YOUR HOME. THEIR WORKPLACE. - Episode 7 – Linda Sayers - Safeguarding with a capital ‘S’ Safeguarding with a capital ‘S’ starts with a little niggle

YOUR HOME. THEIR WORKPLACE. - Episode 7 – Linda Sayers

 

Safeguarding with a capital ‘S’ starts with a little niggle says Linda Sayers, in this episode of YOUR HOME. THEIR WORKPLACE.  

 

I chatted with Linda Sayers about the importance of safeguarding where support workers, rehabilitation assistants, personal assistants are employed to care for someone in their own home. In this show note references will be made to ‘support worker’ which means any of the above titles. Linda shares her extensive experience in the field of safeguarding and emphasises the need for proper recruitment and induction processes which contribute to safeguarding. We discussed the importance of training for workers, the need for ongoing supervision, and the importance of listening to one's gut instincts. Linda pointed out that she sees safeguarding with a lowercase ‘s’ as a responsibility of everyone and should be an every day concern. But that what she calls Safeguarding with an uppercase or capital ‘S’ it something bigger “that starts with a little niggle”. 

 

Linda’s background is in both social work and human resource management hence her bringing her experience in both fields to share the importance of balancing safeguarding with employment considerations in the home, as in any organisation. Linda, is a social worker by profession, with extensive experience in case management and safeguarding. 

 

Linda talks about the importance of establishing clear house rules and safeguarding measures in family homes where care is provided. The need to train staff in health and safety, moving and handling, medication, and safeguarding practices, amongst other things must not be taken lightly. Linda also highlights the need to address safeguarding concerns, even if they involve family members, as part of a professional's duty. 

 

We discuss why workers may find it difficult to report instances where they feel there may be a safeguarding concern. In a family home the workspace is more informal, and closer relationships are formed. Workers may be concerned about falling out with family or colleagues if they get it wrong, and it may have an impact on their job.  

 

Linda points out that even family members have concerns with regard to reporting and shares a personal case from her professional experience as a case manager. She recounts a situation involving a 24/7 support team for an adult client with severe brain and spinal injuries. A support worker reported a colleague's rough handling of the client, which led to the colleague’s suspension, full investigation, and eventual conviction. The case highlighted the importance of support workers feeling safe to report concerns and the need for effective management of such situations. Linda also shares her ongoing relationship with the client's mother, who expressed gratitude for Linda’s intervention as case manager. 

 

We cover the importance of safeguarding training for support workers and the need for families to be involved in such discussions. Safeguarding training should be mandatory and should start from the beginning of employment, says Linda. The training should not be just a tick-box exercise but should involve understanding emotions, dealing with dilemmas, and recognising indicators of abuse. It is important to set out the house rules and the need for families to share these rules with their workers. Linda shares a particular frustration that could have been avoided if the family had shared with the worker a simple house rule. We discuss different ways to train as it is not an easy task to get all workers together at the same time in order to train. We discuss the need for ongoing supervision and team meetings to keep safeguarding practices alive.  

 

Linda reminds us how professional curiosity, not dismissing gut feelings about potential issues, setting boundaries and expectations are the mainstay of safeguarding, as is early intervention in addressing issues before they escalate. 

 

Contact Linda Sayers, Director of Sayers Social Care Consultancy, to find out about her company’s training offers for employees, families, deputies and case managers. 

 

Sayers Social Care Consultancy 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-sayers-0bb66551