Involvement of service users in adult safeguarding
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668201211236340 |
| Published date | 15 June 2012 |
| Date | 15 June 2012 |
| Pages | 142-150 |
| Author | Janet Wallcraft |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
Involvement of service users
in adult safeguarding
Janet Wallcraft
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarise findings of a review of service user and carer
involvement in safeguarding and recommendations for good practice.
Design/methodology/approach – The study involved a review of selected literature and a consultation
exercise with experts in the field of adult safeguarding and telephone interviews with 13 Adult
Safeguarding Leads across England and Wales.
Findings – Service users value rights, independence, choice and support. Adult Safeguarding policy
sets out an expectation of service user involvement in the process and expects agencies to balance
rights to self-determination with properly managed risk.In practice, agencies tend to be risk-averse and
service users often do not feel involved in their safeguarding processes. Processes such as
collaborative risk enablement, training and capacity building, working with BME groups and evaluation
of involvement help. Good practice examples of involvement in Safeguarding Boards or local forums,
developing new methods of user feedback and community involvement were found. Recommendations
include more involvement of service users in research, more effective forms of involvement of groups
who may be more excluded, shared responsibility for risk, and more training in rights legislation.
Practical implications – The paper offers recommendations for good practice in improving
involvement in adult safeguarding, which is a requirement and an essential component of delivering
good services to vulnerable adults.
Originality/value – Service user involvement in health and social care is now widespread, but there is
little knowledge of how to involve the most vulnerable service userswho are in need of protection, or how
to balance risk and empowerment. This paper addresses the dilemmas facing Adult Protection staff,
summarises the experience of practitioners based on the first decade of adult safeguarding work and
sets out guidance for improving practice.
Keywords Adult safeguarding, Service users, Involvement, Health, Social care, Rights,
Risk management, Health care, United Kingdom, Disadvantaged groups
Paper type General review
Introduction
Health and social care have a well established ethos of involving service users in their own
care, and in the development of social care services, but a scoping exercise by the Social
Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) found little evidence of service user involvement in the
area of Adult Safeguarding.
To remedy this gap in knowledge of barriers to involvement and discovering what works,
SCIE commissioned a study of literature and good practice related to Adult Safeguarding
and involvement.
Study methods
SCIE provided a database of 243 references, including a range of material on user
involvement in health and social care generally, from bibliographic databases and expert
PAGE 142
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THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
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VOL. 14 NO. 3 2012, pp. 142-150, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 DOI 10.1108/14668201211236340
Janet Wallcraft is based at
the School of Social Policy,
University of Birmingham,
Birmingham, UK.
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