In the United Kingdom, just like many other countries in the world, there are organisations (for example, charities and social care centres) set up to assist the vulnerable people in society. These can be children, teenagers or adults who receive a regulated activity. These organisations are responsible for ensuring that everyone who benefits in any way from the service they provide is not harmed. They have a legal obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure this doesn’t happen and this is of particular importance when the beneficiaries are vulnerable persons.
As a result, many organisations adopt safeguarding practices to ensure the people they employ meet the required standards and can be entrusted to provide services. Some firms choose to use the services of third parties such as Hojona Limited – a recruitment service provider for companies in the social care and medical sector – to carry out vetting of prospective candidates. Hojona, with London-based entrepreneur Mohammed Adnan Imam acting as Chairman, is always striving to provide a quality team and has implemented a safeguarding process to accomplish this.
Safeguarding is a term that encompasses more than just protection and speaks to the actions taken to promote the welfare of vulnerable people and protect them from harm. It covers the protection of health, human rights and wellbeing, enabling people to live free of neglect and abuse. Safeguarding is a crucial element of high-quality social care.
When the term is used with children, it refers to the steps taken to protect them from things that are bad for their development and ensuring they grow up in a safe environment. In adults, safeguarding measures protect the rights of individuals to live in safety. It ensures that people and companies work together to prevent the risk of harm and makes sure people’s feelings, beliefs and wishes are taken into account.
Firms and charities that work with vulnerable groups must put their best interests first and ensure they’ve implemented all reasonable steps to protect them from harm. Having safeguards not only protects the vulnerable, it also enhances the confidence of various groups that interact with the firm, including the general public.
The necessity for safeguarding is common in many countries. In the UK it helps accomplish a number of aims, including raising awareness among communities and professionals, helping them to play their part in preventing and responding to neglect and abuse. Safeguarding also ensures that people get the best experience and allows people to feel supported in their lives and the decisions they make.
Sharing of Information
Raising awareness is made more efficient when the exchange of information channels and procedures are clear and communicated to everyone involved. It is important to know that a lack of information sharing is a contributing factor to neglect or abuse. As much as possible, information should flow, but with consent. Remember, a person’s right to confidentiality can be overridden; particularly when there is evidence that sharing information is in the best interests of others.
The Charity Commission for England and Wales is one of the overseeing organisations that ensure charities providing services to, or working with, vulnerable persons protect them as much as possible and reduce the risk of abuse. The Commission works to educate charities on how to deal with safeguarding issues by relying on established frameworks such as the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, which established the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
The DBS manages the Barred Adults’ and Barred Children’s Lists of people unsuitable for working with these groups. It processes criminal records and decides who is unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups. Individuals who are identified by the DBS cannot apply for such work, whether voluntary or paid, and employers are legally required to forward someone to the DBS if they (the individual) have been dismissed due to causing harm to a child or adult.
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