
Protection of Vulnerable Adults
Introduction
Safeguarding adults at risk refers to protecting those adults at risk from abuse or neglect. It is a shared priority of many public services including Local Authorities, the Police and Health Boards.
This factsheet looks at complaints about safeguarding adults at risk by the Local Authority’s Social Services department.
Complaints about the care of an adult at risk should first be brought to the attention of the Local Authority and looked at under the Social Services complaint procedure. We will normally expect these procedures to have been followed before making a complaint to us. However, if there are good reasons why this is not possible, we may consider accepting a complaint before then.
What we can do
We can:
- Look at a complaint that an adult at risk has suffered injustice as a result of failure in service or a failure in administration by a Local Authority in Wales;
- Look at a complaint about whether a Local Authority has followed the statutory adult safeguarding procedure and the statutory Social Services complaint procedure;
- Look at a complaint that a Local Authority has failed to act on the recommendations of the independent investigating officer at Stage 2 of the statutory Social Services complaint procedure.
What we cannot do
We cannot:
- Directly investigate complaints about abuse. That is the responsibility of the organisations involved in safeguarding adults at risk;
- Look at any issues of suspension, discipline or any personnel issues about members of Social Services staff.
Issues to bear in mind
We can look into complaints about the actions of Social Services in terms of safeguarding adults at risk. We can also look into complaints about the Health Service’s actions in such cases. We cannot, however, look at any complaints about the Police. If you want to complain about the part played by the Police in these matters, you must complain to the relevant Police Commissioner.
Health Boards can also be responsible for carrying out an investigation in circumstances where alleged abuse has taken place within an NHS care setting or where an NHS employee is alleged to have abused an adult at risk.
We can also investigate complaints about a Health Board and its management of adult safeguarding concerns. The police conduct investigations into any alleged criminal offences.
We may need to share information with other bodies where we are of the view that there may be a threat to the health or safety of one or more persons and believe that the information should be disclosed in the public interest.
Further Information
You may want to consider contacting the following organisations for advice:
Age Cymru provides information and advice to older people, their families, friends and carers in Wales. You can contact them on 08000 223 444 or via their website at http://www.ageuk.org.uk/cymru/
Mind Cymru provides assistance for people with mental health problems. You can contact them by phone on
0300 123 3393 or via their website at https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/mind-cymru/
MENCAP Cymru offers advice, information and support on any issue to do with learning disabilities. You can contact them by phone on 0808 8000 300 or via their website at https://wales.mencap.org.uk/
Older People’s Commissioner is an independent voice and champion for older people across Wales.
You can contact them on 03442 640670 or online at www.olderpeoplewales.com
Contact us
If you are not sure whether we would be able to look into your complaint, please contact us on 0300 790 0203 or ask@ombudsman.wales
Also available in Welsh.