Key Pieces of Legislation that Serve to Safeguard Vulnerable Individuals

There are key pieces of legislation in place that serve to safeguard vulnerable individuals. For example, there are the following in place:

• Care Act 2014 – this ensures care providers are supporting individuals to create person-centred plans that promote inclusion, social wellbeing and participation and meaningful activity. It supports them to live fuller lives by ensuring they are accommodated in the most appropriate housing with any facilities and aids they require. It ensures there are policies and procedures are in place by care providers to ensure individuals are safeguarded against abuse and harm as well as neglectful care.
• The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 came about and ensures systems and tools such as the Disclosure and Barring Service is in place to protect vulnerable individuals from being supported by unsuitable people so vulnerable individuals are kept free from harm, abuse and neglect.
• There is a clear-cut different between the meaning of willful neglect and ill treatment. Willful neglect can be classed as support staff who do not perform their duties to ensure vulnerable individuals under their care are protected and safeguarded. Examples of this can be staff members not responding to a service user that required urgent medical attention such as if they was to fall and hurt themselves and needed medical help. On the other hand, ill treatment is an offence and can be deliberately meaningful or not intentionally deliberate. An example can include hitting a service user or even verbal abuse.
• The Care Act 2014 is in place to safeguard vulnerable individuals against being abused in any way such as financially, emotionally, physically, psychologically, and so on. It also serves to outline poor means of practice and poor care being delivered. In an example, if a service was showing continued trends of medication errors, then the care team would need to keep third parties involved such as Care Quality Commissioners, families of the service user, and Adult Social Care. This is to try and maintain good practice and work together to provide safer care to service users. This happens because any means of poor practice and poor quality care can be identified, reviewed and improved as soon as possible.