No Secrets

What’s new?
The Safeguarding Adults Multi Agency Policy and
Procedure for West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire
The five West Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults
Boards (SABs) have had a joint adult safeguarding
policy and procedure since October 2013. The
North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board has
now also adopted the policy /procedures, which
have been updated to take into account some
changes required by the Care Act 2014
What are the changes?
The key areas to note are:
Wellbeing duty
The overall wellbeing duty for councils includes
protection from abuse and neglect.
There are some changes in terminology
• Alerts become concerns
• Referrals become initial enquiries.
• You may hear the term ‘formal section 42
enquiry’. This refers to a new duty to make
enquiries.
New duty to make enquiries
The local authority has a responsibility to ensure
enquiries are made where safeguarding criteria
below are met:
• if a person has care and support needs and
• is experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect
and...
• as a result of care and support needs, is unable
to protect themselves from abuse, neglect or
the risk of it.
These criteria are becoming known as the
Section 42 criteria.
An enquiry is the action taken or instigated by
the local authority in response to a concern that
abuse or neglect may be taking place.
Any enquiry should establish whether any action
needs to be taken to prevent or stop abuse and
neglect and by whom. It could range from a
conversation with the adult, risk management
action right through to a much more formal
multi-agency course of action, involving
strategy, enquiry and case conference.
Once enquiries are completed, the local
authority should then determine with the adult
what, if any, further action is necessary and
acceptable.
Great emphasis on outcomes
The new policy gives even higher priority
than before to the key messages of Making
Safeguarding Personal, about how we might
respond in safeguarding situations in a way that
improves involvement, choice and control as
well as improving quality of life, wellbeing and
safety.
Types of abuse include:
Physical - including assault, hitting, pushing,
misuse of medication, restraint
Sexual - including rape, indecent exposure,
sexual harassment, inappropriate looking or
touching, sexual teasing or innuendo
Psychological - including threats of harm
or abandonment, deprivation of contact,
humiliation, blaming, controlling
Neglect - including ignoring medical, emotional
or physical care needs
Discrimination - including forms of harassment
because of race, gender and gender identity,
age, disability, sexual orientation or religion.
Organisational – (formerly institutional)
including neglect and poor care practice as a
result of the structure, policies, processes and
practices within an organisation.
Financial - including theft, fraud, and
misappropriation of property, possessions or
benefits.
continues over
NEWS
NEWS
FLASH
FLASH
Making safeguarding personal - ”check out what’s being said”
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