Safeguarding

Safeguarding protects children and adults at risk from abuse, harm, or neglect, outlining responsibilities, types of abuse, reporting procedures, and principles for safe, supportive care environments.

We recognise our primary duty is to ensure the safety, well-being and protection of children, young people and adults at risk of abuse or neglect.  All of our staff have a responsibility to act on any suspicion, disclosure or evidence of abuse or neglect wherever it occurs.

Within our organisation and across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, there are policies and procedures in place to protect people of all ages, who may need safeguarding.  These procedures ensure that the relevant agencies and services work together to prevent abuse, and to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. 

The Care Act (DH, 2014) governs the work around adult safeguarding.  The statutory guidance within the Care Act enshrines six principles of safeguarding which should inform the ways in which we all work with adults:

  • Empowerment: supporting and encouraging person-led decisions and informed consent.
  • Prevention: it is better to take action before harm occurs.
  • Proportionality: least intrusive response, appropriate to level of risk.
  • Protection: support and representation for those in greatest need.
  • Partnerships: local solutions through services working with their communities.
  • Accountability: accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding.

Who is an adult in need of safeguarding?

The Care Act 2014 states that safeguarding duties apply to an adult, aged 18 years and over whom:

  • has care and support needs (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs) and;
  • is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect, and;
  • as a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of, or experience of abuse and neglect.

What is abuse?

Abuse is defined as ‘a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons which may result in harm’.

Abuse may be a single act, repeated acts or multiple acts. It may be an act of neglect or a failure to act. Abuse is about the misuse of the power and control that one person has over another. Abuse can occur in any relationship and may result in harm to, or exploitation of, the person subjected to it. Abuse may be perpetrated as the result of deliberate intent, negligence or ignorance. Acts of abuse may constitute a criminal act.

Abuse can happen anywhere – in a residential or nursing home, in a hospital, at home, at a day centre, in supported housing or in the street. Abuse can be perpetrated by anyone – relatives, partners, friends, care workers, or strangers.

What are the categories of abuse in adult safeguarding?

The Care Act (2014) refers to the following categories of abuse:-

  • Physical
  • Sexual
  • Psychological / emotional
  • Financial and material
  • Neglect or acts of omission
  • Discriminatory
  • Organisation (previously known as Institutional abuse)
  • Domestic abuse and violence (Inc. honour based violence)
  • Modern Slavery (Inc. human trafficking, forced labour and domestic servitude)
  • Self-neglect (Inc. behaviour such as hoarding, neglecting one’s health and surroundings)

Further details of the categories of abuse, including the signs and indicators of abuse can be found in the Multi-Agency Adult Safeguarding Policy and Procedures.

What should you do if you think someone is being abused?

If you are concerned that an adult has been or is being abused outside of a hospital setting you should notify the relevant adult social care department, as below. 

If the person you are concerned about lives in Leicestershire County Council’s region, contact 0116 305 0004 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).

If the person you are concerned about lives in Leicester City Council’s region, contact 0116 454 1004 (operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week).

If the person you are concerned about lives in Rutland Council’s region, contact 01572 758 341 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).

Outside working hours (EMERGENCIES ONLY)

When the adult (or others) remain at risk from the abuser and action needs to occur before the next working day to safeguard them. Contact:

Out of area:

If the adult lives outside of our local area, please use the local council finder on GOV.UK to identify the correct local authority and follow their safeguarding adult’s advice.  

Concerned about a crime?

If you think a crime might have been committed and the person is in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the Police or Ambulance.  If the person is not in immediate danger call the Police on 101.

Concerned about an adult in hospital?

If you are concerned about someone who is currently in hospital and you are worried that they may be experiencing abuse whilst on a ward, please ask to speak to the Ward Sister/ Manager or Matron in the first instance to discuss your concerns.  

You can also contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Services (PALS) as below:

We have a Trust wide adult safeguarding service which consists of a Head of Safeguarding, and adult safeguarding nurses. You may contact the Safeguarding Adults team as below:

Email: [email protected] 

Telephone: 0116 258 7703 

Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families during the course of their work have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This includes staff who don’t have a direct role in relation to children or child protection. Everyone working with children and families in the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) are familiar with and follow the protocols for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children – according to the level of responsibility or input they have with patients, carers and families.

The Trust’s Safeguarding Children Team offer advice, support and training for all staff on matters of safeguarding. Our aims are to provide accessible, quality, county-wide safeguarding support, supervision and training for all staff working with children and families in the Trust. We also ensure national recommendations and guidance for good practice, and that the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Safeguarding Children Partnership Board (LLRSCB) recommendations are implemented and complied with. We identify and recommend service changes ensuring lessons learnt are put into clinical practice.

If you have immediate concerns about the safety of a child, call the Police on 999.

If you are concerned about the well-being of a child:

Contact the social care offices for the local area of the child:

Leicester City Children’s Social Care: 0116 454 1004 (24hrs)

Leicestershire County Children’s Social Care: 0116 305 0005 (24hrs)

Rutland Children’s Social Care: 01572 758 407 (office hours only, contact Leicestershire Social Care outside of these hours)

We also have a Trust wide child safeguarding service which consists of a Head of Safeguarding, a Named Nurse and Midwife, child safeguarding nurses and a Named Doctor. You can contact the Safeguarding Children team on:

Telephone: 0116 258 5770

Email: [email protected]

Further information is available on the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board Websites:

Leicester City: www.lcitylscb.org

Leicestershire and Rutland:  www.lrsb.org.uk

The Trust takes a number of further steps to protect children, young people and adults, including:

Training our staff:  We require all staff to complete an appropriate level of training in safeguarding as part of our mandatory training programme.  Compliance of these training requirements is regularly monitored by our Trust Board. The level of training is compliant with national guidance and standards where they exist. All staff complete safeguarding training as part of the induction programme before starting in their role and then on a regular basis thereafter.

Implementing safeguarding systems: We have a comprehensive set of safeguarding policies and procedures which we review periodically.

Checking our staff: We practice safe recruitment and meet the statutory requirements for carrying out DBS checks on all new staff joining our organisation.

Engagement with multi-agency partners: Representatives from our organisation are members of the Leicester City and the Leicestershire and Rutland Local Safeguarding Children and Adults Boards and associated sub-groups. We work closely with other health and social care providers, police and other agencies regarding children and adults for whom there are safeguarding concerns.

As an organisation, we are committed to ensuring the absence of slavery in our organisation and supply chain. In line with the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act (MSA) 2015 we continue to take the following actions:

  • Ongoing assessment of our contracts which have the highest risk of modern slavery
  • Use of MSA compliant supplier Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ), to support assurance that our suppliers comply with MSA
  • Inclusion of MSA clause in our standard terms and conditions 

Transparency in Supply Chains – Modern Slavery Act Statement

Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires organisations to set out the steps that the organisation has taken during the financial year to ensure that slavery and human trafficking is not taking place, within the organisation or its supply chains. University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL/the Trust) was established on 1st April 2000. Our organisation is formed of seven Clinical Management Groups (CMGs) supported by several Corporate Directorates. The CMGs and Corporate Directorates are overseen by our Trust Leadership Team and Trust Board. We are one of the biggest and busiest NHS Trusts in the country, serving the one million residents of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Our nationally and internationally renowned specialist cardio-respiratory. ECMO, cancer and renal services reach a further two to three million patients from the rest of the country. Our Children’s Hospital, split across the Leicester General, Glenfield and Leicester Royal Infirmary, helps us meet the needs of our youngest patients for emergency and sometimes life-long care needs. We’re proud to be a teaching hospital and we work closely with partners at the University of Leicester and De Montfort University to nurture and develop the next generation of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, many of whom go on to spend their working lives with us. 

Our strategy 2023-2030: Leading in healthcare, trusted in communities, has four goal areas underpinned by our values: compassionate, proud, inclusive and one team.

We make every effort to prevent slavery and human trafficking in our Trust, and in our supply chains, by ensuring our employment standards, training, remuneration and policies reflect our commitment to be a high-quality employer conscious of safeguarding.

Slavery and human trafficking is highlighted as a category of abuse that we should all be aware of. Our Safeguarding Adults and Children Policies are designed to minimise the risk of slavery and human trafficking, and our mandatory Safeguarding training for staff also covers this aspect. In addition to the training and policy, we are committed to employment practices that are fair and equal, both internally and through our suppliers of services and equipment. We fulfil the Standards for recruitment of staff set by NHS Employers and in line with the Care Quality Commission’s Standards. This includes (but is not limited to) pre-employment checks for new candidates:

  • Verification of Identification
  • Right to Work
  • Employment History
  • Work Health Assessment
  • Disclosure of Criminal Background (DBS) Check (where applicable)
  • Professional Registration & Qualification Checks (where applicable)
  • Health Professionals Alert Notice (HPAN) Check (where applicable)
  • Fit and Proper Person Check (where applicable)

This also includes any agency or bank staff we utilise within UHL.

We are strongly committed to ensuring our supply chains are free from ethical and labour standards abuses. All new contracts awarded are done so under the standard NHS Terms and Conditions of Contract for the supply of goods and services which include clauses mandating our suppliers to adhere to all relevant policies and legislation relating to anti slavery, and that they notify the Trust immediately of any actual or suspected incidents in their supply chain. Our suppliers must use good industry practice to ensure that there is no slavery or human trafficking in their supply chains. NHS England have launched the Evergreen Sustainable Supplier Assessment which the 

Trust will utilise as part of procurement processes. This includes the requirement for suppliers to publish an ethical sourcing policy, supply chain risk assessment and conduct Modern Slavery audits in hotspot areas of their supply chain. All procurement staff have also undertaken the Modern Slavery and Labour Standard Assessments, produced by NHS England, where thorough risk assessments indicate if a category or country is high risk. The UHL procurement and supplies team have received all relevant training in relation to Modern Slavery, including the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Ethics E-Learning, and qualified MCIPS (Member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply) staff are required to undertake the CIPS Ethical Procurement and Supply Training on an annual basis.

We have also adopted central government’s Social Value Model (Procurement Policy Note 06/20), which requires a minimum 10% weighting in all procurements dedicated to Net Zero and Social Value Themes. The Social Value Themes cover the five topics, Fighting Climate Change, Wellbeing, Equal Opportunity (which covers compliance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015), Tackling Economic Inequality and Covid-19 Recovery. 

In addition to our Safeguarding Adults and Children Policies, other supporting UHL policies and procedures include:

  • Equality Diversion and Inclusion Policy
  • Preventing Illegal Working (Visa Requirements) Policy
  • Disclosure & Barring Service policy
  • Counter-Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy 
  • Guidance Supporting Staff Subject to Domestic Violence
  • Recruitment and Selection Policy 
  • Recruitment and Selection Policy for Medical Consultants
  • Core Training Policy
  • Freedom to Speak Up – Raising Concerns Policy