Safeguarding

Safeguarding means protecting an adult's right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is everybody's business — ours, yours, and anyone who notices something is wrong.

We would always rather hear a concern that turns out to be nothing than not hear one that turns out to be something.

What abuse and neglect can look like

The Care Act 2014 recognises a number of types of abuse. It is not always obvious, and it is rarely dramatic.

• Physical abuse
• Domestic abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Psychological or emotional abuse
• Financial or material abuse
• Modern slavery
• Discriminatory abuse
• Organisational or institutional abuse
• Neglect and acts of omission
• Self-neglect

You do not need to be sure. You do not need proof. If something feels wrong, that is enough of a reason to say so.

How to raise a concern

Tell us

NAMED SAFEGUARDING LEAD — name and role

DIRECT PHONE  ·  EMAIL

Out of hours: ON-CALL ARRANGEMENT

Or go directly to the local authority

You do not have to come to us first, and you may prefer not to. Every local authority has an adult safeguarding team, and they will take a concern from anyone.

LIST each local authority area Bellus operates in, with its adult safeguarding contact number and web address. This is the single most useful thing on this page — do not leave it generic.

Or contact the regulator or the police

• Care Quality Commission — 03000 616161. The CQC cannot investigate individual safeguarding concerns, but it uses what it is told to decide where to inspect.
• Police — 101 for non-emergencies, 999 in an emergency. Abuse and neglect can be criminal offences.

What happens when you tell us

1. We make sure the person is safe. Immediate risk comes first, before anything else.
2. We record what you have told us factually, and we tell you we have received it.
3. We refer to the local authority where the concern meets the safeguarding threshold, and we notify the CQC where we are required to.
4. We co-operate fully with any enquiry under Section 42 of the Care Act, and we do not investigate ourselves where that would be inappropriate.
5. We keep the person at the centre — their views about what they want to happen matter, and Making Safeguarding Personal is the principle we work to.
6. We act on what we learn, and change practice where we need to.

CONFIRM timescales — how quickly a concern is acknowledged, and how quickly it is referred on

Our commitments

• All staff receive safeguarding training at induction and refresh it regularly — LEVEL AND FREQUENCY
• All staff are subject to an enhanced DBS check — CONFIRM, including whether barred list checks apply
• We follow the Mental Capacity Act 2005, and we do not assume someone lacks capacity
• We work to STOMP principles and to reducing restrictive practice
• We apply the duty of candour — when something goes wrong we say so
• We support staff to raise concerns without fear of consequence

If you work for us

If you are worried about a colleague, a manager or the way we are doing something, you can raise it without fear. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 protects workers who make a protected disclosure.

WHISTLEBLOWING ROUTE — internal contact, plus an independent route such as the CQC or the charity Protect (0203 117 2520)

The law we work to

• Care Act 2014
• Mental Capacity Act 2005, and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
• Mental Health Act 1983
• Human Rights Act 1998
• Equality Act 2010
• Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
• CONFIRM whether Liberty Protection Safeguards have commenced, and update this list at that point