Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board

Safeguarding adults in Camden

Everyone has the right to live a life that is free from abuse, harm and neglect. Watch this animation to find out about Camden's approach to safeguarding in the borough.

If you are worried about an adult please call 020 7974 4000 and select option 1, or email us on adultsocialcare@camden.gov.uk.

If you think an adult is in immediate danger you should call the police on 999 (urgent) or dial 101 (non-urgent).

Deaf or Hard of Hearing people who use British Sign Language (BSL) can contact Camden Council using our Sign Video Web Access, an online sign language interpreting service. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will require a webcam.

An adult with care and support needs may be more at risk of, or already experiencing, abuse or neglect because they:

are unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves from harm,
depend on others for their care,
lack the mental capacity to take a particular decision.

If you are concerned about an adult please email adultsocialcare@camden.gov.uk.

Safeguarding adults training

It is the responsibility of each organisation to make sure safeguarding training is delivered effectively to its own staff. This includes:

employers
student bodies
voluntary organisations

Training should take place at all levels in an organisation and no staff groups should be excluded. This training should be updated regularly to reflect current best practice.

Types of safeguarding training

Introduction: for everyone

Everyone should complete Introduction to Safeguarding training to understand the signs of abuse and the duty to report. You may want to use our free online Introduction to safeguarding course.

Watch our animation to find out Camden's approach to Safeguarding in the borough.  

Awareness: for most staff members

More detailed awareness training will be required by most staff members. This will include training on the responsibilities in your organisation.

If your organisation feels less able to meet your staff’s basic safeguarding learning requirements, please contact our Safeguarding Board Manager.

Specialist: for managers and specific roles

Specialist training must be provided for:

managers
people who receive enquiries
specific roles, for example elected members or Healthwatch members

Advanced training should also be made available to:

people who work with more complex enquiries
those who act as their organisation’s expert in a particular field, for example legal or social work
those who provide medical or nursing advice to the organisation or the Board

If you feel you have specialist or advanced training requirements that you cannot meet, please contact our Safeguarding Board Manager.

7-minute briefings

We understand it can be hard to find the time for learning and development, but learning for 7 minutes is manageable in most services.

Warwickshire safeguarding has 7-minute briefings on a range of safeguarding topics to support your learning.

More learning opportunities

For more safeguarding learning opportunities:

sign up for our newsletter to hear more about one-off events, contact carole.demol@camden.gov.uk
visit our Camden Safeguarding Children Partnership website for more training and resources
Complete our introduction to domestic violence and abuse

If you are a small local voluntary, community, charity or not-for-profit organisation, you can get limited access to the Council’s training. For more information, please contact learning@camden.gov.uk

Camden Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board (Camden SAPB)

What is the Camden Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board?

The Camden Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board is a statutory multi-agency board that is committed to protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It has overall responsibility for co-coordinating safeguarding adult matters and ensuring that partner agencies carry out safeguarding adults work.

What the Board does

The board meets quarterly and their work includes:

co-ordinating activity between agencies
facilitating joint training
monitoring and reviewing progress in safeguarding practice
developing ways of working which will improve our ability to support Camden residents across the community to live a life free from abuse
learning from lessons where people have not been adequately protected

How does the Camden Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board aim to meet this?

By fostering strong relationships with all its partner agencies and other strategic boards, to demonstrate a real commitment to ensuring that adults in Camden live a life free of abuse and neglect.

This includes partners and members feeling able to challenge each other and other organisations where it believes actions or inactions are increasing the risk of abuse or neglect. It is also about identifying arrangements for monitoring and reviewing the implementation and impact of policy and training.

At the same time, it’s about making sure that the adult’s wellbeing is being promoted including, having regard to their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs in deciding on any action. It must be recognised that adults sometimes have complex interpersonal relationships and may be ambivalent, unclear or unrealistic about their personal circumstances.

The Care Act

The Care Act 2014 provided a formal statutory base for safeguarding adult boards. This has enabled the Board to deliver a more robust challenge and ensure greater consistency in safeguarding arrangements throughout Camden.

Camden SAPB has three core duties which the Care Act 2014 sets out. These include developing and publishing an annual strategic plan, publishing an annual report which sets out what we have achieved, and commissioning a Safeguarding Adults Review where serious abuse or death has occurred and to ensure lessons learnt.

Definition of Adult Safeguarding

The statutory framework introduced under the Care Act applies to any person aged 18 or above who:

has needs for care and support (regardless of the level of need and whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs)
is experiencing, or is at risk of abuse or neglect, and
as a result of those needs, is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.

Who sits on Camden SAPB?

Camden Council (Adult Social Care, Integrated Commissioning, Housing, Community Safety
NHS North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group
Met Police (Camden)
Camden Council Cabinet Member for Tackling Health Inequality & Promoting Independence)
London Fire Brigade (Camden)
National Probation Service
Community Rehabilitation Company
Representation from Camden Council’s Adult Social Care, Integrated Commissioning, Housing, Community Safety, Cabinet Member for Tackling Health Inequality & Promoting Independence
Camden and Islington Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust
Central North West London NHS Trust
Royal Free Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust
University College London Hospitals
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Representation from Service Users
Representation from Voluntary Sector
Public Health Camden & Islington
Healthwatch Camden

What should I do if I suspect abuse?

If you are worried about an adult please call 020 7974 4000 and select option 1, or email adultsocialcare@camden.gov.uk. If you think an adult is in immediate danger you should call the police on 999 (urgent) or dial 101 (non-urgent).

This form may be used for non-members of the public to report abuse:

Camden SAPB Multi Agency Safeguarding Adults Referral Form

Sub-Groups

At present, Camden SAPB has two sub-groups which support the development of specific areas in preventing and responding to the abuse of adults at risk. In addition there may be occasions the SAPB will establish specific, time-limited task and finish groups to report on particular topics according to the work required.

Sub-Groups

Safeguarding Adult Reviews Sub Group

Terms of reference

Quality & Performance Sub Group

Terms of reference

Learning and Development Sub Group

Terms of reference

Safeguarding Engagement Sub Group

Terms of reference

Types of abuse

There are many different types of abuse. Some examples are:

Physical: Where physical acts of violence, or threats of violence or intimidation, are used against a person, including assault, hitting, slapping, pushing, misuse of medication, restraint, or inappropriate physical sanctions.

Organisational: The mistreatment of an individual(s) due to poor or inadequate practices, systems, or care within a care setting. This includes neglect and poor care practice within an institution, unsafe handling and the covering up of incidents.

Sexual: Abusive sexual behaviour towards another person, covering a range of behaviours including rape, sexual assault, harassment, inappropriate looking or touching, subjection to pornography or sexual acts to which the adult has not consented, or was pressured into consenting, and publishing sexual images without consent.

Modern slavery: Slavery typically occurs where people are being exploited or controlled by another person and are unable to leave their situation. There are eight key forms of modern slavery: forced labour; debt bondage; prostitution; domestic servitude; criminal exploitation; child exploitation; forced marriage; and organ harvesting.

Emotional/Psychological: The frequent and deliberate use of words and non-physical actions with the intention of manipulating, scaring or hurting an individual. This includes emotional abuse, threats of harm or abandonment, humiliation, blaming, controlling, intimidation, isolation, or unreasonable and unjustified withdrawal of services or supportive networks.

Financial/material: When someone takes or misuses someone else's money or belongings for their own gain. This includes theft, fraud, internet scamming, coercion in relation to an adult's financial transactions, or the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions or benefits.

Domestic abuse: Incidents or patterns of behaviour that are violent, controlling, coercive, threatening or degrading towards a person who is or has been a close intimate partner or family member. This includes psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional abuse; 'honour' based violence; and coercive control which is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation, and intimidation.

Neglect/acts of omission: When a person(s) fails to do something, leading to the individual potentially being harmed. This includes ignoring medical, emotional or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health, care and support, or educational services, and the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition, and heating.

Self-neglect: Defined as an extreme lack of self-care to the extent where it may threaten someone's health and safety. This covers a wide range of behaviours, including neglecting to care for one's personal hygiene, health or surroundings and includes hoarding.

Discriminatory: Where abuse is targeted towards someone because of their age, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, class, culture, language, race, or ethnic origin.