Unit 11 - Task 2

P3, P5 and M2

P3 - Explain factors that may lead to abusive situations.

P5 - Outline working strategies and procedures used in health and social care to
reduce the risk of abuse.
M2 - Describe legislation and regulations, working strategies and procedures used
in health and social care to reduce the risk of two types of abuse.

By Kristela Agalliu
 P3 - Factors that may lead to abusive situations.

There can be many factors that may lead to abusive situations, this involves vulnerable
adults that may more at risk than others. This may include somebody who has a physical
illness, mental health issues, communication problems, behavioural changes.Another factor
could be the environment the adult is surrounded in. The environment could include: the
home; health services such as the GP Surgery, Dentist, physiotherapy, etc; residential care
home; hospitals; community care and somebody living independently. In addition to this,
another main factor are the contexts of abuse that come in the way such as people who are
dependent, who lack mental capacity, who feel shame and many more that may lead to
abusive situations. One huge factor that people don't really think about is that there are also
people who are working with these vulnerable people who are abusive and use it against
them because they know that these people are weak and cannot protect themselves.
 P3 - Factors that may lead to abusive situations.

- Who may be at risk of abuse?

The adults that are more at risk of being abused are elderly people as they are seen as more weak and vulnerable, as well
as, maybe having disabilities or illnesses that make them more dependent on the carers taking care of them. In addition to
this, older adults usually expertise decreased information and problem-solving skills because of declining memories
capability and psychological feature flexibility - the abuser may use this against them and abuse them in ways some people
cannot even imagine. Along with this, older adults are likely to be more exposed than the younger ages as they are less
socially included and more likely to be under stress. “Social isolation” regularly occurs amongst older adults as a result of
poor health, retirement, and loss of friends. Knowing somebody who may not have friends or feels like this; the abuser may
use this against them and abuse them financially or mentally and the victim may not even know that they are getting abused
as they may feel like the abuser is being their friend by even staying with them. These people accept anything that happens
to them, this can usually be because of the medication they are taking, they’re insecure and have low expectations. These
vulnerable people become dependent on their abusers and as a result of them being vulnerable, their fear of retaliation is
increased. Victims may be naive and may have limited knowledge on sexual activity or abuse, which means the abuser can
take more advantage in maybe grooming or abusing them. Victims that have been abused in the past may see it as a
continuation and may have gotten used to it so they wouldn't think they are getting abused because they are used to living
in that lifestyle.
P3 - Factors that may lead to abusive situations.

- The Environment.
There are many settings that provide help and support, however each setting can possibly hold the potential for abuse.

Care environments could include:

- The victim’s own home/Independent living: The type of abuse that is mostly to occur in this environment is sexual
abuse. This is purely because the victim is in their own home and the abuser can take it upon themselves to abuse
them sexually as nobody else is around to watch them or witness it so that they can be reported.
- Community care:/ Day care/ Residential care: The types of abuse that may occur in these types of settings are
psychological abuse, physical abuse and discriminatory abuse. Abusers can easily discriminate the vulnerable
people using their services for their own use, which can maybe to feel power or because they don’t like the person.
They can discriminate them by abusing them in other ways such as verbally, psychologically and physically.
- Hospitals/ Health services: In these locations, the type of mistreatment that can take place is neglect. This is due to
the fact that the carer may not want to do their job properly or are unsuccessful in providing the requirements of life to
a person for whom they are taking care of. Neglect may involve the inappropriate use of medication, deprived
hygiene, personal care or the rejection to allow other people to deliver acceptable care.
P3 - Factors that may lead to abusive situations.

- Contexts of Abuse.
There are many contexts of abuse that may lead to abusive situations. These contexts involve:

- People who are dependent on others for personal care: The victims may find that their only social contact is with their carers. Their dependency and
isolation makes them extremely vulnerable and unaware of their carers true intentions. As they are neglected, they think that their carer is their only friend
and the only one taking care of them. An individual who is confused, frail or has a learning difficulty and live with their family; are more of a subject to abuse.
They may not be neglected, however other abuse may take place such as financial or privacy abuse. This is highly likely as the victim is not aware and are
vulnerable in the way that they wouldn't expect their family to abuse them so they have more trust in them and are oblivious.
- People who lack mental capacity to give consent: These victims are exploited to sexual activity as they do not have the mental capacity to say no or
give consent to sexual relationships. They are not aware of the consequences such as pregnancy or the risk of STDs or even being taken advantage of
emotionally. Due to this, they cannot give consent or say no.
- Adults who may not have the social awareness that abuse has taken place: People with learning disabilities are normally victims of this as they are in
a community care home or supported homes that are not protected at night. This is dangerous and victims are more exposed to abuse at night as they
become the prey to the younger adults or locals. This is because they take advantage to these homes that are open by maybe using their accommodation
as a ‘drop-in’ and a place to have parties that involve drugs and alcohol. The individual using the facility may find that they are suddenly involved and unable
to control the situation occurring around them. Neighbours are also considered to be dangerous as they may be informal carers and develop an abusive
relationship.
- Adults who feel shame or fear of reporting: Many victims that experience abuse may feel like it's okay or allow it to continue as they don't want to feel
ashamed of what is happening and do not want to make it known to the public by reporting it. They keep quiet because they don't want to feel embarrassed
and show people they are weak so they just allow it to happen.
- Communication difficulties: People with learning difficulties are normally victims of abuse. One main reason for this is because they are unable to
communicate or have difficulties with their communication. Therefore, due to their communication, they cannot report what is happening to them and even if
they could, the police would not believe them or listen to them as they may be seen as an unreliable source or witness..
P3 - Factors that may lead to abusive situations.

- Contexts of Abuse.

There are many contexts of abuse that may lead to abusive situations. These contexts involve:

- Bullying within care services: There are some unfortunate events where service users abuse other service users by bullying them. This
can be through service users bullying new residents, maybe by cliques or closed groups, or long-established residents. This can lead to
depression, distress and even lead to psychological abuse.
- Discriminatory practise: This is abuse that is done by the carers mostly, they discriminate by abusing the rights of the residents. An
example may be ‘helping’ the residents to bed by pressuring them to allow night staff to get on with their duties such as cleaning. The do this
by maybe hinting it out or asking questions like ‘isn't it time you went to bed?’
- Invasion of privacy: Invasion of privacy includes carers or other residents/service users entering a residents room without knocking, seeing
their post or trying to find out something that is confidential or private to the service user.
- Relationships involving power: Generally, in settings such as health care settings or care homes, the professional carers are seen as the
experts, therefore allowing the resident to trust them and place themselves in their hands. The patients/service users think that because the
professionals know what they are doing and how to help them, they just allow them to do what they want and listen to them. This can lead to
an abusive unequal relationship between the carer and service user and allows the carer to have power making the relationship unbalanced.
- Social Isolation: When a person has little social interaction, this then causes social isolation. This means they have no friends to
communicate with or stay with - this is simply because they may have a learning disability and cannot communicate with others causing them
to withdraw themselves from society and get depressed. This may happen in a care home and the service user turns to the carer. The carer
may take it upon themselves to abuse them as they can see that the service user is depressed and have no one else. The resident may see
that they are getting attention from the carer so they don’t care what happens to them.
P3 - Factors that may lead to abusive situations.

- People who may abuse.

Abuse can happen in every environment and can be carried out by anybody. These people
may involve: health or care professionals; other people using the services; paid carers;
partners or relatives; friends; volunteers and strangers. It is extremely hard to notice abuse
because the risk for abuse lies within the nature of the interaction and the impotence of the
individual. The individual's necessity for assistance with personal care increases the chance
for abuse and can make it difficult to be sure if it has actually taken place. It is an intimate
and private relationship that takes place behind closed doors and it is therefore hard to
monitor and observe.
 P5 - Outline working strategies and procedures used in health and social care to
reduce the risk of abuse.

Working strategies and procedures are used in health and social care to reduce the risk of abuse by
ensuring the staff receive training on prevention of abuse and neglect; as well as ensuring the place has
good systems in order to facilitate the identification of the people with care and support needs and
possible risks, in addition to identifying and sharing information about the people who may pose a risk.

- The ‘No Secrets’ consultations report 23 highlighted practise examples in housing: This helps
develop a ‘prevention of abuse’ strategy based on harmful indicators such as isolations, substance
misuse and mental illness. This also allows the tenants to feel more empowered and connected to
the community as well as allowing them to equip people with relevant information to safeguard
themselves.
M2 - Describe legislation and regulations, working strategies and procedures used
in health and social care to reduce the risk of two types of abuse.

- Protection of vulnerable Adults Scheme (POVA) is a legal framework that allows employees to
follow and make sure that the adults they are taking care of are protected at all cost. The POVA
scheme acts like a workforce ban that individuals should be referred to, as well as, be involved in
the POVA list if an individual has abused, neglected or harmed a vulnerable adult whilst caring for
them or even placed them in the risk of danger.
- Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers in England make safer recruitment
decisions and prevents dangerous or unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups,
including children. People who want to work with vulnerable people need to take a DBS check and
this decides whether it is appropriate for the person to work there. This then goes to the second
stage where the DBS check gets back to the employer and they decide whether the person who
applied for the job should get put on the barred list. This reduces the risk of abuse happening as the
DBS check stops harmful people from working with vulnerable people.
references :
https://sites.google.com/site/wattshealthandsocial/calendars/unit-21/p5-outline-
working-strategies-and-procedures-used-in-health-and-social-care-to-reduce-the-
risk-of-abuse

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/disclosure-and-barring-protecting-children-and-
vulnerable-adults