gap Healthcare Safegaurding Policy 2022

SAFEGUARDING POLICY 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Introduction Legislation & Guidance Our commitment to Safeguarding Professional boundaries Safeguarding Reporting and Managing Allegations Whistleblowing

1. Introduction gap Healthcare (the Company) acknowledges it’s duty to safeguarding and the promotion of the welfare of children and vulnerable adults. The Company is committed to ensure safeguarding practices reflect statutory responsibilities, government guidance and comply with best practice. All children and vulnerable adults, regardless of age, disability, gender, racial heritage, religious belief, sexual orientation or identity, have the right to equal protection from all types of harm or abuse.

The policy applies to all internal staff and candidates of the Company. Failure to comply with this policy and to the Company’s safeguarding procedures may result in termination of employment and/or contract for services engagement as well as referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and/or The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) following the appropriate processes.

All candidates placed by the Company are expected to familiarise themselves with the specific arrangements for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults within the service where they are placed and to have a clear understanding regarding abuse and neglect in all forms; including how to identify, respond and report by following the internal procedures of the service in conjunction with the Company’s.

The Company expect all internal staff, and candidates to follow and promote good practice in safeguarding. In order to do so, they should: � � � �

Read, understand, accept and act in accordance with this policy.

Be vigilant and follow professional codes of conduct to maintain professional boundaries and safe working practices.

Report any concerns or disclosures related to the protection and safety of children and vulnerable adults.

Undertake mandatory safeguarding training and awareness sessions where provided.

2. Legislation and Guidance There are many different legislation and guidance that supports safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults such as: � � � � � � � � � � �

The Children Act 1989 (as amended).

The Children and Social Work Act 2017.

Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 The Equality Act 2010.

The Children and Families Act 2014.

The Human Rights Act 1998 The Care Act 2014 Mental Capacity Act 2005 The Health & Social Care Act 2012 Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

� � �

GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 Information Sharing: Guidance for practitioners and managers 2018

This policy should be read in conjunction with our other relevant policies, such as: � � � �

Health and Safety Policy Complaints Policy Whistleblowing Policy GDPR Policy

3. Our Commitment to Safeguarding The Company will meet our commitments to keeping children and vulnerable adults safe by: �

Appointing a nominated safeguarding lead, Carmen Neagu who will take lead responsibility for safeguarding matters.

�

Adhering to robust recruitment processes that ensure that those who are known to be a risk to children do not gain access to them; those whose actions suggest that they are a risk to children are detected at the earliest stage and prevented from continuing to work with children; and that those who intend to do harm are prevented at every possible stage from entering the workforce.

�

Effectively communicating internal staff and candidates’ roles and responsibilities in respect of safeguarding and ensure they are understood and provided appropriate learning opportunities to recognise, identify and respond to signs of abuse, neglect and other safeguarding concerns relating to children and vulnerable adults.

�

Implementing, promoting and reviewing policies and procedures.

�

Encouraging an open and transparent culture which enables staff and candidates to raise concerns around children and vulnerable adults, those that work with them, and processes within the Company and the service where they are placed.

�

Ensuring it is as simple as possible for an individual to report concerns about harm or risk and clear procedures are implemented where safeguarding and child protection issues arise. Where concerns are reported, the Company will ensure that individuals are supported.

�

Staying up to date with developments on safeguarding best practice. Reporting and auditing safeguarding activities annually and addressing any areas for improvement.

�

Timely reporting of any concerns regarding any individual, or any potential safeguarding situation that it becomes aware of and as soon as practicable escalate to the appropriate authority and subsequently co­operate in any ongoing investigations or assessments.

�

Working in partnership with other services to ensure that those who are identified as being at risk of abuse are protected.

�

Maintaining confidential, detailed and accurate records of all safeguarding concerns and they are securely stored.

4. Professional Boundaries Professional boundaries are what define the limits of a relationship between candidates, colleagues and clients. They are a set of standards we agree to uphold that allows this necessary relationship to exist while ensuring the correct detachment is kept in place.

The Company expects candidates to protect the professional integrity of themselves and the organisation. The following professional boundaries must be adhered to: � � �

Giving and receiving gifts from clients: The Compnay does not allow candidates to give gifts or receive gifts from clients. However, gifts may be provided by the organisation as part of a planned activity.

Contact with user groups.

Personal relationships between a candidate and a client who is a current service user is prohibited, this includes relationships through social media such as Facebook and twitter.

If a candidate is in doubt or has concerns over situations regarding contact, they should raise this with their gap Healthcare representative.

5. Safeguarding All candidates placed on assignment are provided with safeguarding training and have a responsibility to protect children and vulnerable adults. If you have seen, heard or been told of a situation which leads to a concern or allegation that a child or vulnerable adult may be subject to risk or harm, you are obligated to report that concern to the appropriate channels and manage the situation as per your training.

If you work within a service and you have a concern or allegation, in the first instance, please adhere to the services safeguarding reporting protocol and raise your concern or allegation with them, however, please ensure that you make your gap Healthcare representative aware also so we can make sure you are supported.

6. Reporting and Managing Allegations Should a concern or allegation be raised, your gap Healthcare representative will require information from you regarding your concerns. The following procedure will be actioned: �

� � �

Obtain all relevant facts from the person raising the concern and document them within a ‘Record of Conversation’ document. Ask the person: ¬ Details of the incident, context and if there is any evidence ¬ The name of the subject of the concern ¬ The details of the child or vulnerable adult concerned ¬ Any witnesses that may have been present Establish if the incident has been raised to any local authorities All incidents that could be deemed to be a safeguarding issue should be escalated to the safeguarding lead within 24 hours.

Liaise with the service where the safeguarding concern has been identified and share information and agree next steps.

If the incident is raised as a complaint, this will be managed at Branch level as per our complaints policy & procedure.

If the incident is raised as a safeguarding, the matter will be escalated, and the following procedure will be followed: �

The candidate will be informed and asked to attend meeting (face to face, via video call or over the telephone) to obtain a Record of Events which will be shared as part of the investigation.

� � � �

�

Depending on the nature of the safeguarding allegations, the safeguarding lead will decide if the worker is allowed to continue working or if their placements are to be terminated.

Report to the relevant local authority if this has not already been actioned.

Liaise with the relevant parties throughout the investigation.

Once the Safeguarding team reaches an outcome, this will be shared with those authorised to receive the information and recommendations from the safeguarding team will be followed (ie further training, DBS referral, NMC referral, termination of CFS, etc) Outcome to be recorded in CRM and safeguarding spreadsheet.

Relevant local authority services � � �

Safeguarding issues raised within the Vulnerable Adults services – Report to local authority Safeguarding issues raised within the Vulnerable children services – Report to Lado (Local Authority Designated Officer) Safeguarding issues raised against nurses are investigated by NMC (Nursing and Midwifery Council)

For all local authority details, please see below:

Council

Child Safeguarding

Adult Safeguarding

EDT

Cambridgeshire County Council

0345 045 5203

01733 234 724

01733 234724

Derbyshire County Council

01629 533190

01629 533190

01629 533190

East Riding of Yorkshire Council

01482 395500

01377 241273

01377 241273

Essex County Council

0345 603 7627

0345 6037630

0345 606 1212

Kent County Council

03000 41 61 61

03000 41 61 61

03000 41 91 91

Kingston upon Hull City Council

01482 300 300

01482 616092

01482 300 304

Lincolnshire County Council

01522 782111

01522 782155

01522 782333

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham

020 8227 3811

020 8227 2915

020 8594 8356

London Borough of Bexley

020 3045 5440

020 8303 7777

020 8303 7777

London Borough of Croydon

020 8726 6400

020 8726 6500

020 8726 6500

London Borough of Havering

01708 433222

01708 432000

01708 433999

London Borough of Lewisham

020 8314 6660

020 8314 7777

020 8314 6660

London Borough of Redbridge

020 8708 3885

020 8708 7333

0208 553 5825

London Borough of Sutton

020 8770 6000

020 8770 5000

020 8770 5000

Medway Council

01634 334 466

01634 334 466

01634 304 400

Norfolk County Council

0344 800 8020

0344 800 8020

0344 800 8020

North Lincolnshire Council

01724 296500

01724 297000

01724 297000

Peterborough City Council

01733 864180

01733 747474

01733 234724

Royal Borough of Greenwich

020 8921 3172

020 8854 8888

020 8854 8888

Sheffield City Council

0114 273 4855

0114 273 4908

0114 273 4855

Southend­on­Sea Borough Council

01702 215007

01702 215008

0845 606 1212

Suffolk County Council

0808 800 4005

0345 606 1499

0800 917 1109

Thurrock Council

01375 652802

01375 511000

01375 372 468

York City Council

01904 551900

01904 555111

01609 780780

Duty to make a referral to the DBS Following an allegation of safeguarding, should an investigation outcome provide evidence that anyone has harmed, or poses a risk of harm, to a child or vulnerable adult, there is a legal duty on the Company to report that person to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) by adhering to their guidance. The DBS has statutory authority to bar a person from working in regulated activity with children and vulnerable adults in the UK. A referral to the DBS will also be made if the candidate resigns prior to an investigation being carried out or reaching its conclusion. If the accused person resigns, or ceases to provide their services, this should not prevent an allegation being followed up in accordance with this guidance.

7. Whistle Blowing Candidates may find it difficult to raise concerns about colleagues, managers, people in placement or concerned about how safeguarding concerns are responded to within a setting. The Company has a specific Whistleblowing Policy which encourages candidates to raise concerns. The Company aims to have an open and honest culture where safeguarding is responded to effectively, where candidates feel safe, supported and able to voice any concerns that they have in the knowledge that they will be responded to.

How to contact us You can contact gap Healthcare Head Office via the following methods: Post: gap personnel, Pulford House, Bell Meadow Business Park, Park Lane, Pulford, Chester, CH4 9EP Tel: 01978 294201 Email: feedback@gap­personnel.com

GAP HEALTHCARE – SAFEGUARDING POLICY – VERSION 1 – 19/01/2022