Safety with Regulated Activities

Each provider needs to be compliant with the essential standards of quality and safety. Outcome 7 relates to safeguarding people who use services from abuse.

The regulations state that

1)The registered person must make suitable arrangements to ensure that service users are safeguarded against the risk of abuse by means of –

a)Taking reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent it before it occurs; and

b)Responding appropriately to any allegation of abuse

2)Where any form of control or restrain is used in the carrying out of the regulated activity, the registered person must have suitable arrangements in place to protect service users against the risk of such control restraint being –

a)Unlawful; or

b)or otherwise excessive

3)For the purposes of paragraph 910, “abuse” in relation to a service user means –

a) sexual abuse

b)physical or psychological ill-treatment;

c) theft, misuse or misappropriation of money or property; or

d) neglect and acts of omission which cause harm or place at risk of harm.

Regulation 11 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010

Your Safeguarding Adults Team who can be contacted for advice and information via Tel: 0344 800 8020

  • Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Team Manager

Helen Thacker

  • Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

Wendy Masters, Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

Toby Thouless, Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

  • Central Locality

Dee Blakey, Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

  • Eastern Locality

Kelly O’Donovan, Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

  • Northern Locality

Jerry Crehan (Mon, Tues +alternate Weds), Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

Pippa Claxton (Thurs, Fri + alternate Weds), Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

  • Southern Locality

Becky Booth, Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant

  • Western Locality

Tracey Hawke, Safeguarding Adults Practice Consultant (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri)

  • Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Co-ordinator

Linda Naylor

  • Business Support Officer

Jan Cant

Useful Telephone Numbers

Care Quality Commission (CQC) / 03000 616161
Police:
  • Emergency
  • Non-Emergency
/ 999
101
MASH (Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub) / 0344 800 8020
Health:
  • Debbie Beresford – Safeguarding Adults Lead, Norfolk Community Health & Care
  • Dawn Collins, Safeguarding Adults Lead, NorfolkNorwichUniversityHospital, Norwich
  • Howard Stanley– Safeguarding Adults Lead, Norfolk Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG’s)
  • Gerry Green, Safeguarding Adults Lead, QueenElizabethHospital, Kings Lynn
  • Julia Hunt – Chief Matron, JamesPagetHospital, Gorleston
  • Walter Lloyd-Smith – Safeguarding Adults Lead, East Cost Community Health Care CIC
  • Jackie Schneider - Head of Quality & Patient Safety, North Norfolk Clinical Commission Group (CCG)
/ 01603 776776
01603 646028
01603 257030
Mob: 07939099002
01553 613613
01493 452452
01493 334113
01263 738100
NHS and Social Care Whistleblowing Helpline / 08000 724725
Mental Health:
  • Saranna Burgess – Safeguarding Lead, NorfolkSuffolk NHS Foundation Trust
/ 01603 421311
Quality Assurance:
  • Roger Morgan
/ 01603 223988
Domestic Violence:
  • Domestic Violence Unit, Norfolk Constabulary
/ 01603 276339
Hate Crime:
  • Emergency
  • Non-Emergency
  • Text
  • Refer via website – link below
/ 999
101
07786 200777
Other Authorities:
Cambridgeshire
  • Cambridgeshire Direct
Lincolnshire
  • Lincolnshire Safeguarding Adults Team
  • Emergency Duty Team
Suffolk
  • Suffolk Safeguarding Adults Team
/ 0345 0455202
01522 782155
01522 782333
0808 8004005

Appendix A

Referrers Checklist - Tel: 0344 800 8020

This Checklist is to assist you to have adequate information when you are making a referral as we know that it is often a very stressful conversation and you may forget vital information when you make the call. Referrals will be considered when some of this information is not available.

Essential / Desirable
Name of Alerter (Youcan remain anonymous) / 
Contact details of Alerter / 
Relationship to Victim / 
Organisation of Alerter / 
Name (of Vulnerable Adult) / 
Address of Vulnerable Adult / 
Address, if different, of place of alleged abuse / 
Contact details of Vulnerable Adult / 
Details of Category of Vulnerability (Older, frail, Mental Health, Learning Difficulties etc.) / 
Date of Birth or Age / 
Gender / 
Ethnicity / 
Religion / 
Capacity and understanding / 
Communication needs (sensory loss, Language, other) / 
Name of Alleged Perpetrator / 
Address of Alleged Perpetrator / 
Date of Birth of Alleged Perpetrator / 
Details of Referral - You need to consider the following so that the person taking the referral can gain adequate information
Nature of abuse/incident / 
When did it happen? / 
Where did it happen? / 
Was anyone else involved? / 
Was the incident witnessed? / 
Have you had previous concerns regarding this person? If so what? / 
Does the vulnerable adult know you are making this referral? / 
Have you done anything to assist the Vulnerable Adult at this time? (What actions have been taken?) / 
How do you want to be contacted in the future? / 

Appendix B

Guidance for Care Providers – When to notify Police – Urgent & Non-Urgent


Appendix C

SAFEUGARDING ADULTS – WHAT TO RECORD

RECORDING TEMPLATE

Detail / Date / Time
Initial discussion with
Referral (if made)
Strategy discussion
  • With whom

Action Required
  • By whom

Appendix D

Body Map

Section 2

Useful Links

Link to

  • Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Policy
  • Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Procedures
  • Norfolk Safeguarding Adults Legislative Guidance

Link to

  • Useful Further Information
  • Safeguarding Adults Leaflet
  • Poster
  • New Letters
  • Reports

Link to

  • Disclosure and Barring Service guidance and referral form

Link to

  • Hate crime in Norfolk

1

IF IN DOUBT SHOUT IT OUT - to make referral Tel: 0344 8008020