Safeguarding adults procedures

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Signed: October 2026
To be reviewed: October 2027

Disclosure

Staff and volunteers necessarily work towards forming positive and trusting relationships with everyone involved with BDEF. At times this may mean that people feel that they can confide in them about aspects of their life that may cause concern for their general welfare. All staff and volunteers should be alert to possible safeguarding disclosures. The disclosure may be that they are feeling unsafe or are being abused – or it may be that they feel vulnerable in other ways.

Effective safeguarding means that any welfare concern needs to be taken seriously and all staff have a role to play in this. Any concern that staff and volunteers are made aware of should be recorded on the form in Appendix 5 and reported to the DSL on the same day it is noted.

If the disclosure involves abuse, or the person is at risk of significant harm, the matter is extremely serious. A disclosure may involve a criminal offence and if poorly handled could increase the risk for the adult at risk and could undermine a potential prosecution. Staff or volunteers must take the following action:

Stay calm
Listen to what the person who is disclosing is actually saying
Reassure them that they have done the right thing by telling
Indicate that they are taking the matter extremely seriously (without saying they believe them)
Not promise the person who is disclosing that this can be kept secret, as subsequent disclosure could then lead to them feeling betrayed.
Explain that they must tell other people to keep them safe. Absolute confidentiality should never be promised. Inform the person who is using BDEF 's service (or whoever has disclosed the information) that the information cannot be kept confidential and will have to be passed on to appropriate agencies
Not interrogate the person who is disclosing or push for more information. Ensure that any questions asked are open, not leading closed questions. It is not the role of staff to investigate but to report concerns
Not ask them to repeat what they have said to another member of staff
Make a note of any conversations with the person who is disclosing, trying to make these as detailed as possible, including when and where the conversations took place
Report the disclosure to the DSL. The person to whom the disclosure was made should ensure that the person who disclosed is informed about what will happen next, so they can be reassured about what to expect.

Recording

Effective record keeping is essential to help us identify needs at an early stage. Often it is only when a number of seemingly minor issues are taken as a whole that any general welfare or safeguarding concern becomes clear.

Record keeping helps us monitor and manage our safeguarding practices and, in any inspection, it is vital evidence of robust and effective safeguarding practice.

Any member of staff who has any kind of concern relating to the abuse of adults at risk must make an accurate record as soon as possible. Record keeping and reporting forms are found in Appendix 5 and must be used to record all incidents and concerns. Referrals to other agencies must be done on-line on using the relevant forms.

Records must be stored and kept in compliance with Data Protection legislation including GDPR. They are kept securely until the adult at risk leaves the organisation or 6 years from the date of report.

All adult at risk welfare records should be:

clear, straightforward and avoid jargon
concise
accurate
contemporaneous
contextualised
correctly dated
written as to differentiate between facts, opinion, judgments and hypothesis
signed with the name of the signatory clearly printed; and
written with a mind that the subject of a record does have the right in law to request access to them at any stage.

The record should explain:

what was seen in appearance and behaviour of the adult at risk: when and where (include if relevant a site map indicating the position of any bruises or marks, trying to indicate size, colour and shape)
a note of any other people involved e.g., as witnesses
what the staff member thought and why they thought it
what the staff member did; and
any other relevant information

If abuse is suspected, the staff member must record this on the same day that the concern is noted.

The DSL is responsible for keeping all adult at risk welfare records secure at BDEF. These records should be kept separately from general information kept about the users of BDEF services. All records about allegations about staff should be kept by the Chair of Trustees in a central and secure location and separate from personnel records.

Information should be shared with all those who need to have it, whether to enable them to take appropriate steps to safeguard the adult at risk or to enable them to carry out their own duties, but it should not be shared wider than that.

Reporting and referring

Staff spotting the signs of abuse and/or receiving disclosure of abuse or any other welfare concern, must report their concerns to the DSL within 24 hours. If anyone is in immediate harm this must be done immediately. If the DSL is not available, the member of staff must inform the Deputy DSL or the Designated Trustee within the timescale.

If no one is available, staff are to inform Social Services directly and advise the DSL immediately on the next working day.

If the DSL or deputy is not available, this should not delay appropriate action being taken and staff should consider speaking to the Designated Safeguarding Trustee and/or take advice from the Local Authority directly.

If anyone is immediately unsafe and at risk, or there is criminal activity involved, this must be reported to the Police. In these circumstances, any action taken should be shared with the DSL as soon as is practically possible.

If the abuse implicates the DSL, the concerns should be discussed with the Designated Trustee or the Chair of Trustees. If staff are working within another organisation, they should also report to the DSL of that organisation. Staff should not assume a colleague, or another professional will take action and share information that might be critical in keeping adults at risk safe.

When reporting, staff should supply the DSL with a verbal account of what happened which can allow the DSL to ask specific questions as necessary. Staff should then record the incident using the relevant form. After reporting, possible options for action could then be:

Carry on recording incidents and take no further action at the present time.

If it is decided that a referral should not be made at the current time, it may be important to monitor the adult at risk’s behaviour closely and carefully record any concerns, as well as drawing up a Well-Being Plan. Concerns may also be discussed with other agencies as appropriate. The relevant local authority’s safeguarding team may be a useful source of support, advice and insight at this stage.

Refer

Referral means sharing information about concerns with outside agencies. If staff are concerned about the safety of an adult at risk, information must be passed on to the DSL.

A referral is normally carried out by a DSL, but any member of staff can refer. Contact details for adult safeguarding referrals to the local authorities in which BDEF currently operate are in Appendix 6.

Contact the Emergency Services

Staff and the DSL may feel, after discussion, at this stage it is appropriate to contact the emergency services at once.

If the staff member and the DSL disagree about whether to refer, the staff member can also refer to the Safeguarding trustee, and if they agree, FastTrack the referral without the agreement of the DSL. The fast-track procedure is immediate escalation to the relevant authority.

Whatever the course of action decided upon on after reporting a concern, the details of the meeting and any action agreed must be recorded.

Please note: There are specific referral pathways for adult victims of Domestic Abuse, Female Genital Mutilation and Radicalisation, and these are described in this document under the relevant headings in Appendix 2.

Escalation and professional challenge

Occasionally situations arise when professionals feel that a safeguarding decision made by someone else is not safe. Disagreements could arise in a number of areas, but are most likely to arise around:

Staff at BDEF should feel able to challenge decision-making in regard to safeguarding and to see this as their right and responsibility in order to promote best practice. An escalation and professional challenge policy aims to provide workers with the means to raise concerns they have about decisions made by other professionals or agencies by:

Avoiding professional disputes that put users of BDEF services at risk or obscure the focus on the adult at risk,
Resolving the difficulties within and between agencies quickly and openly; and
Identifying problem areas in working together where there is a lack of clarity and to promote the resolution via amendment to protocols and procedures.

Effective working depends on an open approach and honest relationships between professionals. Problem resolution is an integral part of professional co-operation and joint working to safeguard adults at risk. The safety of individual adults at risk is the paramount consideration in any professional disagreement and any unresolved issues should be addressed with due consideration to the risks that might exist for the adult at risk.

Resolution should therefore be sought within the shortest timescale possible to ensure the adult at risk is protected. Disagreements should be resolved at the lowest possible stage, however if a person is thought to be at risk of immediate harm discretion should be sued as to which stage is initiated.

If the disagreement is between a staff member or volunteer and their manager then the staff member should consider our Grievance Procedure.

Emergencies

In some instances, staff may be the first people to recognise that an adult at risk may need immediate attention resulting from abuse or may be unsafe e.g., suicide threats.

The emergency procedure can also be applied if the member of staff feels that an adult at risk is in immediate danger or is not satisfied with the action taken by the DSL or any other referral agencies to whom the report was made. The DSL or member of staff concerned will ensure that the service user is informed about what will happen next so that they can be reassured about what to expect.

Depending on the circumstances staff may need to:

Telephone for an ambulance or the police (dial 999)
Ask a doctor to call
Ask the personal assistant of an adult at risk to take them to the doctor or the hospital at once
Offer to take the adult at risk for immediate medical attention as appropriate; and/or
Take the adult at risk to the hospital/surgery/clinic.

Allegations against staff

The following signs and symptoms may mean that staff are involved in abuse:

Paying an excessive amount of attention to a particular adult at risk or group of adults at risk
Providing presents, money or having favourites
Seeking out particularly vulnerable adults
Trying to spend time alone with a particular adult at risk or group of adults at risk on a regular basis
Making inappropriate sexual comments
Sharing inappropriate images
Being vague about where they have worked or when they have been employed; and/or
Encouraging secretiveness.

There may be other sources of concern; this is not a conclusive list. If you are concerned about another staff member or volunteer’s behaviour you need to pass this on to the DSL.

If a Staff Allegation is made, or you suspect a member of staff or volunteer or trustee of abuse or inappropriate behaviour, the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) MUST be involved and consulted on ALL staff allegation incidents before an investigation of any type occurs. This is to ensure they do not access adults at risk through other organisations.

If it appears that a staff member, volunteer (including Trustees), member or visitor has:

Or if you have any other related suspicion about their behaviour, then these procedures MUST be followed:

1. Record your concerns and report them to the Chair of Trustees.

2. The Chair of Trustees (with assistance from the Designated Safeguarding Lead if necessary) should take steps to ensure that during the remainder of the working day that particular member of staff or volunteer is not left in sole charge of the adult or any adults.

It may be clear in some cases that an immediate referral must be made to First Response or to the police for investigation.

In addition, either the Chair of Trustees or the Designated Safeguarding Trustee must then contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within one working day of receiving the report of an allegation.

Contact the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO)

The setting should then follow the LADO’s advice on how to deal with allegations against staff or volunteers. Note: Do not start any investigation into the allegation until the LADO has been contacted.

Support to Staff

As a result of reporting any concerns, staff members may feel angry and upset. The DSL will provide support to the member of staff concerned through the supervision process. If necessary, the member of staff can request additional external supervision or counselling during this period which can be authorised by the Chair of Trustees. If the LADO needs further information or involvement from the member of staff, the Chair will talk with them and the member of staff about how this will happen.

Staff may also be subject to allegations of abusing adults at risk. Any allegation of abuse will be dealt with under the gross misconduct procedures within BDEF and will result in suspension on full pay while an investigation takes place.

During suspension, the member of staff will be offered support in the form of a person within BDEF who will be named to act as a contact point (this will be someone other than the person who currently line manages them).