Being a care worker can be a challenging, but rewarding job. It’s not just about providing care and support to vulnerable people, it’s also about making sure that all aspects of their safety and wellbeing are taken into consideration. That’s why it is so important to understand the importance of safeguarding adults and how to prevent, identify, and report any kind of abuse or neglect. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the role of the registered manager in safeguarding adults, how to deliver effective training to care workers, and what needs to be covered in mandatory training.
Download the guide from NICE (PDF)
Safeguarding Adults: The Role of a Registered Manager
As a care worker, you know how important it is to provide the highest quality of care for your patients. But what about safeguarding them from abuse or neglect? That’s where the role of the registered manager comes in.
The registered manager ensures that all staff members receive the training on safeguarding adults, as well as monitoring their understanding of the local safeguarding policy and procedure. This is done through a combination of induction and training, as well as ongoing supervision and appraisals.
It’s important for all staff in the care home to have enough protected time for their induction and training, which should include reading and understanding the materials, as well as improving their knowledge and confidence about safeguarding. This is essential for all care workers, no matter their experience level!
Delivering Safeguarding Training
When delivering safeguarding training, it’s important that it’s done correctly. Providing face-to-face training wherever possible is key, although video conferencing can also be used. It’s important to make sure that the training is interactive and tailored to each individual’s role and responsibilities, as well as the needs of the people they care for.
Case studies, reflective practice, problem-solving, examples of personalised care and human rights, and recommendations from any relevant Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) should all be used during learning opportunities, such as training or team meetings.
What Should Be Covered in Mandatory Training?
Mandatory training should cover a wide range of topics such as the Care Act 2014, 6 core principles of safeguarding, being open and honest when things go wrong (duty of candour), specific responsibilities and accountabilities, different abuse and neglect (including organisational abuse), poor practice vs abuse/neglect, whistleblowing policies, acting on and reporting abuse/neglect, handling evidence, raising concerns within the care home, escalation procedures, confidentiality and data protection, and duties under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.
It’s also important to provide ongoing training to build upon what has been covered in the mandatory course. This could include topics such as using risk assessments in safeguarding, asking sensitively about abuse/neglect, a wide range of situations where abuse/neglect may occur, less obvious indicators, more complex safeguarding concerns, and supporting a resident through an enquiry.
Evaluating Training Impact
Finally, it is important to evaluate the impact of training by assessing changes in attitudes and behaviours during regular supervision sessions and at annual appraisals. Refresher training should also be provided where needed. By doing this, you can ensure that staff are learning from each training opportunity and applying their learning in practice.
Safeguarding adults is an incredibly important part of providing care for vulnerable people – by ensuring that all staff receive the training and support on how to identify, prevent and report any kind of abuse or neglect, you can help make sure that everyone is kept safe from harm.
