Safeguarding adults policy & concern record

What you need to know

The plain-English guidance that comes with this document.

• Safeguarding is a legal duty, and it's everyone's job. In England the Care Act 2014 places safeguarding duties on local authorities and expects providers to play their part; the other UK nations have their own frameworks. Every member of staff must know how to spot a concern and what to do — this policy and a signed record are how you show that.
• Report — don't investigate. The single most important rule: if you suspect abuse or neglect, make the person safe and pass it on. Don't play detective, don't confront the alleged abuser, and don't tidy anything away — you could endanger the person or wreck a police case. The local authority and police investigate; you report and record.
• Record it factually, in their words. Write exactly what you were told or saw, using the person's own words where you can, and stick to facts over opinion. This record may become evidence, so accuracy and timing matter.
• Keep the person at the centre. "Making Safeguarding Personal" means asking the adult what they want to happen and respecting their wishes as far as it's safe to — safeguarding is done with people, not to them.
• Know your referral routes before you need them. Have the local authority safeguarding number, the police, and your regulator's notification process to hand. In an emergency it's 999. Some safeguarding incidents are also notifiable events to your regulator.
• Self-neglect and financial abuse are easy to miss. So are subtle signs — unexplained money problems, a carer controlling access, withdrawal. Train staff to notice, and make it safe to raise a worry.
• Professionally structured starting point — adapt and sign off. A registered manager tailors this to your local safeguarding board's procedures and contacts and signs it off; it's not "compliant out of the box".
• Applies UK-wide, via different laws. Care Act 2014 (England); Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014; Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007; and Northern Ireland's adult safeguarding framework. Use your nation's routes and your local safeguarding board's procedures.