Elizabeth Richardson is our Named Nurse for Safeguarding and Head of Safeguarding. She is new to CityCare and brings more than 14 years of safeguarding experience – six in community health and more than eight in acute care. She has a Masters Degree in Advanced Child Protection and has worked in adult community nursing, neonatal nursing and as a health visitor.

Safeguarding is a legal requirement. That’s why it is part of essential training for every one of us here at CityCare. More importantly, safeguarding means protecting someone’s health, wellbeing and human rights; enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect.

During February we will be showcasing key principles of safeguarding, helping you to understand the steps we take to protect everyone we care for and raise concerns with confidence, knowing they will be taken seriously and investigated.

Our Safeguarding Team has a wealth of experience across children’s and adult safeguarding, including domestic abuse and mental capacity. 

Through this month, we’ll be introducing individuals within our multi-disciplinary team. We have nurses, allied health professionals, social workers, support staff and administration support and while they are generally based at Sherwood Rise Health Centre, they provide support across Nottingham.

The Team also encompasses the MASH (Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub) based at Loxley House, Nottingham City Council’s headquarters, working alongside children’s social care and the police.

Historically safeguarding teams began within children’s and family’s teams with child protection being the focus.  As it evolved, safeguarding adults was recognised as an important part of protecting our patients.

As a result, many teams moved out of children’s services into corporate or quality directorates across organisations. Here at CityCare we are in the process of moving safeguarding as a whole team under Quality with the Director of Nursing as our executive lead.

Some of you may recognise the phrase: “Safeguarding is everyone’s business.”

This means safeguarding needs to be well embedded across all health organisations and safeguarding should be “business as usual” for us all.

Often people wonder what safeguarding has to do with them, or why they the training is essential. As an organisation, and as individuals, we have a legal duty placed on us to protect children from harm.

This is clear in section 11 of the Children Act (2004). Part of this statutory responsibility includes training to ensure we are able to recognise abuse and what action to take. This is why it is part of our essential training.

Some of your roles may mean you work a lot with children and adults who require a higher level of safeguarding, working with other agencies to minimise risk and produce positive outcomes while keeping patients safe.

Remember it may not be just at work you use your safeguarding knowledge, you may be worried about a neighbour or a family member.  As a team we are on hand to advise in any situation.

We follow statutory guidance closely – Working Together to Safeguard Children (HMG 2023).  This is a vital guide for professionals across agencies and was updated in December 2023.

In recent years safeguarding adults statute has become clearer with The Care Act (HMG 2014) accompanied by the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

As a team, we are passionate about our work and proud of our contribution to CityCare, helping to make a difference every day.

By shining a spotlight on our work over the coming weeks, I hope you will gain an insight into how we work and the important contribution we can all make to providing great care – particularly for some of the most vulnerable in our communities.