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Contents

2.2.1	Responding
2.2.2	Referring
2.2.3	Recording

2.2.1 Responding

If any person in the Church reasonably suspects or is told that a vulnerable adult is being, has been or is likely to be abused they must take action.

Incidents of abuse may be multiple, either to one person in a continuing relationship or service context or to more than one person at a time. This makes it important to look beyond the single incident to underlying dynamics or patterns of harm. Some actions will constitute a criminal offence.

Under no circumstances should the alleged abuser be alerted, directly or indirectly, as important evidence may be lost. Formal investigations will be carried out by the police and Adult Social Care Services.

If a concern is raised by the vulnerable adult themselves remember to;

• Listen  and acknowledge what is being said
• Be reassuring and calm
• Be aware that the person's ability to recount their concern or allegation will depend on age, culture, language and communication skills and disability
• Do not promise full confidentiality
• Ask their consent to take up their concerns
• Explain what you will do next
• If they do not agree consult with your Safeguarding Officer/Coordinator.
• Try to encourage and support them to share their information
• Give them your contact details and those of the Safeguarding Coordinator/Advisor
• Give them a timescale for when and how you or the Local Safeguarding Representative will contact them again Never leave a vulnerable adult to wait to hear from someone, e.g. a Police officer or social worker, without any idea of timescale or place
• Do not contact the adult about whom the allegation or concerns are being raised to tell them about the information, you could be putting a the vulnerable adult in serious danger, e.g. where there is domestic violence taking place, and/or prejudice any investigation
• Where the concerns or allegation are about another adult in a position of trust within the church do not inform the person in question as you might prejudice any police investigations, always contact the Local Safeguarding Representative, Safeguarding Officer or Safeguarding Coordinator immediately

If the concerns or allegations are raised by another person or follow from observations made by a member of the Church make notes of the information and contact the Safeguarding Officer immediately for consultation about what action to take.

If the information about abuse towards a vulnerable adult is given by the abuser him or herself to a member of the Church, the person who receives the information must make it clear to the person that the information must be passed to the Safeguarding Officer or Safeguarding Coordinator for consultation and further action to be taken.

In all events do not delay in contacting the Safeguarding Officer as the risk of harm to the vulnerable adult may be urgent.

Make sure all information is recorded on the Pro forma in the Forms Library by noon the next working day to be passed on to the Safeguarding Officer to add to any referral or record.

Concerns about a person in a position of trust

Where the concerns or allegation are about another adult in a position of trust within the church, do not inform the person in question as you might prejudice any police investigations, always contact the Local Safeguarding  Representative, Safeguarding Officer or Safeguarding Coordinator immediately. Where the allegation concerns the person you would usually refer to, the next available Safeguarding Officer/Coordinator should be contacted.

Advice can also be sought from CSAS. See Section 2.3.4, Assessing Risks and Taking Action, of the People in a Position of Trust Procedure.

2.2.2 Referring

When the decision has been made, after consultation with the Local Safeguarding Representative, Safeguarding Officer or Safeguarding Coordinator or by the recipient of the information in the case of an emergency, to make a referral to Adult Social Care Services or the Police, the following steps need to be taken.

The referral will be made in office hours to the local Adult Social Care Services or the Police.

Outside office hours, the referral should be made to the Emergency Duty Services or the Police.

The duty social worker in the Adult Social Care Services first response will be to assess how vulnerable the person is and they will expect to receive the following information to assist them to make that assessment:

• Personal details such as name, address, age of the vulnerable adult.
• Details of carers if known.
• How extensive is the abuse?
• What impact is the abuse having on the well being of the adult?
• Are other people being harmed, intimidated, or threatened?
• Has the abuse been carried out deliberately?
• Has the law been broken?
• What is the risk of this happening again to this adult?
• Are other people at risk?
• Will the person need a medical assessment (for non-life threatening situations)

The social worker and /or police officer will check their records to establish the following;

• 'one-off', isolated incident that has not adversely affected the physical, psychological or emotional well-being of the adult
• no previous history of similar incidents recorded for the adult
• no previous history of abuse by the person alleged responsible
• not part of a pattern of abuse
• no clear criminal offence described in referral there is not a clear intent to harm or exploit the adult

The social worker must ensure that action is taken to make the person safe from the abuse and all efforts must be made to see the person as soon as possible.

The information the duty worker at the Adult Social Care Services, Emergency Duty Services or the Police Officer should provide the referrer with:

• Their name and contact numbers
• What action they intend to take
• When they are likely to take that action
• Advice on what the referrer should say to the vulnerable adult
• Advice on what the referrer should do next if anything
• A timescale for feeding back to the referrer an outcome of any intervention bearing in mind that for reasons of confidentiality the referrer may not be able to be given all details

Once the referral has been made through a telephone call or direct contact, the referrer will be asked to forward the referral in writing.

When a referral to the statutory agencies is made by the Local Safeguarding Representative in the first instance  he/she must inform the Safeguarding Officer or the Safeguarding Coordinator for the Diocese or Religious Congregation by noon the next working day and pass on all information to them in writing as soon as practicable.

The written referral must be made on the available form, see Forms Library, and all additional notes must be passed on by the referrer to the Safeguarding Officer or Safeguarding Coordinator by noon the next working day.

The Safeguarding Officer or the Safeguarding Coordinator will send the written referral to the Adult Social Care Services within 48 hours. The Adult Social Care Services should acknowledge the referral in writing within 3 working days.

2.2.3 Recording

Whenever concerns are raised about a vulnerable adult, whether through an allegation or the observation of a set of circumstances, it is crucial to make and keep an accurate written record.

All records must be kept in a confidential and secure place and must only be shared, in order to safeguard the vulnerable adult, with the Local Safeguarding Representative, the Safeguarding Officer or the Safeguarding Coordinator or a professional from Adult Social Care Services or the Police - see Information Sharing Procedure and Confidentiality Procedure.

There is form in the Forms Library (R Alleg 1: Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults) for such recording to be made but this may not always be available in which case notes can be taken and the form can be filled in at a later stage.

The following steps should be observed:

• whenever possible and practical, take notes during any conversation
• ask for consent to do this and explain the importance of recording information
• explain that the person giving you the information  can have access to the records you have made in respect of their own information
• where it is not appropriate to take notes at the time, make a written record as soon as possible afterwards and always before the end of the day
• record the time, date, location, format of information (e.g. letter, telephone call, direct contact) and the persons present when the information was given
• the record must always be signed and dated by the person making the record
• include as much information as possible but be clear about which information is fact, hearsay, opinion and do not make assumptions or speculate
• include the context and background leading to the disclosure
• maintain a log of actions on the and record times, dates and names of people contacted and spoken to as well as their contact details
• include full details of referrals to Adult Social Care Services and the Police
• pass all original records, including rough notes, by noon the next working day to the Safeguarding Officer or the Safeguarding Coordinator responsible for the Diocese or Religious Congregation.

The Safeguarding Officer and/or the Safeguarding Coordinator will create a Safeguarding Case File which will be kept securely and will contain all records, logs, events and information relating to the particular child or adult as appropriate. For the Religious the Safeguarding file will be created by the Safeguarding Representative, advised by the Religious Safeguarding Coordinator from the relevant Commission.

Where any meetings or discussions are held with the Bishop, Congregation Leader or other Manager about a particular vulnerable adult, the Safeguarding Officer/Coordinator will take minutes. The minutes will then be shared with those present within 14 days and any discrepancies clarified.  An agreed record will then be placed on the Safeguarding Case File.

Where a referral is made to the statutory agencies, it will be followed up in writing by either the Safeguarding Officer or the Safeguarding Coordinator using the Form: Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults (See Forms Library). A copy of the form sent must be kept on the relevant case file.

Where a Safeguarding Officer or Safeguarding Coordinator attends a Strategy Meeting, or Adult Protection Conference, any reports or minutes of meetings must be kept securely on the Safeguarding Case File.

Clarification should be provided to the subject of the Safeguarding Case File of how they can have access to the information held on the file and the timescale for destruction of the information once the circumstances of the case have been concluded.

A Record must be kept of all actions agreed with the Diocesan or Congregational Insurers and these will be placed on the file. The Trustees must consider whether any particular incident should be reported to the Diocesan or Congregational Insurers and/or to the Charity Commission. Records of any report made to insurers and/or the Charity Commission must be retained.

End