A campaign to give support to people who have experienced or are experiencing abuse or neglect has been launched by a Cumbrian NHS Trust.
The ‘How Safe do You feel?’ campaign explains that staff who work at the Cumberland Infirmary, the West Cumberland Hospital and across all community services will ask as part of their routine enquires ‘How safe do you feel?’
The Trust would like to encourage anyone who does not feel safe or may be experiencing any form of abuse to access NCIC services as a safe space to speak up.
The campaign is being led by North Cumbria Integrated Care (NCIC) NHS Trust’s Safeguarding Adults lead Kelly Marsden who said:
“We know that my colleagues and I at NCIC are in a unique and privileged position to help those who are experiencing any form of abuse or neglect. We know for example that 23% of high risk victims attend A&E as a result of the abuse they have experienced. We know that abuse can take on many different forms, the signs of which are often unseen, unheard or untold. Signs of abuse are not always obvious, if we only look out for physical injuries we miss a whole cohort of people who need our help. That is why we have launched a campaign across the Trust to urge all staff as part of their routine health enquiries to ask ‘How safe do you feel?’
“We also know that people are less likely to disclose abuse or neglect unless directly asked. Those who are not experiencing abuse violence or neglect don’t mind being asked, but more importantly those who are, often want to be asked.”
Salli Pilcher Associate Director of Nursing & Queens Nurse has been working with her community teams to routinely ask their patients or where appropriate family members, ‘how safe do you feel’ for some months now, resulting in a significant increase in safeguarding referrals being made.
She said:
“Encouraging all members of the community nursing and therapy teams to be professionally curious and routinely ask their patients how safe do they feel, has led to our practitioners picking up on some significant cases of abuse.
“We have encouraged practitioners not to be afraid of asking more than once, sometimes it takes a while for a victim of abuse to build up enough trust make that disclosure.
“With Kelly’s support and through hosting a number of safeguarding professional conversations, community practitioners are not only becoming more comfortable in asking the question ‘how safe do you feel’ but also in dealing with the range of situations that are disclosed and helping victims receive support.
“Reviewing our safeguarding referrals, our community practitioners have identified patients and family members of all ages being subject to physical, psychological and financial abuse, cases of control and coercion, neglect and modern day slavery.
“I am extremely proud that the best practice seen by our community teams is now being reflected across other services in the Trust so we can all make sure that members of our communities know they have a safe place to speak up.”
Kelly added:
“There are times when it won’t be appropriate for us to ask but we are working to break the silence and provide a safe space for those that access our services to be heard. We want people to know that we will listen, we will believe, and we will do something. We are committed as a health provider to be part of the long term solution to tackle abuse, by starting with ensuring we make every contact count for victims and survivors of abuse. We all have a part to play in raising awareness and making improvements across our health system.”
Dedicated training has taken place across the Trust to support staff to routinely ask about how safe patients feel with around 200 staff now fully trained in the first wave.
Catherine Randall, Safeguarding lead for NHS England said:
“I fully support the campaign that North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust are undertaking. I am absolutely convinced that it will support people to get the help they need and even save lives. We need to make asking how safe people feel part of our normal consultations, we have to make the most of the opportunities we have to help people.”
You will see posters across north Cumbria’s main hospitals as well as in the community hospitals. There are 11 different posters in the campaign and the images have specifically be chosen to show that abuse can be seen and unseen and also endeavour to cover all walks of life and all ages.
The campaign has also been endorsed by Cumbria Police. Detective Chief Inspector James Yallop works in public protection at Cumbria Constabulary. He said:
“This is a fantastic initiative and gives people the opportunity to speak to a professional in a safe environment. Nobody should have to suffer abuse or neglect. This is another way we can help to keep people safe. People should be able to feel safe at home and in their everyday lives.
“Safeguarding vulnerable people is a key priority for Cumbria Constabulary and we will continue to work with partners to do all we can to help keep people safe.
Funding for a new role dedicated to support victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence within north Cumbria’s hospitals has also been secured. The Health Independent Domestic and Sexual Violence Advisor (IDSVA) will be able to give practical support and advice to victims in hospital who may not have accessed support before.
The role was made possible thanks to partnership collaboration between North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Trust, Victim Support and Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioners Office.
IMPORTANT: If you are experiencing domestic abuse, are worried about a friend/family member, or would like more information about spotting the signs of abuse, immediate help is available.
Safelives.org.uk is a charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse. They have a range of helplines on this page. There is also a banner at the bottom of the page for you to leave the page quickly if you need to.