Safeguarding vulnerable adults

Who are vulnerable adults?

A vulnerable adult is someone over 18 who has, or may need, help with their everyday living tasks and who is, for any reason, unable to protect themselves. This can include:

disabled people who have physical or sensory impairments
people who have learning difficulties
people who experience mental ill health
older people
people who live in care homes

What is meant by abuse?

Abuse is the violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons.
Abuse might be unintentional, the important factor is whether the vulnerable person is harmed or not.

Abuse can be:

Physical Abuse, which can include any form of assault, over-medication, restraint or poor manual handling practice.

Sexual Abuse, which can rape and any sexual act which was not actively consented to or the person did not have the capacity to understand .

Psychological / Emotional Abuse, which can include threats, intimidation, coercion, harassment.

Financial Abuse, can include theft, borrowing money without repayment and any pressure in connection with wills or property, possessions or benefits.

Neglect which can include ignoring medical or physical needs, not providing access to appropriate health or social care, the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate food, water and heating.

Discriminatory Abuse, which includes all forms of harassment, slurs or similar treatment based on a person’s disability, ethnic origin, gender or sexuality, this is often called hate crime.

Institutional Abuse, which can include repeated instances of poor care, ill treatment of vulnerable adults, and unsatisfactory professional practice. This is often an indicator of more serious problems within a paid and / or regulated care environment.