Safeguarding

P4/ Outline key legislation and regulations which govern safeguarding adults work. In this part of the assignment I will be stating the main key points of each piece of legislation and how it is applied in practice. Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults 2006This piece of legislation was introduced on the 8th November 2006, the whole idea of this act is to protect adults who are at risk of abuse due to a vulnerability. For example, someone with Down syndrome may be more at risk of getting abused due to their lack of social skills and knowledge. The key points of this legislation are~
Every employee needs a CRB/DBS check, especially within a health and social care environment. This can prevent abusive situations from occurring.
Every single workplace has their policies and procedures to make sure that they follow this act.
Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974The rehabilitation of offender’s act 1974 of the UK Parliament enables some criminal convictions to be ignored after a rehabilitation period.
Key points of this legislation include:
For adults, the rehabilitation period is 5 years for most non-custodial sentences.
For a young offender- under the age of 18, the rehabilitation period is generally half that for adults. Prison sentences of more than 2 ½ years can never been spent.
The rehabilitation period is determined by the sentence, and starts from the date of the conviction. After this, if there has been no further conviction the conviction is “spent”. The Ex offender may not have to mention what they have done whilst applying for a job. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/53
21907521653500Depending on the conviction, it depends on how much time is spent: How is this applied in practice?
The rehabilitation offender’s act protects offenders from discrimination when applying for a job due to their previous records. It also makes it possible for them to lead a normal life, particularly if they have served their sentence and are desperate to put the past behind them.
The Police Act 1997
The police act was introduced in 1997. This was a result of the Dunblane massacre which took place in 1996. The Dunblane massacre took place in a school where a man walked into a school and shot 16 children and a teacher in the space of three minutes. This was the reason the police act was introduced, purely so massacres like these cannot happen anymore. No person is allowed to carry a firearm without a licence. Another reason as to why the police act was introduced was so police have access to computers, mobile phones and cameras. This is in case the police think someone is suspicious, they may be able to back it up with proof, for example, if someone is holding indecent content on their computer/laptop the police will be able to find out and search the computer to find out the proof they’re looking for. This act will help to safeguard adults in the future by making the public aware that the police can easily access phones, computers and cameras. Therefore people are less likely to do the crime as they are more at risk of being caught.
The Sexual Offences Act 1976
The act was introduced in 1976. This was because the government wanted tougher sentences against adult sex offences. The act complements the new criminal justice act, under serious sex attacks will receive mandatory life sentences. The key point of this legislation is to protect vulnerable adults, make them feel safe, have regular CRB/DBS checks. If an individual has been put on the sexual offenders list then they could be on there for the rest of their life, or up to five years depending on how their court case goes. A few bigger points are:
In 2003 the sexual offences act changed so people can even be convicted from having horrifically inappropriate photos to flashing or even rape and sexual harassment.
People convicted of a sexual offence must tell the police about their living arrangements and if they are planning to move they must inform the police so the police can investigate if the home is suitable.
If they want to leave the country they must get permission although in most circumstances countries will not allow them in anyway. http://www.cps.gov.uk/news/fact_sheets/sexual_offences/
It makes new provisions about sexual offences, their prevention and the protection of children from harm from other sexual acts and connected purposes. This then means that sex offenders cannot work with vulnerable adults or children, if they were to apply for a unsuitable job, they could be convicted.
Care Standards Act 2000National minimum standards were published in 2003 following the care standards act 2000.They form the basis of the inspection of a care setting to protect a patient from being abused/neglected.Different versions of national minimum standards exist for each category of a care setting:
Care home for older people (65+)
Care home for adults (18-65)
Domiciliary care homecare.
Nurse agencies
Adult placement schemes
This law replaced a law called “the registered homes act 1984” which regulated nursing in residential homes.
Its purpose is to have control of the whole concept of care and to regulate those who provide it. They will make regular checks to ensure that all the laws and policies/procedures are being followed. Care services it covers include independent fostering agencies, domiciliary social care providers, residential family centres and boarding schools.
How is this applied in practice? Robust procedures should be in place for responding to suspicion or evidence of abuse or neglect to ensure the safety and protection of individuals.
Mental Health Act 1983
The mental health act was first introduced in 1983 (further amended in 2007) and sets out how you can be treated if you have a mental disorder, and what your rights are. It was introduced to stop any person getting sectioned, to protect people’s health and also to make sure all your rights are protected. SectioningPeople have different types of mental disorders and they can be admitted to hospital against their will under this act. This includes people with severe mental impairment, psychopathic disorder or mental illness. Patients are only sectioned if they are a threat to themselves or others. For a patient to be sectioned it must be approved by two doctors and a social worker, even in some cases a close relative. How does this help stop abuse? In the past people could be sectioned by someone who disliked them or wanted them out of the way, due to this law, no one can be sectioned unless they need to be.
Mental Capacity Act 2005
The mental capacity act 2005 came into force in England and wales in 2007. This act provides the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of vulnerable individuals who lack the mental capacity to make particular decisions, for example if somebody is really ill, it may be turning of a life support machine. This act applies to anyone aged 16 or over. It protects people with mental health problems as well as people with dementia, learning disabilities, strokes or brain injuries. People with mental health issues may find it difficult to make decisions some or even all of the time. How does the act support vulnerable people?
Protecting those who cannot make their own decisions
Making it clear who can make decisions on the persons behalf
Allowing people to make some decisions in advance for themselves(living will)
Providing a new service to support those who have no one to help them make decisions.
Planning ahead. This act also states that anyone can plan ahead for a time when they may lack mental capacity by using a lasting power of attorney. Lasting power of attorney is someone who make decisions on their behalf. This includes decisions about property and financial affairs as well as health and personal welfare decisions.
Disability Discrimination Act 1995 amended 2005
The disability discrimination act 1995 aims to end the discrimination that faces many people with disabilities. This act has been significantly extended, including by the disability discrimination order 2006. It was introduced to ensure that those with a disability have equal opportunities in everyday situations. The key points of this law are, it now gives people with disabilities rights in the areas of:
Employment
Education
Access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs and transport services.
Buying or renting land/property
Functions of public bodies
How is it put into practice to help safeguard adults?
To address some of the practical difficulties that these barriers present, the disability legislation, unlike other anti-discrimination legislation creates a positive duty on employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustment to their policies and premises where reasonable and appropriate, such as ramps and lifts. P5/ For this part of the task, you are required to demonstrate your knowledge by producing a grid that identifies and outlines w working strategies and procedures in place to help safeguard vulnerable adults.
What is a law? A law is something that has been set in stone and will not change for any particular reasonWhat is a strategy? A strategy is how you do something but this also depends on what setting you are in. Different working strategies may be different for each care home
Guidance Brief outline How does it help protect the individuals?
The protection of vulnerable adults scheme for adult placement (POVA) The Protection of Vulnerable Adults Scheme (POVA) has been introduced to help minimise abuse and involves checking records to assess the suitability of people to work as carers for vulnerable adults. This helps to protect individuals as they know that there is legalisation and procedures put into place and therefore know that they’re safe from abuse. “Every time I go into a care setting money is missing, as a result of this it gets reported each time and they soon establish that it is the same person who is being suspected as money is going missing at the same time every time a certain person is in. As a result of this there is now enough evidence that it is them stealing money and they are convicted and lose their license”
This helps to prevent financial abuse in a care home.
No secrets- Dept. of health guidelines 2000 / Review of no secrets guidance 2008 This law suggests that we do not keep secrets and if we suspect that this is happening we MUST report it and they will send investigators in.
Dignityincare.org This will prevent abuse in a work place as if somebody knows about it is their place to say, therefore it will hopefully stop abuse.
Safeguarding adults- a national framework for good practice and outcomes in adult protection work 2005 This law states what level of care should be in place and that everybody should be treated fairly. This helps to protect individuals as they all know they’re being treated the same and have the same rights as anybody else
Codes of practice for nursing and social work EG. BASW, NMC and GSCC
This law states that you have license to practice. You will be strike off if you do something wrong/bad. It also proves that you are who you say you are, regular training is given to update records. You’re unable to accept gifts from people you’re working with as it could be seen as offensive. This will help protect individuals as if they know that you’re being regularly trained and are up to date with information they may feel safer and secure under your care.
Multi-agency working- decision making forums, keeping records, support planning and single assessment process. This is about different agencies working together to find out if a certain person is being abused, they communicate with everyone and working together helps to ensure that no body is abused. They also share information to come to a decision on what is best for the person. Having more than one agency looking out for you may make the individual feel worth something and as though they are safe and protected from anything in harm’s way.
Staff training The company will pay for staff training and this MUST be regular. They will learn first aid, manual handling and the correct ways to move people in and out of beds and certain places. Staff being trained gives them trust from individuals, if they’re being trained properly then the individuals know that they are doing their job properly
Role of care quality commission (CQC) This law is a set of inspectors that are there to do regular checks to ensure that you are doing your job properly. If you’re doing it right you will get a grade. Otherwise you will be told what to do and have another check-up 6 months later, if things have not improved you will more than likely be put out of business. This helps to protect individuals in a care setting as regular checks to make sure the home is running properly will make them feel as though they are important. They will know that they are safe as if something is wrong CQC will pick up on it and something will get done about it http://www.cqc.org.uk/ “Whistle blowing” This is about reporting something that you see, it could be about how a member of staff are treating another person. If someone has trust in a care worker then they could tell them if anything is wrong, this could then send an alert to a member of staff and something could be done about it
Complaint procedures Every organisation has a complaints service, this is because people have the right to complain about something if they feel it Is not right or suitable. If a family member is worrying about the service user or has a complaint then this service will give them the opportunity to be able to complain and get their views put forward.
M2/ Describe legalisation, regulations, working strategies and procedures used in health and social care to reduce two types of abuse.
Christine could be subject to physical abuse, to prevent this “safeguarding adults 2006” could help as the law states that all carers should have a up to date DBS. This should minimise the chances of physical abuse in the care setting. “Care standards act” also outlines the standard of care that must be given in a home, this prevents abuse as if anything is below the standard they will either have serious consequences or will be completely shut down. “POVA” means that all staff has a pova check to make sure that they have not been previously convicted involving abuse of any kind. If they have this person will not be allowed to work with Christine. This will minimise the chances of her being abused as if they have not abused before they may not do it this time.
“No secrets” this means that if other carers can see abuse happening they MUST report it. If the abuser knows that someone will tell someone else that they’re abusing, they are less likely to do so. This could prevent her being abused as if she is being abused and someone knows about it they could tell someone else and it can be prevented as soon as possible.
Christine could also be prone to financial abuse. The “Mental capacity act” could help Christine as she could have brain damage and be unable to make her own decisions and therefore needs a power of attorney. Having this could minimise the chances of financial abuse as people would know who would be abusing her and be able to do something about it. As Christine has the mind of a child, if somebody tells her to do something like give them her money, she will more than likely do so. To prevent this, if somebody notices that there is money going missing they can use “the police act” to check her money going in and out, they can check all of her computers she has accessed to see if her online banking has been used, hopefully this way they will be able to track down the money and the person who stole it. This act can also prevent other things happening to Christine, it will prevent abusers taking possessions, benefits, inheritance and pressure in connection with wills. Scie.org(2013)
Women's Aid - the key national charity working to end domestic violence against women and children. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.womensaid.org.uk/?gclid=CPLTzuvs9bsCFYbHtAodX2IAeg. [Accessed 11 January 2014].The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Record Certificates: Relevant Matters) (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111537749. [Accessed 11 January 2014]..