Safeguarding adults: CSCI inspection
In its last few months, the Commission for Social Care Inspection reported on a thematic inspection of Safeguarding Adults; this is the jargon for making sure that vulnerable adults are not abused. The report shows that there has been a lot of progress, that service coverage is extremely patchy and that practice in protecting someone who has been found to be at risk of being abused is very underdeveloped.
Hospices need to listen to this, because although they are not covered, the prevalence study of older people living at home showed that between 2.4 and 4% are likely to have been abused or neglected in the previous year. Since most hospice patients are elderly, a caseload of 1000 patients a year should have around 30 cases. How many hospices are really proactive in making sure they protect their patients and families from abuse – their families because of course the patient may be an abuser.
CSCI inspection report:
Commission for Social Care Inspection (2008) Safeguarding adults: A study of the effectiveness of arrangements to safeguard adults from abuse. London: CSCI.
Website: http://www.cqc.org.uk/_db/_documents/safeguard%5B1%5D.pdf
Prevalence studies: O’Keeffe M, Hills A, Doyle M, McCreadie C, Scholes S, Constantine R, Tinker A, Manthorpe J, Biggs S and Erens B (2007) UK study of abuse and neglect of older people: prevalence survey report. Completed for Comic Relief and the Department of Health. London: National Centre for Social Research
The original internet publication of this report has disappeared – apparently Comic Relief the publisher could not be bothered. You can see a summary at:
http://www.natcen.ac.uk/natcen/pages/publications/research_summaries/NC234_RF_OlderPeople_web2.pdf
Mowlem, A. Tennant, R., Dixon, J. and McCreadie, C.(2007) UK study of abuse and neglect of older people: qualitative findings. Completed for Comic Relief and the Department of Health. London: National Centre for Social Research