Safeguarding

Raising a concern with the local authority

You can go straight to the council. You do not need our permission, you do not need to tell us, and you do not need evidence — reporting a worry is enough.

• Gloucestershire County Council adult social care: 01452 426868 (out of hours 01452 614194)
• Swindon Borough Council adult social care: 01793 463555 (out of hours 01793 436699)
• Police non-emergency: 101

Please check these numbers on the council’s own website before relying on them, as published contact details change.

Raising a concern with us

Our Registered Manager is the safeguarding lead. Any concern raised with us is escalated to the relevant local authority safeguarding team within 24 hours, and to the Care Quality Commission where the statutory notification threshold is met.

We will tell you what we have done with your concern, unless doing so would put someone at greater risk.

What safeguarding covers

Under the Care Act 2014, safeguarding applies to an adult who has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and cannot protect themselves as a result of those needs. Abuse includes:

• Physical, sexual or psychological abuse
• Neglect and acts of omission, including missed care visits
• Financial or material abuse, including pressure over money or property
• Discriminatory abuse
• Organisational abuse, where poor practice becomes routine
• Domestic abuse, including coercive control
• Self-neglect
• Modern slavery

Our staff

Every care worker completes safeguarding training at induction, before any unsupervised visit, and is required to act immediately on a concern rather than wait for a supervision session. Safeguarding is treated as everyone’s responsibility, not the manager’s alone.

Whistleblowing

If you work for us and are worried about practice, you can raise it without fear of losing shifts or being treated differently. If you do not feel able to raise it internally, you can contact the Care Quality Commission on 03000 616161, or the whistleblowing charity Protect on 020 3117 2520.

Mental capacity

We work to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We assume capacity unless there is reason to think otherwise, support people to make their own decisions, and where someone genuinely lacks capacity for a particular decision we act in their best interests and record why.