What is Safeguarding

What is ‘Safeguarding’ and ‘Abuse’?

Safeguarding is about making people aware of their rights, protecting them and preventing abuse. Abuse is any action that harms another person.

Abuse of adults with care and support needs is where someone in a position of trust hurts, harms or causes someone distress. Abuse is unacceptable; everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect and to live free of abuse or mistreatment, whether they live on their own, live with others, live in a care/nursing care home, attend a day centre or are in hospital.

The Care Act 2014 places a duty on local authorities to look into adult safeguarding concerns in relation to an adult who;
has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs) and;

is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect, and

as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or the experience of abuse or neglect.