Rise in concerns about vulnerable adults being abused in Gloucestershire

THE number of calls made to a Gloucestershire helpline over concerns vulnerable adults were being abused has shot up by 17 per cent.

More than three calls a day were made in the last financial year, raising fears about sexual and physical abuse, neglect and people being conned out of money.

The helpline at Shire Hall took a total of 1,282 calls by members of the public or workers in the NHS, police, care homes and social services.

But the 17 per cent increase on the previous year has been put down to a greater awareness and welcomed. Christina Snell, chief executive of Age UK Gloucestershire and a member of the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board, said: “I think the rise is much more likely to be an indication of awareness rising. One of the big difficulties of abuse is that even people subjected to it don’t always recognise it as abuse. If someone hits someone else it’s quite clear. But there is also all sorts of psychological abuse going on and abuse of a sexual nature is very sensitive.

“The reality is abuse goes on in all sorts of different ways. I would say it’s positive we are increasingly finding out more about it and are able to do more about it.”

The latest figures, released as part of the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board annual report, show the county saw a higher than average number of calls relating to sexual allegations. There was a higher than average number of alerts on people with dementia, but the board said this could be down to it actively identifying where dementia was a condition. The most common allegations were concerns about physical injury, with financial abuse second.

Of the calls, 439 were investigated more fully after an initial 24-hour inquiry could not rule out abuse – a 48 per cent jump on the previous year.

In 149 cases it was discovered there was a genuine cause for concern, 113 were unsubstantiated and the rest are under ongoing investigations.

At 342, the majority of alerts were raised by residential care home staff where their contracts require them to report relevant incidents. Potential abuse could include concerns over the behaviour of friends or family towards a resident, the treatment of one resident by another or the behaviour of a fellow member of staff.

Board chairman Roger Clayton said: “Care homes exist to look after vulnerable people so we would expect it. If the care homes weren’t leading the way I would be concerned as it would mean referrals weren’t reaching us and we would have a worry as to why.”