The Journal of Adult Protection

Leo Quigley

2014 The Journal of Adult Protection

doi: 10.1108/JAP-04-2013-0015

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the reasons underlying the slow rate of progress towards developing a comprehensive policy underpinning for adult safeguarding in England and proposes long‐term solutions. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses a model of policy change to argue that adult safeguarding has been over‐reliant on case histories to define its policy problems and influence its politics, while making insufficient progress on data collection and analysis. It uses examples from the parallel discipline of public health to explore four challenges, or “problems”, relevant to the further development of the knowledge base underpinning adult safeguarding policy. Findings – Four recommendations emerge for closing the adult safeguarding “knowledge gap”, including the development of a national research strategy for adult safeguarding. In a fifth recommendation the paper also proposes a clearer recognition of the contribution that local public health professionals can make to local adult safeguarding policy making and programme development. Practical implications – The first four recommendations of this paper would serve as the basis for developing a national research strategy for adult safeguarding. The fifth would strengthen the contribution of local public health departments to safeguarding adults boards. Originality/value – The author is unaware of the existence of any other review of the limitations of the adult safeguarding knowledge base as a foundation for policy making, or which proposes strategic solutions. The work is valuable for its practical proposals.

Lisa Ruth Oakley; Kathryn Susan Kinmond

2014 The Journal of Adult Protection

doi: 10.1108/JAP-07-2013-0033

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a ground‐breaking survey into people's experiences of church and Spiritual Abuse (SA), in a context of issues of safeguarding and policy. Design/methodology/approach – The survey was delivered online between April 2011 and December 2012. Findings – The findings showed many people had encountered negative church experiences. Most respondents had very limited knowledge and understanding of SA and related support and intervention. Research limitations/implications – This survey represents the views of a small percentage of those who attend, or have attended, church and further more extensive research is required to provide a more comprehensive understanding. Additionally research is required within other faiths and cultural contexts. Practical implications – It is evident that there is clearly a need to strengthen current safeguarding policy and practice with regards to SA. Originality/value – This paper offers an initial insight into the challenges for safeguarding together with some suggested intervention strategies.

Jill Manthorpe; Deborah Klee; Cathie Williams; Adi Cooper

2014 The Journal of Adult Protection

doi: 10.1108/JAP-07-2013-0027

Purpose – This paper aims to contextualise and summarise the Making Safeguarding Personal programme and to place this in the context of early developments in research‐based evidence. Design/methodology/approach – A programme of sector led improvement in local council adult safeguarding arrangements was carried out in four English local councils by the Local Government Association and other stakeholders. Support was provided to four local council test bed sites to assist them to test and adapt different approaches to adult safeguarding that placed emphasis on outcomes and on approaches to mediation to assist vulnerable adults to improve their circumstances. Findings – Key findings from the test bed sites are that it may be possible to consider the outcomes of safeguarding interventions from “user” perspectives and that it appears that practitioners may welcome support with taking forward methods of mediation and work with family networks. These activities reflect an interest in developing practice responses and measures of effectiveness. Originality/value – Councils will need to develop measures of the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements and sector led improvements can contribute to these from a “bottom up” perspective. Practitioners often welcome opportunities to reflect on and to invest in responses to cases of alleged and proven abuse and neglect.

Joe Hanley; David Marsland

2014 The Journal of Adult Protection

doi: 10.1108/JAP-07-2013-0031

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance and nature of relationships of trust in care settings. The paper addresses the central question of what is it about these kinds of relationships that is associated with harm and abuse? Design/methodology/approach – The paper takes a discursive approach, based, implicitly, on an ecological framework of analysis. Findings – The conclusion is that the relationships between staff and service users in residential care settings are characterised by non‐mutual dependency, isolation and unequal decision‐making powers. Therefore such relationships deserve special focus and attention in order to safeguard and protect the people concerned. Practical implications – The paper implies that practitioners and policy makers should find ways to ensure that they listen more closely to people living in residential settings. Practitioners should ask more about the quality of relationships that people enjoy with the staff that support them. Originality/value – The paper suggests that in order to safeguard people more effectively, practitioners and policy makers should reconsider the central focus of their energies and revisit issues such as isolation, in the lives of disabled and older people living in residential care.

Celia Harbottle; Maria R. Jones; Lee M. Thompson

2014 The Journal of Adult Protection

doi: 10.1108/JAP-05-2013-0019

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to invite readers to consider a model of compassionate leadership to contribute to the prevention of abuse in collective care settings. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines a model of leadership based on theories of attachment and parenting and draws on evidence from practice. The framework, which we call Total Attachment, originated in a foster care organisation which was designed around the approach as a way of supporting carers to care for children who were, largely deemed as unfosterable. It explores literature examining workplace culture and the potential for detachment as workers try to survive their employment. It then offers an approach which has been adopted by a Safeguarding Adults partnership to implement a prevention framework into collective care settings for older people. This has placed Total Attachment at the heart of its promotion of compassionate care giving. Findings – Consultation from the launch of the prevention framework indicated that Total Attachment had a resonance with providers and was readily understood and its value, tangible as a whole systems approach to enabling compassionate caring. The efficacy of the model in supporting workers to be resilient and effective is quantified by data from the foster organisation. Research limitations/implications – Total Attachment draws on transference of practice learning and experience across life span services. Attachment theory is largely considered a framework informing child care, however, this model recognises the attachment story across the life span. Practical implications – This model shows how compassionate care can be led rather than simply taught; how carers and workers can be shown a way of working that connects deeply with their own need for care giving and care seeking. Originality/value – This paper shares creative, innovative practice that can be implemented in services across the life span. It offers a model for leading compassionate care in a whole systems approach with an evidence base of its efficacy.

Mel Walford; Andy Kaye; Mick Collins

2014 The Journal of Adult Protection

doi: 10.1108/JAP-05-2013-0021

Purpose – The protection of vulnerable adults from abuse is paramount for those working in adult protection. However, staff supporting vulnerable adults who are alleged to have abused them can feel very vulnerable and their needs must also be taken into account. The purpose of this paper is to consider the impact of adult protection investigations from the experiences of people who have been identified as alleged perpetrators in adult protection cases in order to identify improvements in practice. Design/methodology/approach – This limited study used qualitative semi‐structured interviews to collect data that reflected views of the issues and experiences of participants. Findings – This study shows that expectations set out in the Wales Interim Policy and Procedures document under “support for alleged perpetrators” do not match with the experience of those who took part in this study. The experience of some alleged perpetrators is that the investigation process can be protracted, they may be left isolated with little or no information and feel very vulnerable. Research limitations/implications – A limitation of this study was the small number of participants who were interviewed and the selection and bias. Participation was on a voluntary basis and the participants were self‐selecting. The participants were all paid staff. Vulnerable adults who had been identified as alleged abusers were excluded from the study on the premise that their experiences were likely to be quite different. Practical implications – It is vital that alleged perpetrators are not themselves abused by the process. The findings from this study should be used to develop recommendations to improve practice. Originality/value – The effects on staff who have been investigated as alleged abusers under adult protection policy and procedures has been under‐researched. This study will make a contribution to addressing this.