Attached Psychology’s Adult and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy
Thank you for viewing our Adult and Vulnerable Adults Safeguarding Policy. Attached Psychology takes its responsibility to safeguard adults and vulnerable adults very seriously, and we are committed to safeguarding adults and vulnerable adults in line with national legislation and relevant national and local guidelines. A digital copy of this policy will be shared via email with all families who seek support from Attached Psychology as part of the onboarding process (a paper copy will be posted to families when requested). The policy is available to view on our website at www.attachedpsychology.co.uk.
1. Introduction
This policy outlines our commitment to ensuring the safety, well-being, and rights of all adults accessing our services. It reflects our legal and ethical responsibilities under national safeguarding legislation and guidance to prevent abuse, neglect, and exploitation. This policy is aimed at safeguarding adults at risk, and ensuring that they receive services in a safe and supportive environment.
1.1 Attached Psychology is committed to the aims of adult safeguarding, which are to:
Identify and respond to abuse and neglect
Prevent harm and reduce the risk of abuse or neglect to adults with care and support needs
Stop abuse or neglect wherever possible
Safeguard adults in a way that supports them in making choices and having control over their lives
Promote an approach that concentrates on improving quality of life for the adults concerned
Raise awareness so that communities, alongside professionals, play their part in preventing abuse
1.2 To contribute to meeting these aims, we will:
Manage our services in a way that minimises the risk of abuse occurring
Work with adults with care and support needs, and other agencies, to address any abuse that is taking place
1.3 To achieve this, we will:
Ensure all members who act for and on behalf of Attached Psychology have access to and are familiar with this safeguarding adult policy and procedure, and their responsibilities within it
Ensure concerns or allegations of abuse are always taken seriously
Ensure the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is used to inform any decision making on behalf of adults at risk who are unable to make particular decisions for themselves
Ensure all members receive training in relation to safeguarding adults at a level relevant to their role
Ensure that people using our services and, where relevant, their relatives and friends, have access to information about how to report concerns or allegations of abuse
2. Policy Statement
Attached Psychology is committed to protecting the rights and welfare of all adults accessing our services. We recognize that all adults, regardless of age, background, or vulnerability, have the right to live free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
3. Scope
This policy applies to all members (permanent, temporary, sessional), as well as all people who work on behalf of or alongside Attached Psychology. Members may encounter adults who are vulnerable or at risk through direct work with adults (face-to-face, remote, via email or telephone contact), and this may be via direct therapeutic sessions, parenting support sessions, whole family work, or dyadic work, training, workshops, assessment, consultation, social media engagement, or as an extended part of a family’s network. Dr Jessica Cardy is a sole trader, Clinical Psychologist, and Director of Attached Psychology. At times Dr Jessica Cardy may work in collaboration with other professionals and agencies, but there are no other employees of Attached Psychology at present. Therefore this policy applies to Dr Jessica Cardy, and provides the overarching principles that guide the approach to safeguarding adults and vulnerable adults at Attached Psychology.
4. Legal and Regulatory Framework
This policy is in line with the following national legislation and guidance:
The Care Act 2014 (including the Care Act statutory guidance on Safeguarding in Chapter 14): Governs safeguarding duties for adults with care and support needs. It sets out a clear legal framework for how local authorities and other parts of the system should protect adults at risk of abuse or neglect. It included the introduction of safeguarding boards which aim to work across all healthcare services sharing information to help identify abuse of adults at risk. It also included neglect and self-neglect as recognised types of abuse.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005: Promotes and safeguards decision making within a legal framework by: 1. Empowering people to make decisions for themselves wherever possible, and by protecting people who lack capacity by providing a flexible framework that places individuals at the heart of the decision-making process, and 2. by allowing people to plan for a time in the future when they might lack the capacity to make specific decisions.
The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006: Establishes the barring scheme for individuals who pose a risk to vulnerable adults.
The Human Rights Act 1998: Provides the legal foundation for ensuring the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals.
The Health and Social Care Act 2012: Sets out obligations for protecting adults in the care sector.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines: Provides guidance on best practices for safeguarding and promoting well-being.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks: All relevant members of Attached Psychology must undergo DBS checks to ensure they are suitable to work with vulnerable adults.
Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006: A key piece of UK legislation designed to protect children and vulnerable adults from harm, particularly in contexts like employment and volunteering.
5. Principles of Adult Safeguarding
The following principles guide our safeguarding work:
Empowerment: Adults at risk are encouraged to make their own decisions and give informed consent.
Prevention: We will take proactive steps to prevent abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
Proportionality: Responses to suspected abuse will be proportionate to the level of risk and impact.
Protection: We will ensure that adults at risk are protected from further harm when abuse is suspected or identified.
Partnership: We will work collaboratively with other agencies, including local authorities, the police, and healthcare providers.
Accountability: We will take responsibility for our actions and ensure that we are transparent and open in all safeguarding matters.
6. Definitions
The Department of Health defines a vulnerable adult as:
• any person aged 18 or over
• any person who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of disability (physical or mental), age, or illness
• any person who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or serious exploitation
Abuse is defined as a violation of a person’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. Abuse can take many forms including but not limited to what is detailed below. Incidents of abuse may be singular or multiple, and affect one person or more. Abuse may also be very subtle, and professionals and others should look beyond single incidents or individuals to identify patterns of harm. This list is not exhaustive, thus professionals should be alert and take the initiative to identify these forms of abuse as well as other forms that might occur:
Physical abuse: including hitting, slapping, scratching, pushing, rough handling, kicking.
Fabricated or induced illness: Where someone exaggerates or deliberately causes symptoms of illness in a child or adult at risk.
Emotional or Psychological abuse: Persistent emotional mistreatment including: threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, humiliation, ridicule, blaming, cyber bullying, isolation or unreasonable and unjustified withdrawal from services or supportive networks.
Sexual abuse: including rape, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, inappropriate looking or touching, unwanted sexual text messages, sexual teasing or innuendo, sexual photography, subjection to pornography or witnessing sexual acts.
Financial/Economic or material abuse: including misuse or theft of money, fraud, extortion of material assets or inappropriate requests for money, pressure in connection with wills, property or inheritance of financial transactions, or the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions or benefits. Any behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on the victim’s ability to acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or obtain goods or services.
Neglect and acts of omission: including ignoring medical or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health, social care and support or educational services or equipment for functional independence, the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition, heating and lighting. Failure to give privacy and dignity.
Self-Neglect: this covers a wide range of behaviour, neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene, health or surroundings, and includes behaviour such as hoarding.
Extremism: Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs.
Discriminatory abuse: including forms of harassment based on protected characteristics.
Modern slavery: encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced labour and domestic servitude. Traffickers and slave masters use whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment.
Organisational abuse: including neglect and poor care practice within an institution or specific care setting such as a hospital or care home, for example, or in relation to care provided in one’s own home. This may range from one off incidents to on-going ill-treatment. It can be through neglect or poor professional practice as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices within an organisation.
Female Genital Mutilation: Constitutes all procedures which involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or injury to the female genital organs for cultural or non therapeutic reasons.
Domestic violence: including physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, psychological, emotional or other abuse.
7. Making Safeguarding Personal
Making safeguarding personal is the underpinning philosophy for adult safeguarding. It requires that adult safeguarding work should be person-led and outcome-focused. It should engage the person in a conversation about how best to respond to their situation in a way that enhances their involvement, choice and control as well as improving their quality of life, wellbeing and safety.
At Attached Psychology, we will meet the aims of Making Safeguarding Personal by:
keeping the person at the heart of the process and
striving to understand the outcomes they want to achieve from the safeguarding work, and supporting them to achieve these outcomes.
8. Mental Capacity and Decision Making
Current legislation assumes that all individuals over the age of 16 have the ability to make their own decisions unless it has been proven they are unable to. This gives the right to individuals to make decisions even if others consider them to be unwise. In order for individuals to make decisions they need to:
Understand Information
Remember it for long enough
Think about the information
Communicate their decision
A person’s ability to do this may be affected by various factors including but not exclusive to: a learning disability, mental ill health, or brain injury. The vast majority of individuals can make their own decisions with the right support however, those with care and support needs may need others to make decisions about them and for them. A small proportion of individuals cannot make any decisions and are deemed to lack capacity.
Mental Capacity refers to the ability to make a decision at the time the decision was needed therefore, a person’s mental capacity can change. Thus, it is best practice, if safe/possible, to wait until an individual can be involved in decision making or make a decision for themselves.
It is important to make sure an “adult at risk” has choices in the actions taken to safeguard them e.g. whom information is shared with. The following principles are helpful to consider:
Decisions can only be made for people if they cannot do that for themselves at the time a decision is needed
If the decision can wait, wait - e.g. to get help to assist the individual to make their own decision
If a decision has to be made on behalf of an individual it needs to be in their best interest taking into account what is known about their preferences and wishes
If action is taken to keep individuals safe and this will restrict them, then the least restrictive option should be considered
9. Training and Awareness
Awareness of this safeguarding policy/procedure is covered within the onboarding process of all members to Attached Psychology. All members will be required to maintain their own training on safeguarding adults at a level commensurate with their roles. All members will have an enhanced DBS check that is kept up to date as mandated, and will have provided appropriate professional and personal references during the onboarding process to Attached Psychology.
10. Safeguarding Children and Child Protection
Where an adult is vulnerable, there is also a need to consider the safety and welfare of any child(ren) for whom they have responsibility. Attached Psychology has a statutory responsibility to take action to safeguard children (e.g. share information or submit appropriate referrals). Please refer to Attached Psychology’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.
11. Safeguarding Procedures
Where any member of Attached Psychology is concerned about the safety or welfare of an adult, the following steps must be taken:
If there is an immediate risk to life, call the emergency services on 999 or 101.
Wherever possible, the member should relay to the adult that they are concerned, and seek to empower the adult to take action themselves. There should be a discussion regarding the sharing of information and the reasons for this, and consent should be obtained if possible. If the member is relaying information about an adult to a GP for example, they should seek the adult’s consent to information being shared. There may be circumstances in which this discussion should not take place, for example, if it would place the member or adult at immediate risk. It may also be necessary to go against the expressed wishes of the adult in relation to making a referral but the reasons must be proportional and clearly documented.
The member must document their concerns in writing to the Safeguarding Lead (hello@attachedpsychology.co.uk), as soon as possible, making note of; date, time, what was said, and all relevant details. This should be completed as soon as reasonably possible in line with the level of risk however, must be completed within 24 hours.
The member and Safeguarding Lead should agree on a course of action together and document this, as well as their discussion, on a safeguarding form. This decision needs to be made within 24 hours, but will often be made sooner, particularly when the level of risk is high. The decision could include, but is not limited to, the following:
phone call to NHS 111 for triage
referral to GP
referral to Community Mental Health Team
referral to Health Visitor
referral to Police
referral to Adult Social Care or the Local Safeguarding Adults Board
referral to other agencies, such as a substance-misuse team, domestic violence service or helpline based support service
The discussion with the Safeguarding Lead must include consideration of whether there are child protection or safeguarding concerns that need addressing and action be taken in line with Attached Psychology’s Child Safeguarding and Protection Policy.
The member should, unless there is a specific, proportionate safety concern, consult with the adult about possible referrals that can or have been made on their behalf.
All decisions and actions will be recorded on the adult’s file with agreed timescales.
12. Managing allegations made against members of Attached Psychology
If an allegation is made against a member of Attached Psychology, the following procedure will be followed:
All allegations against members need to be made in writing to the Director of Attached Psychology, Dr Jessica Cardy (hello@attachedpsychology.co.uk). All allegations will be investigated in full by the Director. An outside agency may be invited to oversee the investigation, depending on the nature and circumstances of the allegation;
If the allegation relates to Dr Jessica Cardy, then you should contact the Local Authority directly;
The member will be invited to a confidential meeting to discuss the issue. Support, including the option to bring a member or union representative to meetings, will be provided for members raising concerns;
If anonymity is requested, efforts will be made to protect the identity of the individual raising the concern, though this cannot always be guaranteed;
Any allegations against members will be thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken, which may include disciplinary measures or referrals to professional regulatory bodies;
The outcome of the concern will be communicated, although full details may not always be shared due to confidentiality obligations;
If a criminal offence is suspected, the police and relevant authorities will be informed.
13. Whistleblowing
If members raise a whistleblowing concern, they are protected by the law in relation to the following:
If someone’s safety is in danger;
If there is a potential miscarriage of justice;
If there is a criminal offence;
If there is a risk of damage to the environment;
If a company is breaking the law; or
If we believe someone is purposely covering up a wrong doing.
Reports can be sent directly to the relevant agency and we will abide by their whistleblowing procedures. Detailed records and notes will be maintained throughout the whistleblowing reporting process.
14. Conclusion
The safety and well-being of adults accessing Attached Psychology’s services are paramount. This policy provides a clear framework to prevent, identify, and respond to safeguarding concerns. By adhering to this policy and following the principles of safeguarding, we can ensure that all individuals receive the support and care they deserve in a safe, secure, and respectful environment.
Key Contact Information:
Safeguarding Lead: Dr Jessica Cardy
Local safeguarding contacts for adults:
Adult Social Care Tel: 0345 1551 007
Emergency Duty Service 0345 6000 388
Email: adultsc.safeguardingadultservices-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
Policy and Procedure created: March 2026
Next review date: March 2027, or as appropriate prior to this date