Portsmouth recently held an awareness week dedicated to safeguarding vulnerable adults and improve the understanding of what is involved with this particular area of care.
Safeguarding adults has been in the news recently with the introduction of the Care Certificate, which aims to improve the level of recruitment and training for those working in the social care sector.
It will work alongside the Care Act 2014, which came into force last year, with the aim of revising the adult safeguarding process to improve the level of protection for vulnerable adults. Local authorities across the country have a responsibility to these groups and must make provisions to ensure they receive the right level of support for their needs, including consulting with relevant organisations when needed, setting up boards to help create safeguarding strategies and ensuring vulnerable adults have suitable representatives to assist them when needed.
Local hospitals, police and other organisations in the Portsmouth set up a safeguarding week to educate the public on what safeguarding adults involves, spotting signs of abuse and what help is available if someone thinks a vulnerable adult might be at risk. Staff at local hospitals received training to help spot the signs of potential abuse.
The director of adult social care at Portsmouth City Council, Rob Watt, said the week would “help people understand and appreciate what safeguarding is all about and how to report any concerns.[…]People understand some safeguarding issues such as physical abuse, but we also want to raise awareness of wider issues.”
Mr Watt said these other issues “could be financial abuse, emotional, harassment and bullying or neglect.[…]Neglect could even be unintentional but happens because a carer is overwhelmed.”
Training providers can help arrange suitable courses for individuals working with vulnerable adults. Online training enables learners to work at a time and place that suits them, helping to juggle work and family commitments.
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