Safeguarding Adults: Best Practices for Care Providers

There are tremendous pressures and a huge amount of work involved in providing health and social care for adults; however, safeguarding must be at the heart of all of it. It is essential that all people using a particular care service can live free from harm, abuse, and neglect, and this is a fundamental element of providing high-quality care.

Understanding safeguarding is essential, so the team here at Empeiria Training take a look at some of the best practices for care providers when considering safeguarding for adults in their care.

The safeguarding laws

Any care provider must understand the laws and regulations relating to safeguarding that apply to them. Much of the legislation comes from the Care Act 2014 and the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. It is essential that all staff members are aware of the regulations and requirements set out in these bills.

It is the role of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess the compliance of a care provider and enforce these regulations. They expect all care providers to meet the safeguarding requirements set out under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 regulations.

What is safeguarding for adults?

Any adult receiving health or care services must be treated with dignity and respect at all times. They are entitled to high-quality, compassionate care and must be safe from harm and abuse. It is the prime responsibility of the care providers to ensure that this happens. This means promoting well-being and preventing abuse and neglect from happening, as well as ensuring the safety and well-being of anyone who has already been subject to abuse or neglect. This should be done by putting the individual at the centre of their care and giving them as much choice and control over what happens as possible. There are a variety of different ways that this can be achieved, so here we take a look at some of the best practices for safeguarding adults.

Specialist adult safeguarding training for social care workers

Understanding adult safeguarding is extremely important, but it can take many different forms. It is therefore essential that all social care workers undertake some form of specialist adult safeguarding training. This can help to demonstrate what adult safeguarding means and what it should look like in practice.

Specialist training can provide examples of different scenarios and the best ways to handle situations, as well as ensuring that everyone is fully aware of all relevant legislation and regulations. This training will also help care providers to show that they are compliant in ensuring staff are fully up to date and trained in specialist levels of care.

Putting safeguarding policies in place

All care providers need to make sure that they have strong safeguarding policies in place for staff to refer to. This will not only help care providers to stay compliant, but it can also form the foundation of ensuring that all residents or service users are protected from harm.

Once these policies have been created, you need to make sure that all staff members are fully aware of them and that you follow up with comprehensive mandatory training on being able to recognise and respond to issues such as abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Monitoring and supervision schedules

Putting safeguarding standards in place is one thing, but it is essential that you are continuing to uphold them. This means that there needs to be a regular programme of oversight, which can take a variety of different forms. You should be looking at conducting internal safeguarding audits and risk assessments on a regular basis to identify any potential issues. This will allow you to rework your policies and offer any additional training that might be necessary.

You should also make sure that there are regular supervision and performance evaluations for staff to help ensure that everyone is maintaining the highest professional standards.

It is also important for care providers to work closely with CQC inspectors and local safeguarding boards to ensure the best practices are always being followed. It should go without saying, but it is essential that the physical, emotional, and mental well-being of residents or service users is continually monitored on an ongoing basis to make sure that any issues or patterns are identified early.

Communication and transparency

Effective safeguarding has its roots in good levels of communication. This can help to ensure that safeguarding is always prioritised. Communication is vital between care providers and patients, as well as among staff members and when dealing with other agencies that might be involved in the care of an individual. This can help to ensure that everyone involved in the process has all the facts at their disposal and can work together to create the most effective form of care.

It is also important to encourage an open-door policy where both service users and staff are able to discuss any concerns. This should also be open to families and representatives of patients who are involved in any care decisions and safeguarding concerns. There also needs to be a clear and accessible complaints procedure with documented follow-up actions so that concerns can be raised and dealt with in the most effective way.

By having a clear and open communication policy, staff, patients, and family members can be empowered to highlight and report abuse and bring issues to light, safe in the knowledge that they will be dealt with appropriately.

Respond quickly and effectively

If an adult is identified as being at risk, it is essential that all care providers raise concerns to the relevant authorities as quickly as possible. This should be thorough and detailed and include any necessary evidence. They will also need to participate in a commissioner-led safeguarding inquiry and engage in a Safeguarding Adults Board process in serious cases.

When it comes to adult care, there is no single person who is responsible for safeguarding. This is a shared responsibility amongst all staff members and agencies, so it is important to have clear practices in place that all care providers are able to follow in order to protect the people they are looking after.