Who should use this book?
Safeguarding adults is everyone’s business (Bournemouth University, 2010). This workbook is designed to meet some of the needs of staff in groups C & D as outlined in the National Capability Framework for Safeguarding Adults (2010).
As described in the Competence document, these groups include in group C, Service Managers, Independent Chairs, Operational Managers, Heads of Assessment and care management and in group D, Executive and Senior Managers, Chief Executives, Owner/Managers and Heads of Service. This is not an exhaustive list and the workbook should be of use to other senior staff as appropriate. The workbook deliberately does not concentrate on one group of staff as it is contended that an overall strategic and practice based knowledge of safeguarding issues is a requirement of good quality management and supervision, regardless of seniority.
As mentioned in the first paragraph, this workbook cannot seek to meet the whole needs of all readers. It is acknowledged that staff of this seniority should and will seek further information about issues with which they have a specific interest or difficulty and this is encouraged. In this sense, the value of the workbook is in promoting excitement in the field and a desire for further personal research.
It is also hoped that the workbook might serve as a prompt to those whose responsibility is to commission training and development for all grades of staff. All staff should be assessed as competent within their own specific role as outlined in The National Competence Framework for Safeguarding Adults. Suggestions of competency evidence can be ignored and replaced by appropriate evidence taken from the individual’s own practice.
“The broad definition of a ‘vulnerable adult’…is a person, (18 or over) who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness; and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation” (DH 2000).
In 2011 the Law Commission recommended that the term ‘vulnerable adult’ be replaced by ‘adult at risk’ (para 9.21, p114). However, at the time of writing this change has not been universally adopted and indeed, there remains some disquiet at this change in term as the question could be asked, “adult at risk of what?” Accordingly, the phrase “vulnerable adult” will continue to be used in this publication.
