10,000 Voices: service users’ experiences of adult safeguarding
| Published date | 09 October 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-03-2017-0012 |
| Pages | 236-246 |
| Date | 09 October 2017 |
| Author | Lorna Montgomery,Deborah Hanlon,Christine Armstrong |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection,Safeguarding,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Abuse |
10,000 Voices: service users’experiences
of adult safeguarding
Lorna Montgomery, Deborah Hanlon and Christine Armstrong
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to describe a small scale pilot study undertaken in Northern Ireland to
gather service user feedback from individuals who have been subject to adult safeguarding procedures.
Design/methodology/approach –The aims, methods and findings of the “Adult Safeguarding: 10,000 Voices”
pilot project are presented.
Findings –The pilot project highlighted how an initiative which captures the experiences of patients, service
users, carers and staff in the health and social care sector (10,000 Voices) could be successfully adapted for
use in adult safeguarding, facilitating the collation of complex experiences and enabling insights to be gleaned
and shared.
Research limitations/implications –The pilot study is limited by the small number of participants.
The findings are preliminary.
Practical implications –For the first time in Northern Ireland the 10,000 Voices model was utilised in the
context of a non-health related service, namely, adult safeguarding.
Social implications –This outline of the model and methodology for obtaining service user feedback can
inform user involvement in other contexts.
Originality/value –This paper provides an accessible overview of an innovative approach to engaging
service users in adult safeguarding, such approaches, to date have been limited.
Keywords Safeguarding, Service evaluation, Northern Ireland, Adult abuse, Service-user feedback,
User involvement
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Service user involvement in the planning and evaluation of services has been established as a
core principle in adult social care, and is gaining momentum in adult safeguarding. Increased
service user involvement has been evaluated as promoting better care, and contributing to
higher levels of user satisfaction (Claire Lloyd et al., 2013). It has become embedded within a
range of health and social care (HSC) policies and legislation. This paper reports on a pilot project
undertaken in Northern Ireland which gathered service-user feedback from individuals who had
been subject to adult safeguarding procedures.
Across the adult social care sector, there has been a move away from a somewhat paternalistic
approach in the provision of care, to a stronger personalisation agenda, promoting
person-centred, rights-based, and empowering practices. The status afforded to users of
services as “experts by experie nce”has empowered individuals to gain some control of their
care as well as offering opportunities to contribute to service development (Social Care Institute
for Excellence (SCIE), 2011/2014). Co-production initiatives are gaining momentum.
Partnerships with service users are ut ilised to create chang es in the way HSC syste ms are
designed, planned , commissioned and d elivered.
Many benefits of ser vice user particip ation have been ident ified across cult ures and settings
(World Health Organization, 2010). Service users are seen to offer a unique perspective on the
“reality”of services which can be contrasted with the “ideal”view of many adminis trators
Received 16 March 2017
Revised 10 July 2017
3 August 2017
Accepted 9 August 2017
Lorna Montgomery is a
Lecturer at the School of Social
Sciences, Education and Social
Work, Queen’s University
Belfast, Belfast, Northern
Ireland.
Deborah Hanlon is a Head of
Service for Adult Safeguarding
at the Southern Health and
Social Care Trust, Portadown,
Northern Ireland.
Christine Armstrong is a
Regional Lead for 10,000
Voices at the Southern Health
and Social Care Trust, Lisburn,
Northern Ireland.
PAGE236
j
THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
j
VOL. 19 NO. 5 2017, pp. 236-246, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 DOI 10.1108/JAP-03-2017-0012
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