MORE than a thousand allegations of abuse in the care sector have been recorded in St Helens.
NHS data regarding the safeguarding of adults in care settings has revealed that a total of 1,330 Section 42 enquiries were concluded in St Helens in the year to March 2023.
Section 42 enquiries involve reports where an adult who receives care or support is experiencing, or is at risk of experiencing, abuse or neglect and is unable to protect themselves because of their needs.
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Of the 1,330 Section 42 enquiries in St Helens, 445 were reported to be alleged physical abuse, 70 were alleged sexual abuse, and 320 were alleged psychological abuse.
The enquiries also included further allegations of financial abuse, domestic abuse, discriminatory abuse, and more.
With investigations into abuse carried out by the council's Safeguarding Unit, social workers, or the police, 1,275 of the 1,330 enquiries were investigated further and risk was identified and action taken in 995 of these cases.
St Helens Council has stressed that it takes "swift action" to root out abuse in care settings, but the figures are concerning as the allegations are one of the highest number of enquiries across the North West.
Across Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, and Lancashire, only Lancashire County Council, Liverpool City Council, and Wigan Borough Council had more Section 42 enquiries.
The total number of concluded Section 42 enquiries in St Helens also increased from 1,070 reports in 2021-22, although they slightly decreased from 1,360 in 2020-21.
The reports of abuse could be in a community setting, care home, hospital, or at home, and the source of risk could be the service provider, carer, a person known to the individual or completely unknown to them.
Speaking about the council's responsibility regarding allegations of abuse in care settings, Councillor Marlene Quinn, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Integrated Health and Care, said:
“Abuse of any form within social care is utterly condemnable, doing irreparable harm to the most vulnerable in our communities by those sworn to protect them.
"We take swift action to root it out, understand how it occurred and share learning with partners.
“Over the last few years our Safeguarding Adults Board has been working to encourage confident reporting with the care sector and the community of suspected abuse, in the firm belief that safeguarding adults is everyone’s business.
“Ensuring that residents who receive care are supported to live safe, healthy and happy lives is our ultimate goal in integrated care, and we feel that the increase in reported cases correlates with the work done in recent years to increase safeguarding awareness in the care sector and the wider community and encourage confident reporting.
“Our Safeguarding Adults Unit has delivered safeguarding training to 29 care providers and key council staff, to ensure they understand and recognise the types and indictors of abuse, what actions to take if care staff suspect abuse and how to make a referral. The unit also provides training to some of the borough’s residents within extra-care settings.
“There are provider forums for both domiciliary and residential care settings along with sub-groups of the Safeguarding Adults Board where concerns, learning and best practice can be shared, feeding into wider partnerships that support the care sector, while quality monitoring officers undertake both planned and responsive visits to provider services to maintain high standards of safety and care.”
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