An adult at risk of abuse or neglect is:
- someone who needs care and support (whether or not we are meeting any of those needs)
- someone unable to protect themselves from either the risk of or the experience of abuse or neglect
We have zero tolerance to all forms of abuse. We always respond promptly when we are made aware of suspected abuse.
Safeguarding adults means working together to stop abuse and prevent it from happening in the future. Everyone has a right to live a life free from abuse and neglect.
We will not accept any form of abuse. We always respond quickly when we are made aware of allegations.
You can contact us to speak to a specialist advisor if you or someone you know is experiencing or is at risk of abuse or neglect.
If you or the person you are concerned about is in danger and immediate action is required, call the emergency services on 999.
Complete the form according to the Joint Multi-Agency Safeguarding Adults Policy and Procedures (West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and the City of York) which can be found on the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board website.
Completing this form must not delay immediate action being taken to ensure the safety of the person you are concerned about.
If you have any problems, please contact us. Outside of office hours please contact the emergency duty team.
If you have concerns about standards of care or poor practice in a care home you can discuss this with the Care Quality Commission.
The PERSON approach to professional visits form is intended as a prompt for professionals visiting residential settings. This aids teams in what to look out for in terms of the quality of care, which might not be related directly to the task at hand and encourages professionals to be reminded where opportunities may exist to challenge or celebrate the quality of care. Where quality related issues are identified, visiting professionals are encouraged to discuss these in the first instance with the responsible person for the service, home manager or deputy and complete the PERSON form. However, where appropriate, discuss within their team and raise a safeguarding concern if it is appropriate.
An adult at risk of abuse or neglect is:
Abuse can include:
Abuse can be:
Abuse can happen anywhere, at any time. It can happen in:
Abuse can be carried out by anyone, including:
It can also be done by more than one person.
There are many signs of abuse. This includes when someone:
After you have reported abuse, people will:
We work in partnership with a range of organisations including health services, police and voluntary agencies, to safeguard adults from abuse and neglect.
We undertake a range of social care functions which include:
Needs assessments are for adults (18 years or over) who may need support because of a disability, ill health or old age. You can request a needs assessment form by visiting our request involvement from adult social care page.
If you are a professional and you would like to request involvement from adult social care and not a safeguarding concern, please see the request involvement from adult social care page.
Providers carrying out a regulated service / activity or non-regulated activity such as, day support service, are required to notify the Quality and Market Improvement Team (North Yorkshire Council) by completing a risk notification return.
You can get a risk notification return form from our tools, procedures and guidelines for adult social care service providers page.
Please complete the risk notification and return it to us. Contact us for details.
It is important everyone has the information they need to be safe and feel safe. It is also a legal requirement under the Accessible Information Standard that people with a disability have information they can understand.
That is why the safeguarding adults board worked with the North Yorkshire learning disability partnership board and Inclusion North to write some easy read books about keeping safe.
Self-advocates with a learning disability helped us think about the important issues people need to know to stay safe. Working with Inclusion North and KeyRing, self-advocates decided on the best words and images to help people understand what to do. Together we have made three Keeping Safe books.
The board works to protect adults who may be at risk from abuse and promotes co-operation and effective working practices between different agencies.
See the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Adults Board website for more information.