Safeguarding Policy

1. Purpose

Living Enabled works with adults, many of whom are older, living with health conditions, or finding daily life at home harder to manage. Some may be at risk of harm, abuse or neglect.

This policy explains how we recognise safeguarding concerns, what we do about them, and who is responsible. It applies to everything we do: website enquiries, suitability calls, video assessments, written reports, follow-up calls and training delivered to care providers.

2. Our approach

We follow the principles that underpin adult safeguarding in the UK:

• We act on concerns rather than ignoring them.
• We involve the person themselves wherever possible - safeguarding is done with people, not to them.
• Our response is proportionate to the risk.
• We work with statutory services rather than around them; we do not investigate concerns ourselves.
• We record what we saw or heard, what we decided and why.

Living Enabled provides a UK-wide remote service. Safeguarding law, terminology and referral arrangements differ across the four UK nations - for example the Care Act 2014 in England, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007, and Northern Ireland's adult safeguarding arrangements. We follow the framework that applies where the person is located. Where a safeguarding referral is required, it is made to the appropriate statutory safeguarding service for that area.

3. Who is responsible

Mariam Daji, HCPC-registered Occupational Therapist (registration number OT77566), is the safeguarding lead. All safeguarding judgements and decisions sit with her.

Operational support (enquiry handling, scheduling, payments) does not involve safeguarding decision-making. Any safety concern appearing in an enquiry, email or message is passed to Mariam Daji without delay and without reply beyond an acknowledgement.

The website enquiry form asks whether there are any current safety concerns. Answers indicating recent falls, incidents or urgent risk are reviewed by Mariam before any other step is taken.

4. What counts as a safeguarding concern

As a general explanation, an adult at risk is someone who has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and is unable to protect themselves because of those needs. The precise legal test varies between the UK nations.

Abuse and neglect take many forms, including:

• Physical abuse
• Emotional or psychological abuse, including intimidation, humiliation or controlling behaviour
• Sexual abuse
• Financial abuse, including scams, pressure over money, or misuse of a person's funds or property
• Neglect by those responsible for care, including withholding food, medication, warmth or support
• Self-neglect, including not eating, not seeking medical care, or living in conditions that put the person at serious risk
• Domestic abuse
• Discriminatory abuse
• Organisational abuse or neglect within a care setting
• Modern slavery

5. How concerns may arise in a remote service

Working remotely, concerns may come to light through:

• What a person or family member tells us during any call
• What we see or hear during a video assessment - including the condition of the home, interactions between people present, or someone appearing unable to speak freely
• Photographs or videos shared with us
• Answers given on the enquiry form
• Patterns such as unexplained injuries, fear of a household member, sudden changes in money matters, or severe self-neglect

Practical remote step: at the start of every video assessment we confirm the person's current location, who is present, and whether they are able to speak freely. This means that if an emergency arises during the call, we can direct help to the right place.

6. What we will do

If someone is in immediate danger or has a medical emergency - for example a collapse or injury during a video call - we will call 999, give the person's location, and stay on the call where possible. Any further sharing of information, for example with the GP or family, is decided on the basis of necessity, consent and the person's best interests, and is recorded.

If there is a safeguarding concern that is not an emergency, we will:

1. Discuss the concern with the person where it is safe and appropriate to do so.
2. Seek their consent to make a referral.
3. Refer the concern to the statutory safeguarding service for the area where the person lives (the local authority adult safeguarding team in England, Wales and Scotland, or the relevant Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland). Each publishes a safeguarding contact route, found through its website.
4. Signpost to the GP where a medical review is needed.
5. Record the concern, the discussion, the decision and the reasons.

If a concern relates to a child - for example a child living in or visiting the household - we will call 999 if a child is in immediate danger, refer a non-emergency concern to the local children's social care or statutory safeguarding service, and contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 for advice and support where appropriate.

Living Enabled is not an emergency or crisis service, and this is stated clearly on our website. The free suitability call exists partly to make sure urgent situations are directed to the right services rather than booked into this one.

7. Consent, capacity and sharing information without consent

We start from the principle that adults have the right to make their own decisions, including decisions others might disagree with, and we presume capacity unless there is reason to doubt it (in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in England and Wales, and equivalent frameworks elsewhere in the UK). The Home Function Review does not include a formal capacity assessment, but Mariam will still consider whether the person can understand and agree to the assessment, and to any decision about sharing information.

Wherever possible, we make safeguarding referrals with the person's knowledge and consent. We may share information without consent only where:

• The law requires or allows us to share the information
• The person lacks capacity to make that decision and a referral is in their best interests
• Other people, including children, are at risk
• A serious crime has been or may be committed
• There is immediate danger to life or of serious harm

If we do share information without consent, we will tell the person we have done so, unless telling them would increase the risk. The decision and the reasons are always recorded.

8. Concerns about Living Enabled

If anyone has a concern about the conduct of Living Enabled or the clinician, they can use our Complaints Policy, and can contact the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which regulates occupational therapists, at hcpc-uk.org. Where a safeguarding concern is about Mariam Daji herself, it should not be handled by her alone. It can be raised directly with the statutory safeguarding service for the area where the person lives, with the police where a crime may have occurred, and with the HCPC. Any such concern is recorded factually and preserved.

9. Records

Safeguarding records are factual and made at the time: what was seen or heard, what was reported by someone else, what was decided, any advice obtained, and what was shared, with whom and why. We keep fact and opinion clearly separate. Records are stored securely, in line with our Privacy Notice, with access restricted to the treating clinician. Where a concern relates to a client's clinical record, it is kept with that record; other safeguarding records are kept securely for as long as needed for legal, insurance and professional purposes, and then deleted.

10. Training and review

Mariam Daji maintains adult safeguarding training appropriate to her role. This policy is reviewed annually, and after any safeguarding event.

Key contacts

• Emergency: 999
• Urgent medical advice: NHS 111 (in Northern Ireland, GP out-of-hours or local urgent care)
• Adult safeguarding referrals: the statutory safeguarding service for the area where the person lives (local authority adult social care, or the Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland)
• Police non-emergency: 101
• Hourglass (older adult abuse helpline): 0808 808 8141 (free, 24/7)
• NSPCC (concerns about children): 0808 800 5000

Questions about this policy: hello@livingenabled.co.uk