The importance of safeguarding NHS patients

Safeguarding is everyone’s business

I have been a midwife for 16 years and safeguarding is very much embedded in my daily role. In fact it is a big part of everyone’s role from clinical teams to administrators, researchers to professional support staff.

By writing this blog I hope to raise awareness that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility and we all have a duty of care to help protect the most vulnerable people in our society.  I hope to empower all staff to report concerning behaviour in line with our trust policy, procedures and professional practices for the benefit of the individual.

Abuse is defined as a violation of an individual’s human and civil rights by any other person or persons. It comes in many forms and you may encounter abuse in many different guises.

The importance of reporting

We are in a privileged position within the R&I Division, as we see patients under unique circumstances within an acute healthcare setting. Research participants will have regular study visits (sometimes weekly visits with the same research teams) and we are able to build a rapport and share experiences with our patients. As we work across all divisions at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), we can support clinical teams by providing relevant information on any safeguarding issues that may arise.

Educating staff to know why and how they should report a potential incident is one of the most important parts of my safeguarding role. I attend the bi-monthly Trust Safeguarding Group (TSG) and report important Trust policies to the R&I Division by cascading relevant details to the band 7 nursing and midwifery meetings, R&I subgroup meetings and local team meetings. TSG is attended by lead nurses, midwives and safeguarding speciality nurses and it’s an important channel for key policy information and engaging with other safeguarding leads across the Trust.

As a midwife I have a duty of care to protect pregnant women and their families. Asking questions about family life, happiness and general wellbeing is an intuitive part of my role. If a patient feels comfortable enough to disclose personal information then I will do everything in my power to help them, to ensure they are safe, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night!

It is important to make yourself approachable and have confidence to ask those potentially awkward questions. To make people feel comfortable enough to open up and then to act on anything you may feel is a concern, is the most important step you can take. 

If you are a member of staff please visit the R&I intranet for further information on safeguarding reporting policies at MFT

Catherine Chmiel
Safeguarding Lead for R&I