Safeguarding from Bullying, Harassment, Exploitation and Other Forms of Social Abuse (England) Policy

This policy shows how the Clarendon Neuro Rehabilitation Service deals with the more social forms of abuse that are always likely to occur in group — including families — and community living arrangements as important dimensions of its overall safeguarding strategy. It reflects the care service’s commitment to ensure that people receiving care are fully safeguarded from all forms of abuse.

It should be read and used in association with a range of other policies designed to make sure that every person using a care service is safe from abuse from any source and the risks of their coming to harm are kept to the minimum and well managed.

The policy is in line with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, particularly Regulation 13: Safeguarding Service Users from Abuse and Improper Treatment.

The key policy is that for Safeguarding People Using a Care Service in Care Homes from Abuse or Harm or Safeguarding People Using a Care Service from Abuse or Harm in Domiciliary Care. Other relevant policies, which might need to be followed in situations involving people using services abusing or harming each other are:

• Concerns and Complaints (England)
• Child Safeguarding (Domiciliary Care)
• Safeguarding Service Users Who Are at Significant Risk of Harm
• Antisocial Behaviour
• Online Safety (Domiciliary Care)
• Professional Boundaries
• Safeguarding People Who Use Services from Abuse and Harm: Restraints, including Physical Controls, and Restrictive Practices in Domiciliary Care
• Safeguarding People Who Use Services from Abuse and Harm: Restraints, including Physical Controls, and Restrictive Practices in Care Homes
• Safeguarding People Using a Care Service from the Harmful Actions and Behaviour of Peers and Social Contacts.
• Safeguarding Vulnerable People Using a Care Service, Particularly Children, Outside of their Home or Adult Care Home

Bullying can be defined as any unsolicited or unwelcome act that humiliates, intimidates or undermines the individual involved and includes cyberbullying. Bullying is a form of abuse, which can come from staff or peer behaviour. Harassment, which can take many different forms including stalking, is a form of bullying. Bullying can lead to exploitation in its different forms, including financial, social and sexual exploitation, scapegoating, and ostracism. Victims of bullying might suffer emotional distress, social isolation, accidents, illness, non-participation, poor self-esteem and morale and low levels of functioning in the different areas of their lives.

Clarendon Neuro Rehabilitation Service works on the basis that all of the people receiving care must be treated with dignity and respect and feel that they are treated thus. It considers that bullying from any source is harmful. The care service will not condone any form of bullying, harassment or exploitation of a service user from any source and is always prepared to take action to stop it and prevent further bullying, wherever it is encountered.

Management will take every step to prevent and eliminate any of the people using the care service from being bullied in line with its general safeguarding from abuse/harm policies and procedures. Staff are trained in and are expected to be aware of and report any signs and indications that anyone is suffering from any form of bullying, harassment and exploitation so that the appropriate interventions can be made to deal with it.

When appropriate, every effort will be made to resolve the situation with the parties concerned involving the victim of bullying, the bullies and their families and guardians/representatives. It should be acknowledged that some people using services might also engage in bullying behaviour, which must be addressed as any other bullying issue.

The priority for the care service is always to keep a victim safe from further bullying and to reduce the bullying behaviour of the perpetrator if the person is also subject to service provision.

Staff who observe or can identify that one of the people using their care service is being bullied or bullying others, which is resulting in distress and harm to the person using services or others, eg in a domestic abuse situation, should report the matter to their manager, who can begin to investigate the situation with the individuals concerned and their representatives.

Staff practice issues are discussed in supervision. Where staff are observed to behave in ways that suggest they are bullying, harassing or intimidating people or complaints are made about such behaviour the matters will be fully investigated and disciplinary and full safeguarding procedures initiated if the evidence indicates they are needed.

In cases where there is evidence that the victim might be suffering significant harm as a result of the bullying, harassment and possible exploitation inside or outside the service full safeguarding procedures should be invoked by alerting the local Safeguarding Adults’ Board and possibly the police if there is a need to prevent or prevent further criminal acts from taking place. (See the Safeguarding People Using a Care Service in Care Homes from Abuse or Harm (Overarching Policy) or Safeguarding People Using a Care Service From Abuse or Harm in Domiciliary Care (Overarching Policy) for the procedures to be followed.)