Safeguarding Adults process

Safeguarding duties apply to an adult who:

• has needs for care and support and;
• is experiencing, or is 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

Abuse or neglect includes:

• physical abuse
• psychological abuse
• domestic violence
• sexual abuse
• financial and material abuse
• modern slavery
• discriminatory abuse
• neglect or acts of omission
• organisational abuse
• self-neglect

Safeguarding should be person led and outcome focused, led by the adult at risk.

Adults should be offered an advocate where they have substantial difficulty in being involved.

The 6 principles of safeguarding should be applied throughout all stages of the process:

1. prevention
2. protection
3. proportionality
4. partnership
5. empowerment
6. accountability

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is a key consideration in all safeguarding work, and all principles of MCA should be applied across all stages of the safeguarding process.

Safeguarding Adults key stages

The Safeguarding Adults process in York is set out in more detail in our Joint Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Procedures, but the key stages are:

Reporting a safeguarding concern

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility.

Anyone who becomes aware of concerns of abuse or neglect must report those concerns to their relevant manager or safeguarding lead identified in their agency procedures. 

Where an adult at risk may be in immediate danger, actions should be taken to protect them, such as contacting the police on 999 or 101 as appropriate. 

Record any actions taken to reduce risk, the wishes and desired outcomes of the adult at risk, and any issues regarding the adult’s consent and mental capacity.

Safeguarding concerns should be reported to the Local Authority when there is a reasonable belief that:

• the adult has need for care and support (regardless of whether these have been assessed or are being met by the Local Authority
• they are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect

Safeguarding concerns should be reported to Adult Social Care within 24 hours of identification, using the online raise a concern form.

For further information on completing a referral see our Making a ‘good’ safeguarding Adults referral guidance.

If you're not sure whether you should report a safeguarding concern, you should seek advice from your manager/safeguarding lead. You can also contact Adult Social Care for advice.

Key stages

Responding to the concern, information gathering

The local authority must make enquiries, or require another agency to do so, whenever abuse or neglect is known or suspected, in relation to an adult with care and support needs.

Safeguarding Triage

Upon receiving a referral, Adult Social Care will gather and triage information from the referrer, multi-agency partners, the adult concerned, and relevant records.

As much information as possible will be gathered to consider if there is reasonable cause to suspect:

• the adult has need for care and support (regardless of whether these have been assessed or are being met by the Local Authority, and;
• they are experiencing, or are at risk of experiencing abuse or neglect, and;
• as a result of those needs is unable to protect himself or herself against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it

[Section 42, Care Act 2014].

This will include:

• any immediate actions required to mitigate risk (to adults and/or children)
• gaining consent, and establishing the views and desired outcomes of the adult at risk
• where required, a consideration of mental capacity, best interests, and public interest duties
• considering the provision of advocacy to ensure the process is person-led

Safeguarding decision

Adult Social Care will decide within 24 hours if a Section 42 Enquiry is required and establish an initial safeguarding plan if required.

The potential outcomes of the Safeguarding triage stage are:

• safeguarding enquiry not required, no further action required, or signposting/advice given (such as Care Act/carer assessment, referral to other agencies)
• safeguarding enquiry to be recorded and progressed
• safeguarding enquiry criteria not met, but it is necessary to undertake and record ‘other’ enquiry
• Section 42 Enquiry criteria met; however, this relates to low level harm and risks are addressed.  No further action required; Safeguarding enquiry recorded

The referrer should be informed of the outcome of the decision to progress and enquiry or not.

Key stages

Safeguarding response

The Local Authority must make (or cause others to make) whatever enquiries it deems necessary to enable it to decide whether any action should be taken, and if so what and by whom.

An enquiry plan should be established at the Safeguarding triage stage, or within 5 days of commencing a Section 42 enquiry. The purpose of this plan is to establish the lines of enquiry and identify who will lead this.  This step can be completed either in the form of a meeting (in person or virtually) or by telephone contact, depending upon the circumstances and urgency.

An enquiry is any action taken or instigated by the local authority in response to a concern about abuse or neglect. This could be anything from a single conversation through to a formal multi-agency investigation and anything in between. This should be undertaken within 20 days.

The enquiry should establish the facts, establish the adult’s views and wishes, assess the level of risk, and make decisions regarding any follow up actions, investigation or assessment.

A multi-agency safeguarding plan should be formulated to assess risk, address any immediate protection needs and agree a plan for any further investigation or assessment. This should be agreed with the adult (and/or their representative).

Enquiry actions should:

• be appropriate and proportionate to the level of risk, nature of concerns raised and needs of the adult, and;
• have regard for the views and wishes of the adult, and any outcomes they wish to achieve from the safeguarding process, and;
• never place the adult (or a child or other vulnerable adult) at greater risk of harm occurring

Entrusted enquiries

Where appropriate to do so, other organisations may be asked to undertake their own investigation or ‘entrusted enquiry’.  The outcome of this is scrutinised by the Safeguarding Adults team, who will determine if the enquiry has been completed to a satisfactory standard, and if appropriate action has been undertaken to address any risks.

Safeguarding plan

The safeguarding plan should set out what actions are required to ensure the future safety of the adult at risk.  The plan should be person centred and outcome focused, and outline the roles and responsibilities of agencies involved, and arrangements for monitoring and reviewing the plan.

Key stages

Outcomes and Closure, including Plan and Review

A Safeguarding enquiry can be closed at any stage. Closure records must be completed, they should also note the reason for ending the safeguarding process, and the views of the adult at risk.

Once all necessary enquiries have been made appropriate arrangements will be made to review the findings and determine whether the objectives have been met. This should take place in a manner that is appropriate and proportionate to the presenting circumstances and nature of the enquiries undertaken.

Outcomes Reviews should be held regularly to check if the agreed actions in the Safeguarding Plan have taken place and whether any further action is needed. The frequency of the review should be decided based on the situation and level of risk, 4 to 12 weeks. Reviews should always take place where there is ongoing risk of harm.

Regardless of the stage in which the safeguarding enquiry is to be closed, there should always be follow up discussions with the adult at risk (or their representative) to evaluate the degree to which their desired outcomes have been met, and whether the safeguarding response has made them feel safer.

The closure process should establish how far the adult’s outcomes/aims and wishes have been achieved and demonstrate how any remaining risks have been reduced.

Key stages