Adult abuse is an under-reported area of concern for councils

It can be difficult to detect adult abuse, but councils need to do more to raise awareness of the services available, by Phil Porter

While shocking stories in the news about the abuse and neglect of elderly people in care homes and people with physical or learning disabilities rightly provokes outrage, the abuse of adults in all categories is still largely unnoticed and under-reported.

Though the number of reported cases of adult abuse in Brent has risen from 435 in 2011-12 to 664 at the start of 2013, we fear the real figure may be far higher.

Part of the difficulty lies in detecting and reporting incidents of abuse because, as the lead member for adult social care at Brent council, Krupesh Hirani says: “Although there is a great deal of community spirit – people tend to keep themselves to themselves, which makes it harder to see cases of adult abuse.”

He adds: “People can also be reticent about reporting abuse because they fear the outcome of getting it wrong.”

The problem also lies with raising awareness of the services available as people are often ignorant about where they can go to find help. In some cases, victims are not even aware of abuse if it is by a family member, carer or trusted friend. The perpetrator doesn’t always realise they are being abusive.

To bring the issue firmly to the fore, Brent council has begun a major campaign using powerful images on buses, bill boards and posters to ensure people know what abuse is and that it is everyone’s responsibility to watch out for their friends, neighbours and acquaintances to spot signs and report any concerns to social services.

Brent adult social care is also undergoing a transformation to strengthen its safeguarding adults team and improve the screening and investigation process to make sure abusers are brought to justice.

Brent’s new approach to safeguarding adults is already beginning to produce results. The number of inconclusive investigations of abuse in the borough has been reduced from 33% to 15% between 2010-13 and the number of investigations successfully completed on time has soared from 54% to 88% in the same period.

The introduction of two monthly multi-agency audits has ensured that there is a clear focus on improving outcomes for people, not just going through the motions.

Taking a more thorough approach, the council is reinforcing the message with all staff to make sure that they work to prevent abuse by highlighting possible problems among the people they come into contact with.

The north-west London authority is working with partners to raise awareness and provide training to staff and volunteers working with organisations – such as charities and faith groups – within the borough to safeguard vulnerable adults.

Safeguarding adults training has been introduced across all GP practices in Brent over the past three months to ensure prevention and detection is prioritised. The Brent safeguarding adults board is committed to making sure the protection of vulnerable adults is a hot topic for everyone.

Hirani says: “Since we’ve made our referral system simpler and improved awareness among our staff, there has been a significant increase in alerts, but the way we work to screen those alerts ultimately means that more of our adults at risk are being helped faster.

“But what we also hope our wider publicity campaign highlights the fact that it’s OK to report abuse based purely on a hunch, even if it turns out to be wrong. Basically, there are no negative consequences for reporting suspected abuse, but there are numerous serious consequences for vulnerable adults if we don’t report our suspicions.”

Phil Porter is the interim director of adult social care at Brent council