Pressures on adult safeguarding is rising
- 17 Sep
Referrals rose by 4% last year, following an 11% rise the previous year meaning more pressure is being placed on the adult safeguarding system.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have reported that professionals investigated 112,000 referrals in 2012-13 which is up from 108,000 the previous year. There was also a more significant rise in the number of alerts of suspected abuse of adults, reports Community Care. Councils must now examine alerts to see if they meet safeguarding thresholds and thereby become referrals that require investigation.
The HSCIC have said that it was not possible to know whether the increase in the number of cases was a due to a rise in the level of abuse or neglect or increased reporting of it.
This year sees significant changes in the way that social workers have to record safeguarding cases for submission to the HSCIC, and a greater focus will be place on the outcomes of the processes. From now onwards practitioners will have to record whether their interventions resulted in reduced removed or unchanged risks to the alleged victim, rather than recording the specific processes they used.
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