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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to interrogate and develop the conceptualisation of discriminatory abuse in safeguarding adults policy and practice beyond the current interpersonal definition. The paper draws on Safeguarding Adults Reviews (SARs) that refer to discriminatory abuse or safeguarding practice with adults who have care and support needs and protected characteristics. Design/methodology/approach: A search of the national network repository of SARs identified 27 published reviews for inclusion. The contents were thematically analysed to understand how discrimination was experienced in these cases. Fricker's "Epistemic Injustice" theory was adopted as a conceptual framework, informing the analysis of findings. Findings: Evidence from SARs provides a challenge to the interpersonal emphasis on language and behaviour in national policy. Although the reviews acknowledge that interpersonal abuse occurs, a close reading spotlights practitioner and institutional bias, and inattention to social, structural and contextual factors. The silence on these matters in policy provides a narrow frame for interpreting such abuse. This suggests significant potential for epistemic injustice and signals a need to acknowledge these social, structural and contextual factors in safeguarding practice. Originality/value: Discriminatory abuse is an under-researched and under-utilised category of abuse in safeguarding adults practice. The paper adopts Fricker's theory of "Epistemic Injustice" to highlight the silencing potential of current policy approaches to discriminatory abuse to suggest a more inclusive and structural framing for safeguarding practice with those targeted due to their protected characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from face-to-face interviews undertaken with 16 care and nursing home managers employed in homes situated in two English local authorities. The research sought to explore managers’ perceptions of the role of contract monitoring in the prevention of abuse.Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 16 care and nursing home managers.Findings Though personnel employed by the local authority who conducted contract monitoring were generally thought of positively by care home managers on a personal level, their effectiveness was perceived to be limited as a result of their lack of experience and knowledge of providing care, and the methods that they were required to use.Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 16 care and nursing home managers in two local authorities, data suggest that current contract monitoring activity is of limited utility in determining the true nature of care and the presence of abuse.Originality/value Unusually, the paper explores care and nursing home managers’ perceptions of contract monitoring processes in terms of how they perceive their effectiveness in preventing abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Notwithstanding heightened awareness of the issues faced by homeless people, the notion that homelessness is the result of individual failings and weaknesses persists. The purpose of this paper is to challenge that perception by giving voice to this marginalised group and exploring the mechanisms through which they made and remade as homeless and may be protected.Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews (n=23) were carried out with a sample of homeless people who had accessed a range of homelessness services in the study area.Findings It is argued that largely deprived of the private sphere, which arguably renders them in most need of public space, homeless people find themselves most subject to scrutiny, surveillance, social disapprobation and exclusion.Research limitations/implications The authors reiterate that rather than simply being associated with rooflessness, homelessness is as a function of ongoing geographical marginalisation and social alienation.Practical implications The authors suggest that dedicated spaces for homeless people to occupy during the day continue to be in need of development because, whilst not unproblematic, they can disrupt processes associated with homelessness.Social implications Further resources should be directed towards homelessness and the issues that arise during daytime for homeless people.Originality/value The paper supports the literature which highlights the spatial practices by which stigmatised groups come to be separated from mainstream society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Adult Safeguarding Boards are the means by which local authorities in England and Wales seek to work collaboratively to protect adults at risk of abuse. The last two years have heralded the emergence of the role of Independent Chairs. This paper seeks to outline the experience of Adult Safeguarding Boards from around North West England.Design/methodology/approach - A general review of the seven Independent Chairs and 15 employed chairs (typically Directors of Adult Social Services) in North West England endorsed the importance of having a virtual network to work on a shared portfolio of interests.Findings - The review highlighted concerns regarding the independence of Independent Chairs, the challenges to partnership working created by the turnover of managers, the governance of Adult safeguarding Boards, and their performance and practice.Originality/value - The paper confirms that diversity is the dominant characteristic of Adult Safeguarding Boards in North West England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from an empirical research project designed to enhance knowledge of the current extent and nature of abuse in contemporary care homes for older people.Design/methodology/approach A self-completion, postal questionnaire was used to elicit both numerical and textual data that was subsequently subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The questionnaire was distributed to newly appointed care staff in six participating care homes providing care to older people to determine the nature of any abuse they may have witnessed in the homes in which they had previously worked.Findings A significant proportion of respondents described instances of predominantly psychological and physical abuse and neglect.Research limitations/implications Though the research draws upon the experiences of only 194 anonymous questionnaire respondents, of whom 140 had witnessed abuse; data suggest that abuse continues to occur in some care homes for older people.Originality/value The research has revealed staffs’ recent experiences of a range of abusive acts and practices. Findings suggest that changes are required to current methods of external scrutiny and investigation of practices in care homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - Serious case reviews (SCRs) are one means of learning the lessons arising from adverse, salient incidents and tragedies. Adult Safeguarding Boards in England are expected to have an SCR policy and procedure, to commission SCRs, to abstract and act on the learning, and to monitor the resulting action plans.Design/methodology/approach - Since SCRs reflect a wide range of processes, the authors undertook a general review, drawing on their experiences of conducting and contributing to SCRs. They chose to pose sets of question-prompts regarding the commissioning process, the management of the process, the appointment of a chair and author, the terms of reference, information-sharing, confidentiality, involving relatives and making findings public. The compliance of the process with human rights legislation is also considered.Findings - Whilst the authors acknowledge the responsibility of organisations to promote continuous and cumulative professional learning, they do not promote SCRs as the sole means of learning about the ways in which professionals and agencies work together to safeguard adults at risk of abuse.Originality/value - The paper challenges the perception that SCR can be streamlined, structured, codified, and constrained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), as part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (DoLS, 2007), was established to provide a legal framework for decision-making in respect of adults who lack capacity to make decisions in relation to their care and residence in England and Wales. The purpose of this study was to explore the DoLS decision-making process from the perspectives of health and social care practitioners when working with individuals with an acquired brain injury (ABI). Design/methodology/approach: A total of 12 health and social care practitioners were interviewed in 2019–2020 about their experiences of using and making or supporting decisions in the DoLS framework with ABI survivors. Data were analysed, and a tentative explanation of variations in DoLS decision-making was developed. Findings: Three distinct approaches emerged capturing different decision-making styles (risk-averse, risk-balancing and risk-simplifying) which appeared to influence the outcome of DoLS assessments. A range of mediating factors seemed to account for the variability in these styles. The wider contextual challenges that impact upon practitioners' overall experiences and use of DoLS processes in their ABI practice were noted. Research limitations/implications: The findings highlight a need for changes in practice and policy in relation to how DoLS or similar processes are used in decision-making practice with ABI survivors and may be relevant to the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards that are replacing the DoLS system. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to explore accounts of DoLS decision-making practices in ABI service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]