If you’re looking or child safeguarding → Child Safeguarding
Safeguarding registers for each site can be found on Teams → go to relevant surgery Team → go to Safeguarding channel (click See all channels if you can’t see Safeguarding) → find the relevant register in the top navigation bar
Introduction to Safeguarding
Safeguarding Leads
- Penrose Health Lead: Dr Sarah Hawxwell
- Deputy: Dr Catriona Brodie
Site Leads:
Key Contacts
Recognising abuse
Here are some resources that you can use to recognise signs of abuse:
- Types of abuse and neglect → SCIE - Types of Abuse
- Recognising radicalization → Prevention of Radicalisation
- Self-neglect and hoarding → NHS - hoarding disorder
- Elder abuse → Hourglass
Assessing seriousness of abuse
Was not brought / DNA
Vulnerable adults not attending or not being brought to health appointments can be a sign of neglect or other abuse. You can find out more on our Late Arrivals, DNAs & WNB page.
In all cases, it is important to document your actions and reasons for them.
Responding to safeguarding concerns
Referrals
Click the page below to see how to make an adult safeguarding referral based on your borough:
Lewisham Safeguarding for Adults
Lambeth Safeguarding for Adults
Southwark Safeguarding for Adults
Domestic abuse guidance
There are a range of indicators to warn health professionals that a patient may be experiencing domestic abuse. Some of these are quite subtle and it is important that professionals remain alert to the potential signs and respond appropriately. Some victims also drop hints in their interactions with health and care staff and their behaviours may also be telling.
They rely on staff to listen, persist and enquire about signs and cues. They need staff to follow up conversations in private, record details of behaviours, feelings and injuries seen and reported, and support them to take action suitable for their organisation’s systems and local pathways.
MARAC
Multi-agency risk assessment conferences (MARACs) are meetings where representatives from local police, health, child protection, housing, Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs), probation, and other statutory and voluntary sector specialists share information on the highest-risk domestic abuse cases.
On receipt of a MARAC report by email:
- Clinical Admin or Care Coordinator saves the report on the patient’s notes, and hides the document from online view to the patient
- Adult safeguarding lead reviews the MARAC email
- Adult safeguarding lead and Care Coordinator ensure the case is added to the site safeguarding register and discussed at safeguarding meetings
Site safeguarding register can be found at: Teams safeguarding channel for site → Safeguarding register → MARAC tab
Dr Sarah Hawxwell will do biannual checks on the safeguarding register/MARAC log.
Perpetrators of domestic abuse
The primary goal of all work with perpetrators of abuse is to ensure the safety of victims and their children. Perpetrators are ordinary users of the health service, which means health professionals are in a key position to identify them and assist in the interruption of their harmful behaviours.
Safe surgeries 🕊️
The Safe Surgeries initiative is designed to help address the particular barriers to primary care faced by migrants in vulnerable circumstances, including refugees and survivors of trafficking. The following steps help to improve equity of access to our services for these people:
More information can be found on our Registrations page.