Commissioning care homes: common safeguarding challenges
Underlying causes – Adherence to policy and procedure
All care homes should have policies and procedures in place to cover all areas of care home practice, including those highlighted as frequently leading to safeguarding referrals. These policies and procedures should be submitted as part of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration process and subsequent inspections. However, it is often the case, particularly with regard to safeguarding referrals, that procedures are not followed.
To ensure good quality services and good safeguarding practice, commissioners must make regular checks to ensure that the procedures are followed.
Prevention checklist
- The home demonstrates good quality leadership and management.
- The home has robust policies and procedures in place.
- The home has clear guidance for staff to support decisions on making safeguarding referrals.
- There is clear guidance for staff on when to call out emergency services and what to do when they arrive.
- All staff, apart from those in induction and direct supervision, have signed to confirm they have read and understood the policies and procedures.
- The home has a whistleblowing policy, which includes the option of alerting externally through the local authority, and staff are aware of their individual responsibility to raise concerns.
