Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 71 Unit 5: Principles of Safeguarding and Protection in Health and Social Care Unit code: HSC 024 Unit reference number: A/601/8574 QCF level: 2 Credit value: 3 Guided learning hours: 26 Unit summary This unit is aimed at those working in a wide range of settings. This unit introduces the important area of safeguarding individuals from abuse. It identifies different types of abuse an d the signs and symptoms that might indicate abuse is occurring.
It considers when individuals might be particularly vulnerable to abuse and what a learner must do if abuse is suspected or alleged. This is a mandatory unit in both the Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England (QCF) and the Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland (QCF). Assessment requirements This unit must be assessed in accordance with Skills for Care and Development’s QCF Assessment Principles.
Assessment methodology Learners can enter the types of evidence they are presenting for assessment and the submission date against each assessment criterion. Alternatively, centre documentation should be used to record this information.Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 72 Content 1 Know how to recognise signs of abuse Types of abuse : physical abuse eg hitting, shaking, biting, throwing, burning or scalding, suffocating, force-feeding or otherwise causing physical harm to an individual; sexual abuse eg forcing an individual to take part in sexual activities or behave in sexually inappropriate ways, penetrative acts including rape or buggery and non-penetrative acts, eg watching sexual activities, including viewing inappropriate sexual activity on the internet; emotional abuse eg bullying, invoking threats or fear, devaluing individual self-esteem, verbal abuse and swearing, imposing inappropriate expectations, convey ing feelings of worthlessness, exploitation; financial abuse eg theft of money or property, misappropriation or mismanagement of individuals’ finances, denying individuals access to their own financ es, particularly with the elderly or individuals with learning difficulties; institutional abuse eg misuse of authority, information or power over vulnerable individuals by staff in health and social care settings, failure to maintain professional boundaries, inappropriate use of medication, physical restraint, humiliation or bullying, denying privacy; self-neglect eg individuals engaging in neglectful or self-harming behaviours including refusing to eat or drink, neglecting personal hy giene or toilet needs, causing actual bodily harm to self including cutting; neglect by others eg not caring for the basic needs of individuals includin g neglectful practice in washing, toileting, feeding or personal care Signs and symptoms of abuse : physical abuse eg bruising, bite marks, burn marks, changes in behaviour, ca n lead to death in extreme cases; sexual abuse eg disturbed behaviour including self-harm, inappropriate sexualised behaviour, repeated urinary infections, depression, loss of self-esteem, impaired ability to form relationships; emotional abuse eg loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, withdrawn; financial abuse eg loss of trust, insecurity, fearful, withdrawn, conforming or submissive behaviour, disappearance of possessions, Power of Attorney obtained when individual is unable to comprehend; institutional abuse eg loss of self-esteem and confidence, submissive behaviour, loss of control; self-neglect or neglect by others eg unkempt appearance, weight loss, dehydration, signs of actual self-harm including cuts, withdrawn or submissive behaviour Factors contributing to vulnerability : the individual’s age eg elderly, young children; physical ability eg frail, immature development, physical disability or sensory impairment; cognitive ability eg maturity, level of education and intellectual understanding , learning difficulties; emotional resilience eg mental health difficulties , depression; stress eg impact of stressful life events including bereav ement, divorce, illness or injury; culture or religion eg as a result of prejudice or discrimination, refugees and asylum-seekers; socio-economic factors eg financial situation; a setting or situationPearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 73 2 Know how to respond to suspected or alleged abuse Actions to take regarding suspicions or allegations of abuse : including actions to take if the allegation or suspicion implicates any individual, someone in the individual’s personal network, the learner, the learner’s line manager, a colleague, self or others; understanding roles and responsibilities; importance of following legislation, policies, procedures and agreed ways of working; basic information includes who the alleged victim is, who the alleged abuser is, categories of abuse which could be happening, when abuse has happened, where abuse has happened; importance of treating all allegation s or suspicions seriously; lines of communication and reporting; report ing suspicions or allegations to appropriate/named person; importance of clear verbal and accurate written reports; importance of not asking leading questions with individuals concerned; importance of respectful listening; confidentiality and agreed procedures for sharing information on disclosure; importance of actual evidence and avoiding hearsay Ensure evidence is preserved: use of written reports including details of alleged/suspected abuse, signed, dated and witnessed; use of witness statements (signed and dated); photographic evidence eg of physical injuries; agreed procedures for using electronic records eg password-protected systems; confidential systems for manual records eg security systems, access to evidence records; importance of timescales to ensure reliability and validity of evidence; secure storage of any actual evidence eg financial records 3 Understand the national and local context of safeguarding and protection from abuse National policies and local systems : national policies including the scope of responsibility of the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA); the national Vetting and Barring Scheme (VBS); Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) checks; ‘No Secrets’ national framework and codes of practice for health and social care (2000); ‘S afeguarding Adults’ national policy review (2009); work of the Care Qu ality Commission; ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (2006); ‘Every Child Matters’ (2003); Common Assessment Framework (CAF); local systems including employer/organisational policies and procedures and multi-agency adult protection arrangements for a locality, the scope of responsibility of Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards (LSCBs), Local Safeguarding Adults Boards (LSABs) and protection committees; Local Area Agreements (LAAs)Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 74 Role of different agencies: importance of multi-agency and interagency working; social services eg social workers, care assistants, residential children’s home workers; health services eg GPs, nurses, occupational therapists, health visitors; voluntary services eg MIND, NSPCC, Age UK; the police; responsibilities for allocating a named person usually from statutory agencies in health or social care; responsibilities for overseeing the Safeguarding Assessment and its outcome; consulting the police regarding all safeguarding incidents; convening or chairing strategy meetings, including the agreement of responsibilities, (lead professional); actions and timescales; coordinating and monitoring investigations; overseeing the convening of Safeguarding Case Conferences; providing information about activities and outcomes to the Safeguarding Coordinator Reports on serious failures: serious case reviews on the abuse of children, young people and vulnerable adults, including eg the Laming report into the death of Victoria Climbie (2000); Haringey Council report on the death of Baby Peter (2007); Bedfordshire Council report into the torture and death of Michael Gilbert (Blue Lagoon murder, 2009); Birmingham social services review into the starvation and death of Khyra Ishaq (2010) Sources of information and advice about own role: current and relevant sources of information from websites, leaflets, organisations, local and voluntary groups including government sources eg DfE, DoH; voluntary organisations eg NSPCC, Barnardos, The Ann Craft Trust; publications eg ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ (2006), ‘What to do if you suspect a child is being abused’ (2003); National Council for Voluntary Youth Services ‘ Keeping it Safe: a young person-centred approach to safety and child protection’; information from the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA); Social Care Institute for Excellence; policies, procedures and agreed ways of working within the workplace setting 4 Understand ways to reduce the likelihood of abuse Person-centred values : individuality; rights; choice; privacy; independence; dignity, respect; partnership Working with person-centred values : decreasing the likelihood of abuse by working in a person-centred way; th e key values of privacy, dignity, independence, choice, rights and fulfilment; decreasing vulnerability by increasing confidence; importance of empowerment, independence and autonomy; involving individuals in making their own decisions and choices; respectful communication; acti ve listening; main principles that all adults have the right to live their lives free from violence, fear and abuse, the right to be protected from harm and exploitation, the right to independence and the right to justice Active participation : recognising an individual’s right to participate in the activities and relationships of everyday life as independently as possible; individual is active partner in own care or support rather than passive recipient.Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 75 Encouraging active participation : decreasing the likelihood of abuse by encouraging active participation eg in activities an d personal care; decreasing vulnerability by improving self-confidence and self esteem; encouraging involvement and self-awareness; Promoting choices and rights : decreasing the likelihood of abuse through promoting individual choices and decision-making; decreasing vulnerability by promoting empowerment and independence; importance of informed consent Accessible complaints procedure : importance of an accessible complaints procedure for reducing the likelihood of abuse; transparent policies, procedures and agreed ways of working; importance of accountability; clear systems for reporting and recording complaints; robust procedures for following up on any complaints; legal requirement to have a complaints procedure in place; ways of ensuring the procedure is accessible eg published policy, high visibility, widespread distribution 5 Know how to recognise and report unsafe practices Unsafe practices : poor working practices; neglect in duty of personal care eg in relation to inappropriate feeding, washing, bathing, dressing, toileting; inappropriate physical contact eg in relation to moving and handling; unsafe administration of medication eg failure to check dosage; unreliable systems for dealing with individual’s money or personal property eg failure to witness or record accurately; misuse of authority eg using physical restraint; failure to maintain professional boundaries eg in relationships; failure to ensure supervision eg for lone working situations; inappropriat e communication or sharing of information eg breaching confidentiality; failure to update knowledge on safeguarding issues eg through ongo ing training; unsafe recruitment practices eg failure to CRB check work ers; resource difficulties eg staff shortages; operational difficulties Actions to take : importance of reporting unsafe practices that have been identified; reporting concerns to a manager or supervisor immediately, verbally and in writing; policies on ‘whistleblowing’; if suspected abuse or unsafe practices have been reported, but no action has been taken, workers have the right to report concer ns directly to social services or the police; anyone can report a suspic ion or allegation of abuse; workers can be disciplined, suspended or di smissed for not reporting abuse and following the correct procedures; importance of raising genuine concerns and questioning these; reassurance of protection from possible reprisals or victimisation following reportingPearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 76 Learning outcomes and assessment criteria Learning outcomes Assessment criteria Evidence type Portfolio reference Date 1 Know how to recognise signs of abuse 1.1 define the following types of abuse: – physical abuse – sexual abuse – emotional/psychological abuse – financial abuse – institutional abuse – self-neglect – neglect by others 1.2 identify the signs and/or symptoms associated with each type of abuse 1.3 describe factors that may contribute to an individual being more vulnerable to abuse 2 Know how to respond to suspected or alleged abuse 2.1 explain the actions to take if there are suspicions that an individual is being abused 2.2 explain the actions to take if an individual alleges that they are being abused 2.3 identify ways to ensure that evidence of abuse is preservedPearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 77 Learning outcomes Assessment criteria Evidence type Portfolio reference Date 3 Understand the national and local context of safeguarding and protection from abuse 3.1 identify national policies and local systems that relate to safeguarding and protection from abuse 3.2 explain the roles of different agencies in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse 3.3 identify reports into serious failures to protect individuals from abuse 3.4 identify sources of information and advice about own role in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse 4 Understand ways to reduce the likelihood of abuse 4.1 explain how the likelihood of abuse may be reduced by: – working with person-centred values – encouraging active participation – promoting choice and rights 4.2 explain the importance of an accessible complaints procedure for reducing the likelihood of abusePearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Social Care (Adults) for England Pearson Edexcel Level 2 Diploma in Health and Soci al Care (Adults) for Wales and Northern Ireland Specification – Issue 6 – November 2013 © Pearson Education Limited 2013 78 Learning outcomes Assessment criteria Evidence type Portfolio reference Date 5 Know how to recognise and report unsafe practices 5.1 describe unsafe practices that may affect the well-being of individuals 5.2 explain the actions to take if unsafe practices have been identified 5.3 describe the action to take if suspected abuse or unsafe practices have been reported but nothing has been done in response Learner name: __________________________________________ Date:___________________________ Learner signature: _______________________________________ Date:___________________________ Assessor signature: ______________________________________ Date:___________________________ Internal verifier signature: ________________________________ (if sampled ) Date:___________________________
