Making safeguarding personal

The Care Act (2014) emphasises the importance of ‘Making Safeguarding Personal’ which aims to develop outcomes focus to safeguarding work, and a range of responses to support people to improve or resolve their circumstances. It is about engaging with people about the outcomes they want at the beginning and middle of working with them, and then ascertaining the extent to which those outcomes were realised at the end.

MSP means that the process of safeguarding adults at risk should be person-led, and outcome focussed; it engages the person in a conversation about how best to respond to his/her safeguarding situation in a way that enhances involvement, choice and control as well as improving quality of life, wellbeing and safety (Appendix 1 Care Act Statutory Guidance 14.15).

All adults should be supported to take control of their lives. The right balance needs to be sought between protecting adults and enabling them to manage their own risks. In order to do these, the adult involved need to be at the centre of any decision making around their own safety and wellbeing.

At the earliest opportunity, the adult at risk should be asked what they want to happen now, and what their desired outcomes are.