If you spend time with a vulnerable adult, either as a carer, a family member or a friend, it is important to be aware of how abuse allegations against vulnerable adults are managed.
Image Credit
Here is everything you need to know.
How to Report Concerns
If there is an allegation of abuse it must be reported to the employee’s manager (either line or senior). If the manager is linked to the allegation, it should be reported to a designated employee who is safeguarding the Adults At Risk at that specific workplace.
The report must be made on paper and it needs to include the date, the allegation and a clear name and signature. If the report doesn’t include this information it may not be valid, so it is very important to include everything.
If a report is filed and an employee believes that the report isn’t being investigated properly, they have a responsibility to report this to a higher manager. The manager will then assess the situation to ensure that the report is being properly investigated.
The local authorities will also need to be made aware of the report, and if it isn’t possible to let them know, then you should follow the Whistleblowing Procedure.
What is Next?
Once you have made the report it may need to be considered by either the Safeguarding Assessments by Adult Social Care, the police, the disciplinary staff at the place of work or the Complaint Procedures at the place of work. If a problem is determined then a strategy meeting may be set up.
According to Procedures Online, the main purpose of a strategy meeting is to discuss and share the evidence surrounding the allegation. During this time everyone in the meeting will review the current allegation and any previous allegations, and then they will decide if there should be an internal disciplinary investigation or a Safeguarding Assessment.
Once they have done that, they will decide if they should investigate an allegation of crime (which would involve the police). It is at this stage that the individual may also be sent to their GP or given access to a home STI test London way from companies such as www.checkurself.org.uk/plus/home_sti_kits/ if the abuse could have put the individual at risk of contracting an STI. They will also decide who to inform about the allegation.
All of these steps have been put in place to protect vulnerable adults in the workplace, and each step must be completed before the strategy meeting can move on.
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}