Safeguarding Of Vulnerable Adults
A curious remark made by Jeremy Hunt in his speech to the Tory Conference this week. After highlighting some recent serious safeguarding issues at various health and care settings, he said that managers would be held responsible for the care in their establishments and that they could not expect to keep their jobs if they lost control of their care in the same way that they would not expect to keep their jobs if they lost control of their finances.
One thing this certainly shows is that the minister clearly equates financial performance with care provision which is telling in its own right, but aren’t managers already responsible for quality of care and safeguarding of vulnerable adults? CQC certainly thinks so. Registered managers are required to prove their fitness for the task in what is described by the regulator as a rigorous but proportionate registration process.
Perhaps he is talking about more senior managers then? In which case would a Finance Director be called upon to resign if there were a serious safeguarding issue in an organisation’s care home or supported living service?
Safeguarding of vulnerable adults is a serious issue and all of us in the social care sector should be mindful of our responsibilities to be alert to, and report incidents, but I can’t help feeling that this speech was little more than playing to the gallery. If we want to take safeguarding seriously, there is a need for more monitoring of services by local authorities –and that resource comes with a cost, which ultimately requires central government funding.
I agree with all that you say. It is difficult to police peoples integrity to their roles and responsibilities, especially in the current climate. Regular training and monitoring are key. I’m definitely in favour for unannounced servie checks and auditing.
I also believe that all Managers should be held responsible and also, let us not forget, if serious abuse is taking place, should also receive appropriate police investigation and punishment. This would help in maintaining their duties to monitor the services care provision to vulnerable people.
I also believe carers/social workers should have psychiatric /psychological assessment prior to being employed to assess their suitablity to the roles!