Explain the roles of different agencies in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse

Different agencies must work in partnership to protect individuals from abuse and neglect – this is so important that the government embedded the principle of partnership into legislation (the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Care Act 2014). Agencies include:

Safeguarding Adults Boards (SABs)

Each local authority has the responsibility of establishing a SAB in their area. Each SAB must have a representative from the local authority, the Police (the chief officer) and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), however, there may be other members.

The role of the SAB is to lead adult safeguarding across their locality and they must publish a strategic and annual report. They must also commission Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARS) for serious cases of abuse or neglect and ensure that agencies work in partnership together.

Social Services

Social services must investigate any concerns that they receive relating to the safeguarding of vulnerable individuals. They also have the power to implement interventions that can be used to protect individuals. Social Services are usually split into an adult team and a children’s team.

Health and Social Care Organisations

All organisations that provide health or social care services must have agreed ways of working in place to protect the individuals that receive these services from abuse and neglect. This can include the safeguarding policy, whistleblowing policy, care plans and risk assessments.

Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission governs and regulates health and social care services and will monitor and inspect services to ensure that they are protecting individuals from abuse and neglect.

The Police

The role of the police is to respond to and investigate allegations of abuse. They can also help to raise awareness of abuse.

Accompanying Video

Video transcript

Hi,

My name is Daniel Dutton and I run the website dsdweb.co.uk which provides free help, guidance and support for people that are studying for care qualifications.

In this video, we will be exploring the roles of different agencies in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse. This is an assessment criterion for the Level 2 and Level 3 Diplomas in Adult Care.

But before I continue, I’d be very grateful if you could click on the thumbs-up button to Like this video and subscribe to my channel. This helps the video to be more visible on Youtube so that it can be easily found by other students.

Before we look at specific organisations and agencies, it is important to understand that all agencies must work together in relation to safeguarding and protection. There have been cases in the past where a failure to share information between agencies has allowed abuse to continue, where it could have been stopped sooner. Government policy puts a lot of emphasis on partnership or integrated working.

Part of the Care Act 2014 called for the creation of Safeguarding Adult Boards or SABs. Each region will have its own SAB and it is responsible for leading and overseeing safeguarding within its jurisdiction. The local authority is responsible for setting up the SAB and it will have representatives from the police and local Clinical Commissioning Groups. There may also be representatives from other groups. The core duties of the SAB are to develop and publish a strategic plan and annual report as well as commission Safeguarding Adult Reviews, previously known as Serious Case Reviews. Safeguarding Adult Reviews are investigations into serious cases of abuse or neglect so that lessons can be learned for the future.

As seen in the previous slide, local authorities are responsible for setting up Safeguarding Adult Boards. They also have a statutory obligation to safeguard and protect the welfare of vulnerable adults and children. They do this by looking into safeguarding concerns and coordinating safeguarding operations in their region. They will also assess the needs of vulnerable individuals and their carers and can commission or signpost individuals to appropriate services.

The role of the Care Quality Commission, or CQC, is to monitor, inspect and regulate health and social care organisations. This includes ensuring that safeguarding policies and procedures are in place and that staff are sufficiently trained. It also involves working with providers when systems are not up to standard and reporting any safeguarding concerns they come across.

The police are responsible for responding to and investigating allegations and disclosures of abuse and initiating criminal proceedings, where applicable.

Health and social care providers must have policies and procedures in place for the safeguarding and protection of the individuals that they are providing services to. Also, staff should be sufficiently trained and understand their duties in relation to reporting concerns of abuse and neglect.

Other agencies include:

* MASH teams – MASH stands for Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and these groups are responsible for keeping children and young people safe within their local area. They usually have representatives from the local authority, police, youth offending, probation, the NHS, fire service and ambulance service
* Voluntary organisations can provide free information, advice and support
* Like care organisations, schools and colleges must have systems and processes in place to protect and safeguard the children and young people in their care
* And, like CQC, OFSTED monitors and inspects educational institutions, such as schools and colleges

Thank you for watching and I hope you’ve found this video useful.

Further information about this topic can be found in the link in the description.

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