Abuse Physical Abuse What is physical abuse? Physical abuse is any abuse involving the use of force, this can be: Punching, hitting, slapping, pinching, kicking, in fact any form of physical attack Burning or scalding Restraint such as tying up or tying people to beds or furniture Refusal to allow access to toilet facilities Deliberate starvation or force feeding Leaving the individuals in wet or soiled clothing or bedding as a deliberate act to demonstrate power and strength of the abuser Excessive or inappropriate use of medicationA carer causing illness or injury to someone he or she cares for in order to gain attention Signs and symptoms associated with Physical abuse Pepper pot bruising-small bruises, usually on the chest, caused by poking with the finger or pulling of the clothes tightly.
Finger-marks-often on arms or shoulders. Bruising in areas not normally bruised such as inside of thighs and arms. Marks on wrists, upper arms or legs which could be from tying to a bed or furniture. Burns or scalds in unusual areas such as soles of feet, inside thighs.
Ulcers, sores or rashes caused by wet bedding or clothing.Becoming withdrawn or anxious. Loss of interest in appearance. Loss of confidence.
Sleeping problems. Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking. Feeling depressed or hopeless. Sexual abuse What is sexual abuse? Sexual abuse is the act in which sexual act have taken place without the persons consent.
This can consist of: Sexual penetration of any part of the body with a penis, finger or any object Touching inappropriate parts of the body or any other form of sexual contact without the informed agreement of the individual Sexual exploitationExposure to, or involvement in, pornographic or erotic material Exposure to, or involvement in, sexual rituals Making sexual related comments or references which provide sexual gratification for the abuser Making threats about sexual activities. Signs and symptoms associated with Sexual abuse Marks on wrists, upper arms or legs which could be from tying to a bed or furniture. Becoming withdrawn or anxious. Loss of interest in appearance. Loss of confidence. Sleeping problems.
Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking. Feeling depressed or hopeless. Unusual sexual behaviour.
Blood marks on underclothes. Recurrent genital/urinary infections. Emotional/psychological abuse What is Emotional/psychological abuse? All the other forms of abuse also have an element of emotional abuse. Any situation which means that an individual becomes a victim of abuse at the hands of someone he or she trusted is, unavoidably, going to cause emotional distress. However, some abuse is purely emotional – there are no physical, sexual or financial elements involved.
This abuse can take the form of: Humiliation, belittling, putting down Withdrawing or refusing affection Bullying Shouting or swearingMaking insulting or abusive remarks Racial abuse Constant teasing and poking fun. Signs and symptoms associated with Emotional/psychological abuse Becoming withdrawn or anxious. Loss of interest in appearance. Loss of confidence.
Sleeping problems. Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking. Feeling depressed or hopeless.
Becoming afraid of making decisions. Flinching or appearing afraid of close contact. Financial abuse What is financial abuse? Many service users are very vulnerable to financial abuse, particularly those who may have a limited understanding of money matters.Financial abuse, like all other forms of abuse, can be inflicted by family members and even friends as well as care workers or informal carers, and can take a range of forms such as: Stealing money or property Allowing or encouraging others to steal money or property Tricking or threatening individuals into giving away money or property Persuading individuals to take financial decisions which are not in their interests Withholding money, or refusing access to money Refusing to allow individuals to manage their own financial affairs Failing to support individuals to manage their own financial affairs. WHERE HAS IT GONESigns and symptoms associated with financial abuse Becoming withdrawn or anxious.
Sleeping problems. Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking. Feeling depressed or hopeless. Missing cash or belongings, or bank accounts with unexplained withdrawals.
Missing bank account records. Sudden change in attitude to financial matters. Institutional abuse What is Institutional Abuse? Institutional abuse is a type of systematic and organised abuse that mostly goes on in residential and hospital settings However, individuals can be abused in many other ways in settings where they could expect to be cared for and protected.For example: Individuals in residential settings are not given choice over day-to-day decisions such as mealtimes, bedtimes, Freedom to go out is limited by the institutional Privacy and dignity are not respected Personal correspondence is opened by staff The setting is run for the convenience of staff, and not service users Excessive or inappropriate doses of sedation/medication are given Access to advice and advocacy is restricted or not allowed Complaints procedures are deliberately made unavailable. “Do you what Me? ”“Just reach for me” “You can’tReach” “tough luck then I will just sit here” Signs and symptoms associated with Institutional abuse Becoming withdrawn or anxious.
Sleeping problems. Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking. Feeling depressed or hopeless.
Self-Neglect What is Self-Neglect? Many people neglect themselves when they are ill or depressed and unable to make the effort or some people neglect themselves as they feel incapable of looking after themselves. Working out when someone is neglecting themselves can be very difficult. Self-neglect can show in many of ways: Lack of personal hygieneLack of care about appearance and clothing Failure to eat, or to buy food Failure to maintain a clean living environment Not bothering or refusing to obtain medical help Unwillingness to accept any support with daily living Unwillingness to see people or to go out. Signs and symptoms associated with Self neglect Sleeping problems. Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking.
Feeling depressed or hopeless. Appearance Neglect by others What is Neglect by Others? This occurs when either a care worker or an informal carer fails to meet the care needs of a person.Neglect can happen because those responsible for providing the care do not realise its importance, or because they cannot be bothered, or choose not, to provide it. As the result of neglect, individuals can become ill, hungry, cold, dirty, injured or deprived of their rights. Neglecting someone you are supposed to be caring for can mean failing to undertake a range of care services, for example: Not providing adequate food Not providing assistance with eating food if necessary Not ensuring that the individual is adequately clothed Leaving the individual aloneNot assisting an individual to meet mobility or communication needs Failing to maintain a clean and hygienic living environment Failing to obtain necessary medical/health-care support Not supporting social contacts Not taking steps to provide a safe and secure environment for the individual. Signs and symptoms associated with Neglect by others: Becoming withdrawn or anxious.
Sleeping problems Change in eating habits. No longer laughing or joking. Feeling depressed or hopeless. Appearance What you should do if you suspicions that an individual is being abused.As a carer you would record any signs or symptoms of an individual being abused to the line manage, your line manager may ask you to fill in a body chart indicating the location and description of the injuries which would be kept in the office copy of their care plan, you would not document it in the running report in their home as this can be read by anyone.
As a carer your observations may add to other observations noticed by other carers or members of the team this will help to safeguard the service user as the line manage will have documentation to refer to the social workers to help this erson What you should do if an individual alleges that they are being abused. You must assume the person is tell the truth, You must be careful not to ask any leading questions e. g. 'and did he punch you? ' you just ask ' and what happened? ’ you use your communication and listening skills so that the individual knows that they can trust you, then you would record exactly what the individual says and the details of the situation, you would not write this in the running report it would be documented on a separate document E. g. iece of paper then you would sign and date it and report it to the line manager and you would give them the statement, so that they can take responsibility.
If the individual ask you to keep it to yourself, You would explain to them that you have to report this to your line manager as it is your duty of care under to NO SECRET policy and that the only people who will know are people who can help. Identify ways to ensure that evidence of abuse is preserved. You should always record details of the alleged/suspected abuse on a separate piece of paper and sign and date it, if any witnesses were present you should ask for their details e. . name and contact details and have them sign your document, if you have permission take photographic evidence of any physical injuries, collect all reports e.
g. financial records, running reports, dietary reports and give it to you line manager so the information can be put into their care plan in a filing cabinet in the office and documented on the computer system National policies to safeguard individuals * Government Department of health - No secrets: Guidance on developing and implementing multi-agency policies and procedures to protect Vulnerable adults from abuse POVA Policy is there to prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable people. Local and organisational systems for safeguarding Care Quality Commission (CQC, have a role in safeguarding. It is there to monitor care setting are followed policies and procedures correctly.
If you feel that your company is not following these, you have the right to contact CQC and report them. Disclosure and Barring Service DBS was formed by merging together the functions of the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) under the Protection of FreedomsAct 2012. It started functioning on 1 December 2012 and it is there to help prevent unsuitable people from working with children and vulnerable adults Different agencies/services in safeguarding and protecting individuals The importance of commination between different care providers is very important to safeguarding an individual, there can be a lot of different care providers involved in the service user life, this are origination such as:- * social services e. g. social workers, care assistants, the police * health services e. g.
Gps, nurses, health visitors * voluntary services e. g. NSPCC, Age UK All origination involved in a service user life, will appoint a person from the health and social care setting to oversee the safeguarding assessment and its outcome, they also inform the police regarding all safeguarding incidents; chairing meetings, including the agreement of responsibilities; actions and time scales; co- coordinating and monitoring investigations and overseeing the convening of safeguarding case and providing information and outcomes to the safeguarding co- predicator.Identify sources of information and advice about own role in safeguarding and protecting individuals from abuse. As a carer you would get information and advice from your manager, you would go on training course every 12 months.
you can also get information from the internet, leaflets or by contacting different agencies such as CQC, also I can look at the policies and procedures and agreed ways of working within the work place.
