Protection of Vulnerable Adults And Children

Hayfield Support Services has continually operated in a way which has given priority to the care and security of all its service users.  In this respect it has developed a comprehensive system of policies and procedures which seek to offer the best methods of protection and which detail the extent and nature of the overall package of care offered by Hayfield.

Since its establishment, Hayfield has always worked with vulnerable adults by providing services for deaf people with other disabilities and has worked to incorporate the requirements of appropriate legislation and National Standards, to provide the best level of care available to all its service users. 

Although Hayfield works primarily with adults, it is acknowledged that potentially some service users may be as young as 16 or 17, and that there may be situations in which members of staff may have contact with service users’ families, including children. Hayfield therefore recognises that it is also bound by the requirements of the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003, and this document is to be seen as describing the Policy and Procedures relating to the protection of both Vulnerable Adults and Children.

This document on Protection serves to highlight and unite the aims of existing organisational policies concerned with the direct care of service users and to confirm Hayfield’s continuing priority to abide by legislation and guidelines such as the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007.  In particular, this document must be seen as part of a range of policies which serve to maintain a secure and protective environment for all service users and staff – these include policies on Anti-Bullying and Anti-Discriminatory Practices, Complaints Procedure, Equal Opportunities, Physical Intervention Policy, Records and Communication, Service User Finances, Guidance on Touch and the ‘Whistle-Blowing’ Policy.

The Policy

Defining Protection from Abuse:

It is important for staff and service users to understand the broad definition of abuse.  Hayfield will seek to provide appropriate information and training on the different forms abuse can take and not assume people fully comprehend what is meant by the range of terms used.

Hayfield accepts that abuse is not always physical, but that it can also involve neglect, sexual abuse, psychological or emotional pressure, financial or material abuse, discrimination, shunning and verbal abuse.  Attention must also be given to identifying and challenging exploitative relationships which may lead to overt abuse.  All people involved need to clearly understand what behaviour is not acceptable. 

Hayfield attempts to develop approaches to protection that are particular to the services offered and the communication needs of the service users involved.  This approach is based on a system of regular, individual service user reviews, risk assessments and staff supervision.

Legislative Requirements

Hayfield is inspected and Registered by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care, and abides by the requirements of the National Care Standards in order to provide an acceptable level of care for all service users.

In addition, Hayfield has also adopted a number of other laws or guidelines into its policy structure.  In particular, attention has been paid to the Public Disclosure Act 1998 (also known as the ‘Whistleblowers’ Act), the Disclosure (Scotland) guidelines, The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the Child Protection (Scotland) Act 2003.

(While Hayfield is Registered as an organisation providing services to adults, it recognises that under the Child Protection legislation a “child” can be defined as a person up to the age of 18, and that as such there is a requirement on Hayfield to provide the appropriate level of protection for young adults who may also be vulnerable).

Information for Service Users

For any policies and procedures to be effective in protecting service users from abuse, service users need to be fully informed about their right to be protected by the service.  It is important that any information provided to service users is in a format that is easily accessible and understandable. 

It is important that service users understand the definition of abuse so they can recognise inappropriate conduct against themselves or others.  Hayfield staff should ensure that the procedure for reporting actual or suspected abuse is explained to service users, and that this information is fully understood and regularly reinforced.

Hayfield service users should have the option of raising concerns with different staff members in the organisation.  Hayfield can also provide the names of external agencies or advocates that service users can contact directly, so that they can have an alternative if they would prefer to talk to someone independent of Hayfield.

Service users will also be made aware what will happen once they have reported abuse.  They will be told who the information will be shared with and if there are instances where external bodies, such as the Police or Social Services will need to be involved. 

Information for Staff

Hayfield recognises that staff require to understand the nature and variety of different forms of abuse and be able to recognise the signs of abuse.  It is important that they know what steps to take to protect service users and other staff and how to cope with any incidents of abuse sensitively, but with speed and priority. 

Staff will be provided with information through induction, supervision and training.  Any methods used will be employed effectively and be relevant to staff. 

Managers can address any issues with the staff member at supervision and give them the opportunity to raise any concerns.  They should also identify individual staff training needs.

Professional Boundaries

During training, staff should be made aware of, and understand, their professional boundaries.   Professional boundaries are there to set limits to the worker - service user relationship and should establish a safe, supportive connection between the professional and the person seeking support.  If these boundaries are not respected then there is increased potential for abuse to occur.  Members of staff are required to clearly understand what the aims and objectives of the service are and how their role fits in with this.  It should be clear what the limit of their job is and what would constitute boundary crossing, e.g. meeting a service user outside working hours.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments are made on all service users and should be reviewed regularly.  These Assessments should identify situations where abuse could occur and indicate what actions need to be taken to reduce the risk.  If there are any individuals that are at risk of abuse this needs to be specifically addressed. To minimise the potential for abuse to occur, services need to manage the issues through a variety of approaches.

Recruitment of Staff

Recruitment should include procedures for checking that potential staff members are not or have not been perpetrators of abuse.  This will require Hayfield to check references and to obtain Enhanced Disclosure checks on all new staff

Once staff members are employed they will be given clear guidelines about their role and the boundaries of the service they offer.   This will be reinforced through regular supervision and training.

Lone Working

Hayfield recognises that in situations where a person works alone or has sole responsibility for an area of work there is a greater chance of abuse occurring.  Therefore Policies and Procedures for handling service users’ money, one-to-one sessions, lone working, etc., emphasise safe working practices to reduce the possibility of abuse.  Accurate record keeping, incident recording, staff supervision and regular procedure checks are used as methods of monitoring these situations. 

The Procedure

Reporting Abuse

• Procedures for reporting abuse are in line with the standard Complaints Procedure, which is available to all staff and service users. These define who should be informed in different situations and what form the initial report should take, e.g. verbal account to the line manager.  A ‘Whistle-Blowing’ policy is also in place to protect people who raise concerns from being victimised or unfairly treated. This includes disclosure to a non prescribed regulatory body in certain circumstances. 

• Any allegation or suspicion of abuse will be responded to seriously with immediate action taken.    

• It is recognised that the principal of Protection must have primacy above other obligations or principles.  If a service user or staff member is still in danger, then steps will be taken to make that person safe, including the provision of immediate medical assessment and treatment if required.

• Hayfield operates a 24 hours / day care service, so that staff should always have potential access to a manager or senior member of staff.  Similarly, residential service users should also have immediate access to care staff, whether within the residential or day care services.

• In the event of any incident of abuse or suspected abuse, the member of staff or service user should immediately report this to an appropriate person (manager, senior member of staff) who will then decide on the required level of intervention.  Depending on the nature and severity of the incident this could involve immediate medical examination and / or referral to police, social services or stand-by services. 

• At the earliest opportunity, details of the incident should be given to Referring Authority Social Service Department (bearing in mind that Hayfield is a UK wide resource), who will then be liable to be involved in any on-going investigation and care re-assessment.

• It will be the responsibility of the relevant manager (or, in their absence, the most senior member of staff) to co-ordinate any investigation of the actual or alleged abuse, and to involve any other appropriate agency, such as police, social services or medical staff, in this process.  It is acknowledged that there may be occasions in which the Referring Authority may wish to take over responsibility for further investigation.

• In the event of a member of staff, with concerns about abuse or suspected abuse, being unable to contact a manager or senior member of staff, they are required to take immediate steps to contact an appropriate out-side agency, such as police or social services, and explain their grounds for concern. 

• Similarly, if a member of staff is aware of any abuse or suspected abuse involving children or vulnerable adults who are not Hayfield service users, they are required to pass on the grounds of their concerns directly to police or social services. 

Recording and Investigating Incidents

All incidents of abuse (actual or suspected) should be recorded at the first available opportunity in writing, and should as a minimum include the details of the abuse, dates and time incidents occurred, who was involved and any corroborating evidence.

Investigations of actual or suspected abuse will be undertaken directly by the Residential or Day Care Managers and one other senior member of staff.  If necessary, the Director may also be involved in such investigations.  Priority will be given to ensuring that investigations begin at the earliest possible time following the reporting of any abuse.  The investigators will decide as soon as possible whether it is necessary to involve any external agencies, such as the police or local authority.

Following reporting and during the investigation of any abuse, Hayfield will give priority to the needs of the abused person, and, if necessary take steps to remove the potential Abuser.  Hayfield will also consider the needs of other staff and service users involved or affected by the incident, who may need support or counselling to deal with the whole process.

Once the investigation has been completed, steps will be taken to minimise the risks of similar incidents of abuse occurring again.  This may require the review of certain policies and procedures.

Support

Hayfield acknowledge that any abuse and / or subsequent investigation can be traumatic for all concerned. 

It is therefore recognised that there is a responsibility to ensure that there is adequate post-incident support and advice.  This may involve outside agencies and staff, including medical staff, counsellors, advocates, family members, etc.  Support will also be made available to staff who might also have been affected.

Evidencing the Standards

Hayfield services are regularly inspected by the Scottish Care Commission, who would be required to be informed of any incidents of abuse and the steps taken to investigate and deal with any situation that had arisen.

The type of evidence required during investigation and any subsequent assessment would mostly come from the day to day implementation of Hayfield’s policies and procedures. This may include logs of incidents and action taken, staff meeting notes, house meetings, induction plans and training records.  Records which contain personal information such as supervision notes, case notes and assessments may also be required, but only when consent has been given by the person to whom they relate.  

Staff and service users may be interviewed during inspection visits about their understanding of the policies and procedures and how things work in practice.