Care homes: What does safeguarding mean?

Care homes play a crucial role in supporting some of the most vulnerable members of society, including older adults and individuals with disabilities.

As such, safeguarding is a key priority in these settings.

This article explores the principles, practices, and importance of safeguarding within care environments. And what to do if you feel that you or a loved one has suffered harm as a result of a lack of safeguarding practices in a care home.

What is safeguarding?

Safeguarding refers to the actions, policies, and procedures designed to protect individuals from abuse, harm, and neglect.

In the context of care homes, safeguarding ensures that residents—many of whom may be frail, elderly, or vulnerable—live in an environment that prioritises their safety, dignity, and wellbeing. It is about promoting residents’ rights to live free from abuse while ensuring that they are supported to make choices and maintain control over their lives.

Why is safeguarding important in care homes?

Care home residents are often at an increased risk of harm due to physical or cognitive impairments, isolation, or dependency on others for their daily needs.

This vulnerability makes safeguarding not just a legal obligation. Safeguarding is important to:

Protect residents from abuse or neglect – Whether physical, emotional, sexual, financial, or institutional abuse, safeguarding policies aim to prevent and address all forms of harm.

Promote dignity and respect – Safeguarding ensures that every resident’s rights and autonomy are upheld, fostering a culture of respect and empowerment.
Enhance trust and accountability – Proper safeguarding practices build trust between residents, their families, and care providers.

Types of abuse in care homes

Understanding the various forms of abuse is essential for effective safeguarding. These may include:

Physical abuse – Examples include hitting, pushing, or improper restraint.
Emotional or psychological abuse – Such as bullying, intimidation, or belittling.
Neglect – Failing to meet basic needs like food, hygiene, or medical care.
Financial abuse – Misuse of a resident’s money or property.
Sexual abuse – Any non-consensual sexual activity.
Institutional abuse – Harm arising from poor practices, policies, or systemic failures within the care setting.

Safeguarding measures in care homes

Care homes should implement a range of measures to safeguard residents. If you or a loved one has suffered harm as a result of abuse in a care home, and safeguarding procedures have not been followed, you may be entitled to claim compensation.

Staff training – Ensuring staff are equipped to recognize and respond to signs of abuse.
Clear policies and procedures – Outlining steps for reporting concerns or incidents.
Regular audits and inspections – Assessing compliance with safeguarding standards.
Encouraging open communication – Creating an environment where residents and families feel comfortable raising concerns.
Whistleblowing policies: Protecting staff who report malpractice or neglect.

Reporting concerns about an elderly person to social services

Anyone who suspects abuse or neglect in a care home has a responsibility to report their concerns. Reports can be made to:

The care home management or safeguarding lead.
Local authorities or adult safeguarding teams.
Regulatory bodies such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

When concerns are reported, care homes are required to act swiftly to investigate and address the issue while ensuring the immediate safety of the resident involved. Transparency and accountability are critical during this process.

Definition of safeguarding

Safeguarding means protecting a citizen’s health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

It is an integral part of providing high-quality health care. Safeguarding children, young people and adults is a collective responsibility.

Signs of physical abuse

Physical abuse is often the most common type of care home abuse to be identified – as signs of abuse are often visible.

Signs that a patient is being subject to physical abuse can include bruises developing regularly and sores or cuts, especially around the wrist, ankle and arm area which may demonstrate that the patient has been forcefully restrained or grabbed by a member of staff.

If unexplained bruises or injuries have appeared, question care home staff or ask to see the accident book. Also, if this is happening regularly, start to write down every time you notice an injury to make sure this is documented with your own timeline.

Another thing to look out for is the less obvious signs of abuse. Has the patient’s behaviour changed? For example, have they become quieter, less sociable and jumpy? This could indicate that they are afraid, but they might not feel comfortable exposing what has happened to them.

Signs of emotional abuse

Emotional abuse in care homes can be subtle and difficult to spot but it can affect patients both physically and psychologically. Emotional abuse can include repeated patterns of instilling fear, humiliation, manipulation and insults – often for the perpetrators own gain.

If you have a loved-one in a care home, you should look out for the following signs of emotional abuse:

Changes in behaviour
Avoiding social gatherings
Becoming quieter
Being startled easy are all signs of emotional abuse.

Pay close attention to the habits of your loved ones, for example, are they demonstrating repetitive acts such as rocking back and forth or sucking on their thumb?

This could suggest emotional abuse is taking place. If you notice a consistent pattern in the patient’s behaviour that is unusual, get in touch with a professional who can advise you on how to proceed.

Signs of financial abuse

Financial abuse is the mistreatment of someone in terms of their money or assets, such as their property. Financial abuse often occurs alongside other forms of abuse.

Financial abuse can include:

Money being stolen or misused
Fraud
Exploiting someone’s financial affairs
Restricting someone’s access to money, employment or possessions
Pressuring and coercing someone about their will, lasting power of attorney, property or inheritance.

What to look out for?

Financial abuse can look very different for different people, there are signs of financial abuse you can look out for, either in your own life or if you’re worried about a friend, relative or neighbour. Think about the answers to the following questions:

Have you noticed unusual or inappropriate transactions on bank statements?
Are you unable to access cash, either via banking or income sources, such as your pension or other benefits?
Are you being pressured into giving your money to others, leaving you without the money you need to pay for essentials?
Have you recently lost money without any explanation?
Have you lent money to someone, and they haven’t given it back?
Do you feel pressured or forced into making changes to your will or other financial plans?
While this list isn’t exhaustive, these are some of the most common signs that someone may be experiencing financial abuse.

Financial abuse can be hard to detect especially if your loved one is very old and suffers from dementia or Alzheimer’s. If you have noticed suspicious transactions or lost money, keep a record of their expenditures and if you are concerned, speak to someone you can trust.

Signs of sexual abuse

Although it is painful to imagine a loved one experiencing this type of abuse at a care home, unfortunately it is common and being aware of the signs could prevent vulnerable adults from being subject to this form of abuse.

Similar to emotional abuse, it is not easy to identify when sexual abuse is taking place. Physical signs of sexual abuse can include the patient displaying unexplained Bruises on or around breasts and genitals.

They may have contracted sexual diseases and infections or have torn or stained underwear. Sexual abuse doesn’t always have to be physical; exposing patients to pornography or sexual harassment is also sexual abuse and is unacceptable.

If you suspect sexual abuse is taking place in your loved one’s care home, report it as soon as possible to local authorities.

Signs of neglect

At care homes, patients deserve to have their dignity maintained with basic hygiene and care needs being met. However, neglect is a common occurrence in care homes across the UK, often due to understaffing. The physical signs of neglect can include the patient displaying bedsores or pressure ulcers.

This can mean that the patient isn’t being cleaned properly and/or their bed and covers are moist or damp. Another sign of neglect is the patient not receiving the correct medication.

This can be life-threatening for patients who rely on medication to keep them alive. Often neglect goes undetected until it is too late; if you think neglect is taking place it is important to report it.

What to do if myself or a loved one suffered abuse at a care home?

If you or a loved one has suffered abuse at a care home, you may be entitled to claim compensation. Abuseclaims.co.uk has a team of specialists who deal with these cases and are happy to assist on a no-win no-fee basis.

We are a team of highly skilled legal experts who specialise in sensitive and complex abuse cases.

With years of experience across various fields of law, we are committed to providing legal support and expertise to those who need it most.

We will handle any enquiries with compassion, confidentiality and professionalism.