Safeguarding

Everyone at Alder Hey is committed to protecting the safety and welfare of children, young people or adults at risk. It is their right to be kept safe from harm, abuse or neglect.

When you call Childline on 0800 1111 you’ll get through to a counsellor, they’re there to listen and support you with anything you’d like to talk about. Or you can have a 1-2-1 counsellor chat online.

You can also send an email from your locker. Childline will try to answer this within a day, but sometimes it can take a little longer.

About Alder Hey’s Safeguarding Service

We are committed to protecting the safety and welfare of children, young people or adults at risk. It is their right to be kept safe from harm, abuse or neglect.

Everyone at Alder Hey has a responsibility for safeguarding. If you are worried about the safety or welfare of children, young people or adults at risk, you can talk to the clinical staff who will raise your concerns through our safeguarding channels.

Led by the Head of Safeguarding, Alder Hey has a dedicated specialist safeguarding team who are highly knowledgeable, skilled, and experienced in relation to safeguarding matters.

The Safeguarding Team comprises an Assistant Director for Safeguarding, a Named Nurse for Safeguarding Children, Young People and Adults, a Named Doctor for Safeguarding, a team of Community Consultants and speciality doctors with a special interest in safeguarding, Specialist Safeguarding Nurses and Practitioners, SARC clinical psychologist, Health Care Assistants who support children and young people during child protection clinical examinations and Administration support.

There is the provision of a dedicated child protection service to examine and advise on the medical aspects of suspected or actual child abuse. This includes physical and sexual abuse, presenting in the community, or hospital A&E, outpatients or inpatients.  The Safeguarding Team are generally referred to as the ‘Rainbow Team’, which relates to the name given to the dedicated examination facilities, ‘The Rainbow Centre’.

The Rainbow Centre, which includes two dedicated examination suites, a video interview suite and dedicated meeting rooms offer a multi-agency approach to the treatment of abused children, with close liaison between Police, Children’s Social Care and hospital-based personnel.

The facility includes a dedicated children’s Sexual Abuse Referral Centre (SARC) with joint examinations by a Paediatrician and Forensic Medical Examiner (FME). There is an in-house sexual health follow-up service and all children and young people attending the SARC are assessed for Psychological therapy. A Consultant takes the role of Forensic lead, to ensure that high standards are maintained and that existing staff have regular training updates.

Specialist safeguarding is enhanced by Safeguarding Champions across the Trust, who are made up of staff with additional skills, knowledge and training in relation to safeguarding. We also have established links with services that support those experiencing domestic abuse.

Safeguarding Training is mandatory within the Trust, and as such, Safeguarding is well embedded into our everyday business as part of our Trust Values of Excellence, Openness, Respect and Togetherness.

As a member of the Local Safeguarding Children partnerships (LSCP and in line with multi-agency Pan Merseyside safeguarding children and adult policies and procedures, Alder Hey NHS Foundation Trust ensures that staff have appropriate policies, procedures, training and access to expert advice to ensure that those at risk are identified and when appropriate a referral is made to children or adult’s social care.

All posts at Alder Hey NHS Foundation Trust require an enhanced DBS check to be completed. This is updated every three years whilst the employee remains in post.

Safeguarding Children

Whilst Local authorities have a number of statutory functions under the 1989 and 2004 Children Acts and have overarching responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and young people in their area, everyone who comes into contact with children and families has a role to play; “safeguarding children is everyone’s responsibility”.

Section 11 of the Children Act 2004 places duties on a range of organisations, including NHS Trusts and individuals to ensure their functions and any services that they contract out to others, are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The arrangements that organisations should have in place that reflect the importance of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children are outlined in Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018.

There are four types of child abuse recognised and defined by the Children Act (1989) and Working Together (2018). They are:

• Emotional Abuse
• Physical Abuse
• Sexual Abuse
• Neglect

Safeguarding Adults

The Care Act (2014) and statutory Care and Support Guidance sets clearly the criteria when safeguarding duties to an adult apply:

• The adult has needs for care and support (whether or not the local authority is meeting any of those needs).
• Is experiencing, or at risk of, abuse or neglect.
• As a result of those care and support needs is unable to protect themselves from either the risk of or the experience of abuse or neglect.

Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live in safety, free from abuse and neglect. Making Safeguarding Personal is about having conversations with people about how we might respond in safeguarding situations in a way that enhances involvement, choice and control as well as improving quality of life, well-being and safety.

There are six key principles that underpin all adult safeguarding work. They are:

• Empowerment
• Prevention
• Proportionality
• Protection
• Partnership
• Accountability

Contact Details

Please call Alder Hey on 0151 228 4811 and ask for the safeguarding team.

If you wish to speak to someone at the hospital about a safeguarding matter, please contact the clinical staff. Alternatively, you can contact the Hospital Safeguarding Team between the hours of 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

The On Call Safeguarding Medical team are available 9 am-midnight, seven days a week, they are contactable via 0151 228 4811. Outside of these hours, the On Call management Team should be contacted.