Safeguarding at Prospect Hospice

A message from our safeguarding team:

“Prospect Hospice believes every person has the right to live a life free from abuse and to be treated with dignity and respect.

We recognise, at Prospect Hospice, that safeguarding vulnerable children or adults is everybody’s business, and our staff has a responsibility to alert our Safeguarding Team to any concerns about abuse or suspected abuse. All disclosures will be recorded and discussed immediately with our Regional Safeguarding Team. We will listen carefully, support and take any information given to us seriously, working to stop the abuse and protect the individual from further harm.

What is Safeguarding

Prospect Hospice defines abuse as a single or repeated act or lack of appropriate action occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to a vulnerable person. Abuse can take many forms and can be perpetrated anywhere by anyone. It can be accidental, as the result of a lack of knowledge or understanding, or done with intent to harm. Whatever the circumstances or reason, it is against the law. The term safeguarding means a range of activities aimed at upholding every individual’s fundamental right to be safe from such harm.

Safeguarding is everybody’s business

We all share responsibility both corporately and individually to ensure that every person in society is treated with dignity and respect and protected from others who may abuse them. All employees and volunteers of Prospect Hospice who come into contact with patients in the course of their work have a duty of care to safeguard and promote their welfare and to work to prevent, detect, and report neglect and abuse.

It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop both the risks and experience of abuse or neglect, while at the same time making sure that the person’s well-being is promoted.

We ensure our commitment to our safeguarding responsibility by undertaking a range of measures:

• We ensure that statutory requirements around disclosure and barring service checks are undertaken for all patient-facing staff and volunteers.
• Child and adult safeguarding policies and systems are up-to-date and robust to ensure that accurate records about actions and decisions are made promptly.
• We have a safeguarding panel that meets quarterly. A representative from Prospect Hospice will attend the regional safeguarding panel.
• Safeguarding training is in place with systems to monitor compliance. Supplementary training is provided, and reflective processes are in place to learn from events.
• We have identified roles and responsibilities for named professionals, and our safeguarding leads, and they have a key role in promoting good professional practice within the hospice and providing advice and expertise for fellow professionals, staff, and volunteers.
• Our Trustees receive regular reports on safeguarding arrangements and evidence of best practices within the hospice and support a culture that enables safeguarding issues and promotion of people’s welfare to be addressed.”

From Julie, David, Carolyn and Hannah

Our safeguarding team