by Marion Findlay (Director of Services, Volunteer Edinburgh)
Adult Protection is an issue for everyone who works or volunteers in the voluntary sector. Whether you are delivering a specialist mental health service, running a charity shop, managing a community garden or involved in any one of our sector’s thousands of activities in the city – the eyes, ears, skill and experience of your team can be vital in keeping people safe from harm.
A recent joint inspection of Adult Support & Protection in Edinburgh by the Care Inspectorate, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland identified that the voluntary sector plays an invaluable and vital role in supporting adults at risk of harm.
The inspection report was published on Tue 14 Feb 2023 and highlights a number of important issues for our sector. For example, the importance of advocacy for people involved in adult protection processes is identified – yet it is not always available quite often as a result of referral practices into independent adovcacy. Areas for improvement are identified and the impact of staff shortages in social work services (on the whole AP process) is acknowledged. The full report is available here.
Often without realising it, voluntary organisations identify and address adult protection issues. This preventative role is crucial in keeping people safe and highlights the trusting and informed relationships we have with people most at risk of harm. When crises do occur , voluntary organisations often play a key role in supporting the adult protection process.
However, voluntary organisations tend to absorb adult protection work into their core business and are unpaid for additional work they do to keep people safe. I know of no local organisation that is funded for this work. It is something that we do – usually on top of everything else.
We need to continue doing this vital work but there are some things we should be mindful of:
- Ensure that you inform your funders of work you do that protects people at risk of harm. Regardless of what they are funding you to do, it is important that they know about the vital additional work you undertake.
- Adult protection training is important for staff and volunteers, but access to suitable courses can be patchy. Take advantage of all training opportunities. If you struggle to get suitable training, please flag up to the AP voluntary sector reps (below) and we will raise with our statutory partners.
- On the afternoon of Thu 18 May we will hold a sector-wide event on key adult protection issues. We will look at topics raised in the inspection and will share learning and good practice. Please put the date in your diary – more details will follow soon.
And finally, in Edinburgh we have four voluntary sector reps on the Adult Protection Committee
- Marion Findlay: [email protected]
- Mike Wright: [email protected]
- Iain Templeton: [email protected]
- Mark Phillips: [email protected]
We are your voice – please use us to flag up issues, share successes or highlight weaknesses. Adult protection is everyone’s business.
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