Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and the experience of abuse or neglect. It involves ensuring the adult’s wellbeing is promoted and their wishes and feelings are included in any actions being taken.

Safeguarding adults is now a statutory requirement following the introduction of the Care Act 2014; it applies to an adult who:

‘Has care and support needs, is experiencing, or at risk of abuse or neglect, 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.’

Along with the 4 categories of abuse that apply to Children, Adults also have additional categories;

  • Domestic abuse.
  • Financial or Material abuse.
  • Modern Slavery
  • Discriminatory abuse
  • Organisational abuse 
  • Self-neglect

We have a safeguarding lead for adults and a learning disability lead working in the safeguarding team, helping staff in dealing with difficult, complex situations, including Mental Capacity Act, (2005), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (2005) Mental Health Act (1983).

We deal with cases of safeguarding relating to the above categories and ensuring that staff are focusing on Making Safeguarding Personal. We deliver training on the essential programme and as required on the wards.

We work closely with agencies both internally and externally, social care, CCG’s, voluntary sector; attending meetings and liaising with family and advocates.

There are policies and procedures in relation to adult safeguarding and these can be found on Derbyshire Safeguarding Adult Board website.  Information for CRH professionals on how to make safeguarding referral is available on the staff intranet page (refer to Safeguarding Adults Policy).  More information can be found on our Safeguarding Adults patient information leaflet. 

For more information regarding Financial abuse, please visit the Safer Derbyshire website.  

Chesterfield Royal Hospital is working with other organisations across Derby and Derbyshire as part of the Derbyshire Safeguarding Adults Board. For more information, please visit their website.