Safeguarding adults and children

We want everyone who uses our services to feel safe. Our effective systems and processes help keep children and adults safe from abuse and neglect.

We care about our patients and their families, and we’re committed to doing the right thing, regardless of legislation.

What is safeguarding?

It’s the right of every human being to live a life free from abuse and neglect. We all have a duty of care to protect adults and children from:

physical abuse
neglect
discrimination
sexual abuse
financial abuse
psychological abuse
organisational abuse
domestic abuse
modern slavery
self neglect.

We work in partnership with local partners and individual agencies so that we can safeguard and support our local population.

Our safeguarding systems and processes

They help protect everyone who uses our services from improper treatment or abuse. These systems and processes help our staff to care for people properly and to report allegations of abuse as soon as they become aware of them. This means we can investigate quickly and appropriately.

Robust governance arrangements help ensure that we fulfill our safeguarding responsibilities, and work effectively to safeguard patients under our care.

Employing appropriate staff

We help prevent unsuitable people from working with our patients, especially those who may be particularly vulnerable. We meet statutory requirements and ensure that all staff we employ meet the right level of checks with the national Disclosure and Barring Service before starting working with us.

Staff training and policy reviews

We review and update our safeguarding policies regularly and train our staff at the right level for their roles. We also make sure that staff fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities and have enough time, relevant support and training to carry out their jobs.

We make sure that staff competencies meet national guidance documents and evidence. We monitor training compliance and quality via our safeguarding, and quality and governance committees.

How we safeguard children

We follow up with families and carers who do not bring their children to appointments. This means we can make sure that their care and health are not affected in any way.

We work with the National Child Protection Information Sharing system to help us quickly identify children and families where there are known safeguarding concerns.

Our safeguarding team

The Trust’s Chief Executive accepts responsibility on behalf of the organisation for safeguarding. Our Chief Nurse is the executive lead for safeguarding and supports the Chief Executive.

We have named professionals who provide training and support to our staff. They raise any concerns to the Chief Executive or Chief Nurse or offer assurances where appropriate.

Policy documents

You can read more in our safeguarding policies which cover: