Safeguarding - Northern services
The Integrated Safeguarding Team coordinates the safeguarding service at Northern Devon Healthcare Trust for adults and children.
Every health organisation is required to have in place Named Professionals whose focus is on safeguarding adults and children and protecting them from harm. Within the Trust we have a Safeguarding Team whose members promote best practice amongst their colleagues and provide advice, safeguarding supervision, education and support on all safeguarding issues.
The Named Nurses, Doctors & Midwives work closely with the wider health professionals including Clinicians, GPs, Health Visitors, Mental Health Services, CAMHS and School Nurses. The team also works with partner agencies such as the Police and Social Care, as well as other statutory and voluntary organisations.
Police or Social Care professionals wanting to discuss arranging a child protection medical assessment at North Devon District Hospital should contact the Consultant Paediatrician on-call via the NDDH switchboard.
Meet the team
Chief Nurse – Carolyn Mills
Associate Director of Safeguarding Head of Safeguarding - Northern Services - Anna Brimacombe
Named Doctor – Dr Rebecca Rub
Named Midwife – Angela Whitfield
Specialist Nurse Safeguarding Adults – Mary Fisher and Alison Bradshaw
Specialist Nurse Safeguarding Children – Laura Lethaby
Lead Nurse and Safeguarding Lead Devon and Cornwall SARC – Louise Barraclough
Senior Specialist Safeguarding Nurse Exploitation and Sexual Health - Elaine Collins
Mental Capacity Act/Liberty Protection Safeguards Lead – Pete Deadman
Mental Capacity Act/Liberty Protection Safeguards Practitioners - April Oliver, Jill Goodwill and Clare Palmer-Head
How to access the service
The Integrated Safeguarding Service in the North is led by the Head of Safeguarding - Northern Services. The service is accessible to all staff working within the organisation to offer advice and support on all issues relating to safeguarding.
The service is available Monday to Friday 8.30 – 4.30
Telephone: 01271 341533
email: rduh.childprotection@nhs.net
Telephone: 01271 341550
email: rduh.safeguardingadults@nhs.net
Mental Capacity Act/Liberty Protection Safeguards
Telephone: 01271 341521
email: rduh.dols@nhs.net
Safeguarding Adults
Safeguarding adults at risk means protecting a person’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. It is about people and organisations working together to prevent and stop the risks and experience of abuse and neglect whilst promoting well-being and choice for everyone.
An adult is defined in the Care Act 2014 as someone over 18 years old who has care and support needs: is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect as a result of their care and support needs or is unable to protect themselves against the abuse or neglect or the risk of it.
The Trust is committed to Safeguarding Adults at risk of abuse and neglect. We work closely with our partners in the Independent Sector, Other NHS Trusts, Care Quality Commission, Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon County Council to ensure we have a joined up, robust approach to Safeguarding Adults.
The team are available to signpost and advise staff about Safeguarding Adults.
Care Direct
If you have witnessed abuse or a disclosure of abuse has been made, you should raise the concern with Care Direct on 0345 155 1007 or contact the Local Authority via the following email address csc.caredirect@devon.gov.uk
If you wish to discuss a potential case before making a safeguarding alert you can contact the Devon County Council Safeguarding Adults Team on 01392 381208.
Safeguarding Children
The Safeguarding Children Declaration is here
The aim of the Safeguarding Service is to ensure that the organisation meets its statutory requirements of the Children Act (1989/2004) in relation to Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018).
The overarching aims of the service are to:
- Ensure that all children and young people are protected from significant harm
- Ensure the welfare of the child is paramount and the voice of the child is central to all interventions
- Ensure compliance with the South West Child Protection Procedures
- Implement national and local guidance in relation to safeguarding
- Play an integral part in Devon Children and Families Partnership’s exercise of its safeguarding functions
- Promote best practice throughout the organisation.
MASH
If you have ongoing safeguarding or child protection concerns, please contact MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) on 0345 155 1071. As a member of the public you can do this anonymously.
For more information on the services MASH provide, please follow the Devon Safeguarding link at the bottom of this page.
For information on Child Protection please go here:
Mental Capacity Act / Liberty Protection Safeguards
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) is a framework which empowers and protects people who might not be able to make decisions for themselves. It also supports individuals to plan ahead in the event that they are not able to make future decisions independently.
The Act places a responsibility on anyone involved in the care and treatment of individuals 16+ to ensure that decisions are made in accordance with the 5 key principles of the Act.
Deprivations of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are a set of checks which aim to make sure that people in care homes and hospitals are protected if their arrangements deprive them of their liberty.
The Trust’s Mental Capacity Act/Liberty Protection Safeguards team promotes best practice in relation to the Act and supports teams to understand their responsibilities within it. The team provides practical advice and training to help staff support individuals within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.