Synopsis
Recognise abuse, neglect, self-neglect, exploitation and risk to dependants, create safe private disclosure, assess capacity and coercion, and use the correct national safeguarding pathway with proportionate information sharing and accountable follow-through.
- Ask privately about physical, sexual, emotional, financial and organisational abuse, neglect, self-neglect, coercive control, exploitation, trafficking and discriminatory harm.
- Use a professional interpreter rather than a relative, child or companion and agree safe methods for telephone, post, portal and follow-up contact.
- Document the person's exact words, observable injuries, dates, alleged perpetrator and immediate circumstances, separating fact, report and clinical inference.
- Assess immediate danger, dependants, accommodation, essential health needs, access to money and medicines, capacity for relevant decisions and coercion.
- In England, a Care Act section 42 enquiry duty applies where an adult has care and support needs, is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect, and because of those needs cannot protect themselves.
- Child safeguarding focuses on the child's lived experience, caregiving tasks, supervision, food, school, exposure to violence or substances and who can keep them safe now.
- Seek consent for adult safeguarding where practicable, but share without it when required by law or justified to protect the person or others from serious harm.
- Use the correct jurisdiction: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have distinct adult and child legislation, agencies, thresholds and terminology.
- Confirm referral receipt, immediate protection, named lead, review date and what happens if the person cannot be contacted safely.
Key red flags
A companion controls speech, money, medicines, documents, telephone, sex, work or movement, especially when the patient appears frightened or cannot be interviewed alone.
Repeated injury, malnutrition, pressure damage, untreated illness, missed medicines, unsafe home conditions or unexplained financial loss may indicate abuse, neglect or self-neglect.
A parent's psychiatric diagnosis does not establish child harm, but current symptoms, intoxication, violence, neglect or inability to perform actual caregiving tasks requires child-focused assessment.
Capacity to remain in a risky relationship must not be assumed from refusal of help; assess the specific decision, communication support, coercion and practicable alternatives.
Safeguarding referrals without safe contact details, confirmation of receipt or an immediate plan can expose the person to retaliation and leave serious danger unchanged.
Investigation priorities
Allow disclosure about abuse, neglect, coercion, exploitation, dependants and immediate danger without controlling influence.
Management branches
The person, child or dependent adult faces current serious harm or unsafe return.
- Treat injury and illness, create private supported communication and prevent contact with a suspected perpetrator where safe.
- Activate emergency police, paediatric, adult or child safeguarding and safe-accommodation routes according to the danger and jurisdiction.
- Record exact facts and sharing rationale, preserve evidence and assign ownership for dependants, transport and next contact.