Safeguarding Adults at Risk
Policy Statement

This policy will enable ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE to demonstrate its commitment to keeping safe the adults at risk with whom it works alongside. ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE acknowledges its duty to act appropriately to any allegations, reports or suspicions of abuse.

It is important to have the policy and procedures in place so that staff, volunteers, service users, and management committee can work to prevent abuse and know what to do in the event of the abuse. This policy applies to all staff, including, management committee members, paid staff, volunteers, sessional workers, agency staff, students and anyone working or volunteering on behalf of ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE.

The policy and procedures have been drawn up in order to enable ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE to promote good practice and work in a way that can prevent harm, abuse and coercion occurring. We will ensure that any allegations of abuse or suspicions are dealt with appropriately and the person experiencing abuse is supported.

The characteristics of adult abuse can take a number of forms and cause adults at risk to suffer pain, fear and distress reaching well beyond the time of the actual incident(s). Adults at risk may be too afraid or embarrassed to raise any complaint. They may be reluctant to discuss their concerns with other people or unsure who to trust or approach with their worries. There may be some situations where the person is unaware that they are being abused or have difficulty in communicating this information to others.

An Adult at risk is defined as:-

An adult at risk, is a person aged over 18 who is or may be in need of community care services because of mental or other disability, age or illness, and who are, or may be unable to take care of themselves against harm or exploitation. 

It is acknowledged that significant numbers of adults at risk are abused and it is important that ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE has this policy and a set of procedures to follow to prevent abuse. 

In order to implement the policy, ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE will work:

• to promote the freedom and dignity of the person who has or is experiencing abuse.
• to promote the rights of all people to live free from abuse and coercion.
• to ensure the safety and well being of people who do not have the capacity to decide how they want to respond to abuse that they are experiencing.
• to manage services in a way which promotes safety and prevents abuse.
• recruit staff and volunteers safely, ensuring all necessary checks are made.
• provide effective management for staff and volunteers through supervision, support and training.
• will ensure that all management committee members, staff, volunteers, service users, and carers/families are familiar. with this policy and procedures.
• will work with other agencies within the framework of the Calderdale Safeguarding Adults Board Policy and Procedures.
• will act within it’s confidentiality policy and will usually gain permission from service users before sharing information about them with another agency, the person in danger could be the person making the disclosure or other adults at risk. 
• will inform service users that where a person is in danger, a child is at risk or a crime has been committed then a decision may be taken to pass information to another agency without the service user’s consent.
• will make a referral to the gateway to Care as appropriate.
• will endeavor to keep up to date with national developments relating to preventing abuse and welfare of adults.
• will ensure that the Designated Named Person understands his/her responsibility to refer incidents of adult abuse to the relevant statutory agencies (Police/Adult Social care).

Organisation name

Procedures

ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE provides a residential treatment service to offenders with substance misuse and mental health issues. These procedures have been designed to ensure the welfare and protection of any adult who accesses our service. The procedures recognised that adult abuse can be a difficult subject for workers to deal with. ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE is committed to the belief that the protection of adults at risk from harm and abuse is everybody’s responsibility and the aim of these procedures is to ensure that all managers, management committee members, staff and volunteers act appropriately in responding to any concerns.

1. Preventing abuse.

ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE is committed to putting in place safeguards and measures to reduce the likelihood of abuse taking place within the services it offers and that all those involved within SWAP will be treated with respect. 

ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE is committed to safer recruitment policies and practices for all paid staff, management committee and volunteers. This includes appropriate DBS (disclosure & barring) checks for all, ensuring references are taken up and adequate training on Safeguarding adults at risk is provided for staff and volunteers. 

Management committee members will be required to provide two references and where appropriate have a Disclosure & Barring Check. 

1. Recognising the signs and symptoms of abuse.

ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE is committed to ensuring that all staff, the management committee, trustees and volunteers undertake training to gain a basic awareness of signs and symptoms of abuse. ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE will ensure that the Designated Named Person and other members of staff, trustees and volunteers have access to training around Safeguarding Adults.

‘Abuse’

Abuse is mistreatment by any other person or persons that violates a person's human and civil rights. The abuse can vary, from treating someone with disrespect in a way that significantly affects the person's quality of life, to causing actual physical suffering.

Forms of abuse can include:

• Physical abuse such as: hitting, pushing, pinching, shaking, misuse of medication, scalding, inappropriate restraint, hair-pulling.
• Sexual abuse such as: rape or sexual assault; sexual acts to which the adult at risk has not or could not have consented, or to which they were pressurised into consenting or encouraging people to watch inappropriate materials. 
• Psychological or emotional abuse such as: threats of harm or abandonment; deprivation of social or any other form of contact; humiliation, blaming, controlling, intimidation, coercion, or harassment; verbal abuse; prevention from receiving services or support.
• Financial or material abuse such as: theft; fraud or exploitation; pressure in connection with wills, property, or inheritance; misuse of property, possessions or benefits.
• Neglect or acts of omission such as: ignoring medical or physical care needs; preventing access to health, social care, or educational services; withholding the necessities of life, such as food, drink, or heating.
• Discriminatory abuse such as that based upon a person's race, sexuality, or disability; any other forms of harassment or slurs.
• Domestic violence - all forms of abuse can be experienced in a family setting by a partner, family member, or with someone with whom there is a relationship. 
• Institutional abuse and poor practice - disrespect and unethical practice, ill treatment and professional misconduct.

People who behave abusively come from all backgrounds and walks of life. They may be doctors, nurses, social workers, advocates, staff members, volunteers or others in a position of trust. They may also be relatives, friends, neigbours or people who use the same services as the person experiencing abuse.

Protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010:

1. Age.
2. Disability.
3. Gender reassignment.
4. Marriage and civil partnership.
5. Pregnancy and maternity.
6. Race (includes colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins).
7. Religion or belief (including lack of belief).
8. Sex (male or female).
9. Sexual orientation.

These characteristics help identify where someone might be at increased risk of abuse, neglect, or discrimination. Our Safeguarding procedures ae sensitive to these factors to ensure vulnerable adults are protected appropriately and fairly.

1. Designated Named Person for safeguarding adults

ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE has appointed Yvonne Oliver, (supported by James Mazurke), who is responsible for dealing with any Safeguarding Adult concerns, she is the designated safeguarding lead and James Mazurke will deputize. In their absence, then management committee members, staff or volunteers should contact Gateway to Care directly on 01422 393000.

The roles and responsibilities of the named person(s) are:

• to ensure that all staff including volunteers and trustees are aware of what they should do and who they should go to if they have concerns that an adult at risk may be experiencing, or has experienced abuse or neglect.
• to ensure that concerns are acted on, clearly recorded and referred appropriately.  
• to follow up any referrals and ensure the issues have been addressed.
• to reinforce the utmost need for confidentiality and to ensure that staff and volunteers are adhering to good practice with regard to confidentiality and security. 
• to ensure that staff and volunteers working directly with service users who have experienced abuse, or who are experiencing abuse, are well supported and receive appropriate supervision.

1. Responding to people who have experienced or are experiencing abuse.

ALPHA HOUSE CALDERDALE recognised that it has a duty to act on reports, or suspicions of abuse or neglect. It also acknowledges that taking action in cases of adult abuse is never easy. 

How to respond if you receive an allegation:

• Reassure the person concerned.
• Listen to what they are saying.
• Record what you have been told/witnessed as soon as possible.
• Remain calm and do not show shock or disbelief.
• Tell them that the information will be treated seriously.
• Don’t start to investigate or ask detailed or probing questions.
• Don’t promise to keep it a secret.

If you witness abuse or abuse has just taken place the priorities will be:

• To call an ambulance if required.
• To call the police if a crime has been committed.
• To preserve evidence.
• To keep yourself, staff, volunteers and service users safe.
• To inform the Designated Named Person in your organisation.
• To record what happened in name of place/file/log where safeguarding adults concerns will be recorded.

All situations of abuse or alleged abuse will be discussed with the Designated Named Person. If a member of the management committee, staff member or volunteer feels unable to raise this concern with the Designated Named Person (or they are implicated in the abuse) then concerns can be raised directly with Gateway To Care Direct on 01422 393000. The alleged victim will be told that this will happen. This stage is called the alert.

If it is appropriate and there is consent from the individual, or there is a good reason to override consent, such as risk to others, a referral will be made to Gateway to Care.

If the individual experiencing abuse does not have capacity to consent a referral will be made without that person’s consent, in their best interests.

The Designated Named Person may take advice at the above stage from Gateway to Care and/or the Safeguarding Adults Team and/or other advice giving organisations such as Police.

1. Raising a Safeguarding Adults Alert.

All safeguarding adult concerns should be made by telephone to the Adult Social Care team via Gateway to Care Monday to Friday 9.00am till 5.00pm

Gateway To Care

Phone: 01422 393000

Available: Monday-Friday 9am-5pm

Safeguarding Adults Team

Phone: 01422 393804

Available: Monday – Friday 9am-5pm.

Please note that this is an advice service ONLY. All alerts should be raised with Gateway to Care Direct.

West Yorkshire Police

Safeguarding Unit 01422 337041

Hate & Mate crime and Domestic abuse are crimes, please seek advice from the Police Safeguarding team in the first instance then refer to Gateway to Care. 

PREVENT Team

Sadia Hussain – Prevent coordinator 07702 656834/Office Contact 01422 337266

In an emergency situation outside of these times please contact the Emergency Duty team on 01422.288000. You should ask to make a safeguarding adults alert.

Gateway to Care will then decide if the safeguarding process should be instigated or if other support/services are appropriate. Feedback will be given to the person who raised the safeguarding adults alert.

1. Managing allegations made against member of staff or volunteer

SWAP will ensure that any allegations made against members or member of staff will be dealt with swiftly. Where a member of staff/volunteer is thought to have committed a criminal offence the police will be informed. If a crime has been witnessed the police should be contacted immediately.

The safety of the individual(s) concerned is paramount. A risk assessment must be undertaken immediately to assess the level of risk to all service users posed by the person alleged to have caused harm.  This will include whether it is safe for them to continue in their role or any other role within the service whilst the investigation is undertaken.

The Designated Named Person will liaise with Gateway to Care Direct to discuss the best course of action and to ensure that the SWAP’s disciplinary procedures are coordinated with any other enquiries taking place as part of the ongoing management of the allegation.

SWAP has a Whistle Blowing policy and staff are aware of this policy. Staff will be supported to use this policy.

1. Recording and managing confidential information

SWAP is committed to maintaining confidentiality wherever possible and information around Safeguarding Adults issues should be shared only with those who need to know. For further information, please see SWAP confidentiality policy.

All allegations/concerns should be recorded in name of place/file/log where safeguarding adults concerns will be recorded. The information should be factual and not based on opinions, record what the person tells you, what you have seen and witnessed. 

The information that is recorded will be kept secure and will comply with the data protection act. This information will be secured in a locked filing cabinet in the Clinical Director’s Office. Access to this information will be restricted to the Designated Named Person and the Deputy.

1. Disseminating/Reviewing policy and procedures

This Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedure will be clearly communicated to staff, trustees, volunteers& service users.  The Designated Named Person will be responsible for ensuring that this is done.

The Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures will be reviewed annually by the Management Committee. The Designated Named Person for Safeguarding Adults will be involved in this process and can recommend any changes. The Designated Named Person will also ensure that any changes are clearly communicated to staff, management committee and volunteers. It may be appropriate to involve service users in the review and service users will need to be informed of any significant changes

LINKED AGENDAS as defined in the Safeguarding Adults Multi Agency Policies & Procedures for West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire & York

Domestic violence and abuse

Examples of domestic violence include psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional 

Abuse; as well as so called ‘honour’ based violence, forced marriage and female genital 

mutilation. Many people think that domestic abuse is about intimate partners

, or abuse of women by men, but it may also be caused by wider family members, and committed by women towards men and in same sex relationships, as made clear in the Home 

Office definition:

“An incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, 

violence or abuse... by someone who is or has been an intimate partner or family member 

regardless of gender or sexuality”

Forced marriage

Forced marriage is against the law and occurs when, one or both spouses do not consent to a marriage and some element of duress is involved. Duress might include both physical and/or emotional/psychological pressure. Forced marriage is recognised as an abuse against human rights and will also constitute abuse within the context of this Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedure if the person is also an adult at risk.

Honour-based violence

So-called 'honour-based violence’ is a crime or incident, which has or may have been, committed to protect or defend the perceived honour of the family and/or community. 

Honour-based violence can take many forms, it is used to control behaviour within families to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. Examples may 

include murder, fear of or actual forced marriage, domestic violence, sexual abuse, false imprisonment, threats to kill, assault, harassment and forced abortion. This list is not exhaustive. Women are predominantly (but not exclusively) the victims and the violence is often committed with a degree of collusion from family members and/or the community. 

Honour-based violence is a crime and should be reported to the police. If the person has needs for care and support, and is unable to protect themselves as a result, a safeguarding concern should be raised.

Modern slavery

Modern Slavery can take many forms including the trafficking of people, forced labour, servitude and slavery. Any consent victims have given to their treatment will be irrelevant where they have been coerced, deceived or provided with payment or benefit to achieve that consent. The term ‘modern slavery’ captures a whole range of types of exploitation, many of which occur together. 

These include but are not limited to: 

• Sexual exploitation: This includes but is not limited to sexual exploitation and abuse, forced prostitution and the abuse of children for the production of child abuse images/videos. Whilst women and children make up the majority of victims, men can also be affected. Adults are coerced often under the threat of force, or other penalty. 
• Domestic servitude: This involves a victim being forced to work, usually in private households, performing domestic chores and child care duties. Their freedom may be restricted and they may work long hours often for little pay or not pay, often sleeping where they work. 
• Forced labour: Victims may be forced to work long hours for little or no pay in poor conditions under verbal or physical threats of violence to them or their families. It can happen in various industries, including construction, manufacturing, laying driveways, hospitality, food packaging, agriculture, maritime and beauty (nail bars). 
• Criminal exploitation: This is the exploitation of a person to commit a crime, such a pick pocketing, shop-lifting, cannabis cultivation, drug trafficking and other similar activities 
• Other forms of exploitation may include organ removal, forced begging, forced benefit fraud, forced marriage and illegal adoption. 

Prevent agenda: exploitation by radicalisers who promote violence

The Government’s counter-terrorism strategy as defined in the Counter Terrorism and Security Bill 2015 known as CONTEST. Prevent is an element of this strategy. Prevent focuses on working with vulnerable individuals who may be at risk of being exploited by radicalisers and subsequently drawn into terrorist-related activity. Violent extremists may target vulnerable people and use charisma and persuasive rationale to attract people to their cause. 

The Prevent strategy: 

• responds to ideological challenge faced from terrorism and aspects of extremism, and the threat faced from those who promote these views 
• provides practical help to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure they are given appropriate advice and support 
• works with a wide range of sectors (including education, criminal justice, faith, charities, online and health) where there are risks of radicalisation that need to be addressed.

Channel is a key element of the Prevent strategy. It is a multi-agency approach to protect people at risk from radicalisation. Channel uses existing collaboration between local authorities, statutory partners (such as the education and health sectors, social services, children’s and youth services and offender management services, the police) and the local community to identify individuals at risk of being drawn into terrorism; to assess the nature and extent of that risk; and to develop the most appropriate support plan for the individuals concerned. 

Channel is about safeguarding children and adults from being drawn into committing terrorist-related activity. It is about early intervention to protect and divert people away from the risk they face before illegality occurs. Incidents of exploitation by radicalisers who promote extreme ideas that could lead to violence should be reported to the police. If the person has needs for care and support, and is unable to protect themselves as a result, a safeguarding adults concern should also be raised.

Hate crime 

Hate crime is taken to mean any crime where the perpetrator’s prejudice against any identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised.

Hate crime is a form of discriminatory abuse. Hate crimes happen because of hostility, prejudice or hatred of people due to: 

• disability 
• gender identity 
• race, ethnicity or nationality 
• religion or belief 
• sexual orientation 

It should be noted that this definition is based on the perception of the victim or anyone else and is not reliant on evidence. Apart from individually charged offences under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, local crime reduction partnerships can prioritise action where there is persistent anti-social behaviour that amounts to hate crime where appropriate.

The police and other organisations work together to ensure a robust, coordinated and timely response to situations where adults at risk become a target for hate crime. Coordinated action will aim to ensure that victims are offered support and protection and action is taken to identify and prosecute those responsible. 

Hate crime should be reported to the local community safety initiative. If the person has needs for care and support, and is unable to protect themselves as a result, a safeguarding concern should also be raised. In the event that a person is at immediate risk, contact the police.

Specialist Contacts:

The Forced Marriage Unit website provides a wealth of information and guidance www.fco.gov.uk/forcedmarriage, together with a helpline: 020 7008 0151

Modern Slavery Helpline: 0800 0121 700 www.modernslavery.co.uk/who.html

Karma Nirvana is a UK registered charity that supports victims and survivors of Forced Marriage and Honour Based Abuse. 0800 5999247 www.karmanirvana.org.uk

Hate & Mate Crime and Domestic Abuse

Contact West Yorkshire Police Safeguarding Unit 01422 337041

Please seek advice from the Police Safeguarding team in the first instance then refer to Gateway to Care. 01422 939000

PREVENT Team Calderdale 

Sadia Hussain – Prevent coordinator 07702 656834/Office Contact 01422 337266

Produced by Voluntary Action Calderdale. We gratefully acknowledge support from the Multi Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy & Procedures for West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire & York as well as Newcastle Safeguarding Board in producing this policy. VA-C is an Infrastructure Support Organisation providing development support to the voluntary and community sector and the Volunteer Centre for the Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire VA-C is a company limited by guarantee registered in England No. 4115234 and registered charity no. 1087518