Unit 7: P5
Walters NHS Trust Holly Ward
In this setting, the nurse in charge of Robert has noticed his behaviour around his parents and his
eating habits in the hospital. The nurse has also observed how Robert is underweight for his height
and this as risen series of suspicions, which has led to a report made to the ward manager. With
these observations made the nurse can follow the right safeguarding policies and procedures in
order to report for the possible abuse and neglect Robert is being a victim of. This is to manage the
welfare of Robert whilst still adhering to their duty of care.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-safeguarding-policy/ofsted-safeguarding-policy
According to the safeguarding policies individuals especially vulnerable groups of people need to be
protected from maltreatment whilst taking action to enable them achieve the best outcomes in care.
Safeguarding policies are there to ensure that abuse ranging from physical abuse to malnutrition
does not occur. In this case study we can see that Robert has a learning disability and so may not
realise that what is happening to him is abuse. It is possible that Robert may have been in a long
term abuse - due to his condition his parents may have been taking care of him since he was a child
and so was more exposed to possible neglect and harm. Whilst in the ward Robert accused his
parents of starving him which led to overeating when the opportunity arose. His parents denied this
accusation by stating that Robert usually makes up stories to gain attention (probably because the
parents are aware of the health professionals and so may want to create a good image for
themselves and may not abuse Robert in front of them). Since there is no evidence to show who is
telling the truth an investigation could be issued to inspect the situation at home. In this case health
professionals in the ward would have to follow in the safeguarding policies in the setting to ensure
the safety of Robert by assessing the potential risks he is being faced at home with the help of a
social worker.
https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/safeguarding/2019/01/what-is-safeguarding-in-health-and-s
ocial-care. Robert is not aware of the certain risk he could be exposed to. An example of this is can be
identified in the case study where he was admitted for surgery in the left arm following an accident
at home. There is the possibility of that “accident” being an intentional one. Again it is would be
significantly helpful if health professionals put measures in place such as using policies and
procedures to promote the wellbeing of Robert.
As we can see from the case study there are signs that Robert is being bullied by his parents. They
are infringing Robert’s human right by starving him and restricting his freedom of speech (speaks for
attention). According Human Rights Act 1988, every individual is entitled to their rights which should
be upheld such as treating everyone with respect, dignity and humanely and this something which
his parents failed to adhere to. Therefore, Robert would have to be protected from his parents
according to the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) legislation which could ban Robert’s parents
from having any contact with him in the future because of the treatment Robert received from them
in the past. As we know what human rights Robert is entitled, we can quickly pinpoint how his rights
are being overstepped and how by following policies and procedures we can prevent any further
damage from being made. Additionally, with POVA legislation which protect vulnerable people like
Robert would allow health and social organisations to be very thorough when recruiting (DBS)health
staffs in order to minimise the risk of having a very abusive health professional working with
vulnerable groups of people or people in general.
There are different agencies that could be involved in safeguarding Robert such as the police and
social services. Since there is a possibility of him being physically abuse at home, police investigations
could be issued to investigate how Robert the injury on his left arm actually occurred. The health
professionals would have to keep Robert in the hospital to ensure his safety whilst investigations are
, Unit 7: P5
going on. If investigations reveal that the parents inflicted any sought of abuse on Robert which
caused him to be hospitalised, they would legally be punished according to the law. Additionally, a
social worker could take disciplinary against the parents and staff who have abused or shown neglect
towards Robert. The social services could conduct a joint investigation with the police by gathering
evidence through inspection of Robert’s house and of his parents, whether they may have had any
criminal convictions in the past. An advocate can also be involved in the care of Robert, this is
because Robert’s learning disability could mean he had lower educational attainment so difficulties
in communicating – that is why, and advocate is needed. An advocate can help Robert voice out his
needs and his situation back at home. This interagency collaboration can help the police, social
worker and other agencies interact with each other in order to come up with ways they can promote
the welfare of Robert whilst in cooperating psychological treatment that could relief Robert of the
suffering he went through.
We have previously seen the importance of Robert having an advocate to help relay his thoughts and
feelings and also the fact that he can have someone to talk. Through the help of the advocate, Robert
can disclose his problems to the advocate. Below are the priorities the advocate needs to follow
during the disclosure:
● Priority 1: The advocate needs to ensure that Robert is safe and away from the presence of
his parents. This is to make sure that he doesn’t receive any threatening signs from them
which could stop him from speaking his mind. The advocate needs to empower him by
reassurance and plenty of care.
● Priority 2: After hearing from Robert, the advocate needs to report the situation to the ward
manager or the person in charge of his safeguarding. This is very important because it allows
discussion to be made as to ways, they can help him now and in future.
● Priority 3: The advocate would have to ask the nurse in charge of Robert to document
evidence of the cuts or the injury on his left arm. This cold potentially evident that Robert is
going through abuse at home and so could be referred to the police.
● Priority 4: The advocate must record everything said during the disclosure ensuring that key
detail is recorded for the organisation or for formal statements to the police.
After considering these priorities, the ward manager would have to follow the NHS reporting and
recording procedures. Every health organisation would have different procedures of reporting, since
the ward Robert is in is part of the NHS organisation, the ward manager would have to follow their
procedures for recording. Through this the NHS would have evidence of the situation of Robert and
in this way they can work together with health professional in Robert’s ward to promote his safety
and wellbeing. Meanwhile, there is the case of the ward not meeting the utmost standard of care.
The nurse in charge of the ward made a complaint to the ward manager about the hospital food the
patients were eating. The ward manager was no help so the nurse decided to make a complaint to
the relevant organisation possibly the CQC (Care Quality Commission). They could come to inspect
the ward and the hospital in general to make sure that they are meeting the right code of practise.
Since the ward manager failed to help the nurse promote the health and safety of the patient in the
ward, he/she may need to go through CPD in other to enhance his/her skills and receive updated
code of practise that he/she could demonstrate in the ward in order to avoid that same neglect from
happening. However, the nurse is scared that she would not be protected by the law if she was to
make the report, but according to The Children and Social Act 2017 whistle-blowers are to be
protected by the law whilst ensuring that safeguarding practice in health and social settings are being
followed. Therefore, the nurse should not hesitate to make a report after gaining knowledge on
which organisation body in this case, CQC. After all, she is the only one in the ward that has shown
concern about the wrong doings in the ward. In conclusion, it is important that health professionals
Walters NHS Trust Holly Ward
In this setting, the nurse in charge of Robert has noticed his behaviour around his parents and his
eating habits in the hospital. The nurse has also observed how Robert is underweight for his height
and this as risen series of suspicions, which has led to a report made to the ward manager. With
these observations made the nurse can follow the right safeguarding policies and procedures in
order to report for the possible abuse and neglect Robert is being a victim of. This is to manage the
welfare of Robert whilst still adhering to their duty of care.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ofsted-safeguarding-policy/ofsted-safeguarding-policy
According to the safeguarding policies individuals especially vulnerable groups of people need to be
protected from maltreatment whilst taking action to enable them achieve the best outcomes in care.
Safeguarding policies are there to ensure that abuse ranging from physical abuse to malnutrition
does not occur. In this case study we can see that Robert has a learning disability and so may not
realise that what is happening to him is abuse. It is possible that Robert may have been in a long
term abuse - due to his condition his parents may have been taking care of him since he was a child
and so was more exposed to possible neglect and harm. Whilst in the ward Robert accused his
parents of starving him which led to overeating when the opportunity arose. His parents denied this
accusation by stating that Robert usually makes up stories to gain attention (probably because the
parents are aware of the health professionals and so may want to create a good image for
themselves and may not abuse Robert in front of them). Since there is no evidence to show who is
telling the truth an investigation could be issued to inspect the situation at home. In this case health
professionals in the ward would have to follow in the safeguarding policies in the setting to ensure
the safety of Robert by assessing the potential risks he is being faced at home with the help of a
social worker.
https://www.virtual-college.co.uk/news/safeguarding/2019/01/what-is-safeguarding-in-health-and-s
ocial-care. Robert is not aware of the certain risk he could be exposed to. An example of this is can be
identified in the case study where he was admitted for surgery in the left arm following an accident
at home. There is the possibility of that “accident” being an intentional one. Again it is would be
significantly helpful if health professionals put measures in place such as using policies and
procedures to promote the wellbeing of Robert.
As we can see from the case study there are signs that Robert is being bullied by his parents. They
are infringing Robert’s human right by starving him and restricting his freedom of speech (speaks for
attention). According Human Rights Act 1988, every individual is entitled to their rights which should
be upheld such as treating everyone with respect, dignity and humanely and this something which
his parents failed to adhere to. Therefore, Robert would have to be protected from his parents
according to the Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) legislation which could ban Robert’s parents
from having any contact with him in the future because of the treatment Robert received from them
in the past. As we know what human rights Robert is entitled, we can quickly pinpoint how his rights
are being overstepped and how by following policies and procedures we can prevent any further
damage from being made. Additionally, with POVA legislation which protect vulnerable people like
Robert would allow health and social organisations to be very thorough when recruiting (DBS)health
staffs in order to minimise the risk of having a very abusive health professional working with
vulnerable groups of people or people in general.
There are different agencies that could be involved in safeguarding Robert such as the police and
social services. Since there is a possibility of him being physically abuse at home, police investigations
could be issued to investigate how Robert the injury on his left arm actually occurred. The health
professionals would have to keep Robert in the hospital to ensure his safety whilst investigations are
, Unit 7: P5
going on. If investigations reveal that the parents inflicted any sought of abuse on Robert which
caused him to be hospitalised, they would legally be punished according to the law. Additionally, a
social worker could take disciplinary against the parents and staff who have abused or shown neglect
towards Robert. The social services could conduct a joint investigation with the police by gathering
evidence through inspection of Robert’s house and of his parents, whether they may have had any
criminal convictions in the past. An advocate can also be involved in the care of Robert, this is
because Robert’s learning disability could mean he had lower educational attainment so difficulties
in communicating – that is why, and advocate is needed. An advocate can help Robert voice out his
needs and his situation back at home. This interagency collaboration can help the police, social
worker and other agencies interact with each other in order to come up with ways they can promote
the welfare of Robert whilst in cooperating psychological treatment that could relief Robert of the
suffering he went through.
We have previously seen the importance of Robert having an advocate to help relay his thoughts and
feelings and also the fact that he can have someone to talk. Through the help of the advocate, Robert
can disclose his problems to the advocate. Below are the priorities the advocate needs to follow
during the disclosure:
● Priority 1: The advocate needs to ensure that Robert is safe and away from the presence of
his parents. This is to make sure that he doesn’t receive any threatening signs from them
which could stop him from speaking his mind. The advocate needs to empower him by
reassurance and plenty of care.
● Priority 2: After hearing from Robert, the advocate needs to report the situation to the ward
manager or the person in charge of his safeguarding. This is very important because it allows
discussion to be made as to ways, they can help him now and in future.
● Priority 3: The advocate would have to ask the nurse in charge of Robert to document
evidence of the cuts or the injury on his left arm. This cold potentially evident that Robert is
going through abuse at home and so could be referred to the police.
● Priority 4: The advocate must record everything said during the disclosure ensuring that key
detail is recorded for the organisation or for formal statements to the police.
After considering these priorities, the ward manager would have to follow the NHS reporting and
recording procedures. Every health organisation would have different procedures of reporting, since
the ward Robert is in is part of the NHS organisation, the ward manager would have to follow their
procedures for recording. Through this the NHS would have evidence of the situation of Robert and
in this way they can work together with health professional in Robert’s ward to promote his safety
and wellbeing. Meanwhile, there is the case of the ward not meeting the utmost standard of care.
The nurse in charge of the ward made a complaint to the ward manager about the hospital food the
patients were eating. The ward manager was no help so the nurse decided to make a complaint to
the relevant organisation possibly the CQC (Care Quality Commission). They could come to inspect
the ward and the hospital in general to make sure that they are meeting the right code of practise.
Since the ward manager failed to help the nurse promote the health and safety of the patient in the
ward, he/she may need to go through CPD in other to enhance his/her skills and receive updated
code of practise that he/she could demonstrate in the ward in order to avoid that same neglect from
happening. However, the nurse is scared that she would not be protected by the law if she was to
make the report, but according to The Children and Social Act 2017 whistle-blowers are to be
protected by the law whilst ensuring that safeguarding practice in health and social settings are being
followed. Therefore, the nurse should not hesitate to make a report after gaining knowledge on
which organisation body in this case, CQC. After all, she is the only one in the ward that has shown
concern about the wrong doings in the ward. In conclusion, it is important that health professionals
