Minister Butler opens public consultation on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector

• new consultation to create first national policy on adult safeguarding for health and social care services
• existing adult safeguarding policy framework to be strengthened
• new policy will apply to all public, private and voluntary healthcare and social care services
• broad ranging proposals aim to keep adults in health and social care services safe from abuse

The Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, has today opened a public consultation on new proposals to further safeguard adults receiving services in the health and social care sector.

Safeguarding means putting specific measures in place to protect those who may be at risk of abuse.

The new policy proposals outlined in the consultation aim to further prevent abuse, respond to suspected abuse and intervene as necessary in the health and social care sector, and to support adults’ decision-making rights. Reforms to strengthen the relevant existing legal framework are also proposed.

The new policy will:

• apply to all public, private and voluntary healthcare and social care services
• strengthen the existing adult safeguarding policy framework for health and social care services
• aim to uphold the rights of at-risk service users to make their own decisions, to foster a strong culture of safeguarding throughout all services, and to support effective intervention when necessary to protect at-risk service users against abuse

Launching the consultation, Minister Butler said:

An online consultation portal is now open, allowing people to submit their views on the policy proposals.

The public consultation will close at 5pm on Wednesday, 13 March 2024. For more information on the online consultation (including information about Easy to Read and other response formats), go to: www.gov.ie/AdultSafeguardingConsultation.

• the safety and protection of vulnerable people is a key objective of Government
• adult safeguarding means putting measures in place to reduce the risk of abuse of adults at risk (formerly termed vulnerable adults), promote and protect their health, well being and human rights, empower them to protect themselves, and allow them to live free from abuse, harm and neglect
• an adult at risk is an adult (person aged 18 or over) who needs help to protect themselves or their interests at a particular time, whether due to personal characteristics or circumstances, and is at risk of being harmed by another party
• promoting awareness and cultural change is key to effective safeguarding
• a range of legislation and policy-based measures is already in place in Ireland. It is acknowledged that there is a need to further strengthen this framework and introduce related underpinning legislation. The Department of Health is therefore developing an overarching national policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector
• research and stakeholder consultation phases of this work have already been completed and related reports have been published on the department’s website
• the public consultation is being undertaken by the Institute of Public Health (IPH) on the department’s behalf. The IPH will analyse the public’s feedback and produce a report on the consultation for the Department of Health
• the draft policy proposals for adult safeguarding have been developed by the Department of Health in liaison with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which has policy responsibility for specialist community-based disability services
• separate initiatives to improve adult safeguarding are under way. The Health Service Executive (HSE) has commissioned a high-level review of its safeguarding policy, procedures, and structures. The Law Reform Commission is preparing a Report and draft legislation on A Regulatory Framework on Adult Safeguarding (across all sectors)