Safeguarding adults means ensuring an adult’s right to live in security, free from abuse and negligence. It means preventing harm, and reducing the risk of abuse to those with care and support needs. Everybody has a right to live a life free from harm or the risk of harm, regardless of who they are.
But, sadly, some people are at a higher risk of neglect and abuse because they have an illness, a disability, a mental health condition, they struggle with substance abuse, or they have care and support needs that make them more vulnerable.
This adult safeguarding e-Learning course has been designed for those at any level of work whose role may bring them into contact with vulnerable adults. The knowledge and awareness attained from this course can help them identify signs of abuse and report them correctly.
Failures to suitably protect vulnerable individuals are more common than many of us realise. There were nearly 475,560 concerns of abuse raised in 2019-20, in England alone. This marked an increase of 14.6% on the previous year, as per National Health Service (NHS) report. The most common type of risk inquiry was Neglect and Acts of Omission or ignoring someone’s needs, which accounted for 31.8%.
Safeguarding adults’ legislation sets out a clear legal framework for safeguarding adults from the risk of abuse and neglect to stop it quickly when it happens. Employers also have a legal duty to protect their businesses and staff from such harm and identify those in need of care and support.
The Care Act 2014 requires responsible persons to protect adult’s right to live in safety. It emphasises people and organisations to work together to minimise this experience at work. Section 42 of the Care Acts requires local authorities to make inquiries in the case when an adult is experiencing negligence or risk of abuse.
The Human Rights Act 1998 requires public organisations to treat everyone equally with fairness, dignity, and respect. Similarly, the Equality Act 2010 gives specific guidelines to protect people against discrimination, harassment, and victimisation in employment.
