Update on the review of In Safe Hands
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14668203200800010 |
| Date | 01 May 2008 |
| Published date | 01 May 2008 |
| Pages | 29-32 |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Sociology |
The Journal of Adult Protection Volume 10 Issue 2 • May 2008 © Pavilion Publishing (Journals) Limited 29
Policy update
Readers of the journal will be interested to learn that the Welsh
guidance document, In Safe Hands is to be reviewed during this
year. An announcement to this effect was recently made to the
Welsh Assembly Government. We are pleased to be able to
reproduce the information here. Our thanks are due to the Older
People and Long-term Care Policy Directorate of the Welsh
Assembly Government for permission to reproduce the
following statement.
Gwenda Thomas, the Deputy Minister for Social Services
informed the Welsh Assembly Members about the adult
protection project group that the Welsh Assembly Government
has established to review vulnerable adults protection policies
and measures to ensure that they remain appropriate and robust.
For the purposes of this written statement ‘vulnerable adult’
means a person over 18 years of age who is or may be in need of
health or social care services because of mental or other
disability, age or illness and who is or may be unable to take care
of himself or herself, or unable to protect himself or herself
against significant harm or serious exploitation. The abuse of
vulnerable adults is, sadly, not a new phenomenon, but it is an
area that the Welsh Assembly Government will not be
complacent about. The understanding of adult abuse and how to
tackle it is still at a relatively early stage of development. In
recent years there has been a growing awareness of and better
understanding of the problem, due in part to better reporting,
recording and monitoring arrangements, as well as published
research findings. Older people and their families are also much
more confident in speaking up about these matters. Many of
these issues are highlighted in the annual report of the Care and
Social Services Inspectorate in Wales, which was debated in
Plenary in January.
Through growing awareness, more people can now identify
cases of treatment of people in care settings as being abusive
and falling under the adult protection arrangements. More
people are willing to and know how to make referrals to local
adult protection arrangements so that investigations can take
place. In previous years these matters might not have been
identified as adult abuse or have been referred to be dealt with
through employers’ staff conduct arrangements or through
complaints procedures.
A better understanding of adult protection issues is rightly
leading to a more open and fuller debate about how these
matters should be addressed.
Update on the review of
In Safe Hands
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