Safeguarding Adults

Welcome to the Countess of Chesters Adult Safeguarding page.  Below you will find documents and links related to a range of Adult Safeguarding areas that may assist you to understand this area.  We will continue to add to this page as new information becomes available to ensure patients and visitors have access to the most up to date information.  If you cannot find what you require please contact us so we can address any gaps. 

The Mental Capacity Act

This was introduced to ensure that those lacking capacity to make decisions for themselves were protected from exploitation and abuse.  A person may lack capacity for a range of reasons and the Act ensures that where this is the case professionals make decisions in their best interests.  Please see documents and links below for further useful information related to the Act:

  MCA a guide for patients family, friends and unpaid carers

Where someone lacks capacity and may require a change of home or serious surgical treatment the Act insists that someone must represent the views of the individual.  Where family or friends are not available an independent advocate must be engaged. Please read the document below for further information on the role of an IMCA - Independent Mental capacity Advocate:

 The Independent Mental Capacity Advocate

When a person lacks capacity it can lead to them needing to have their liberty restricted to ensure that we safegaurd them from harm.  In order to be confident that people are not inappropriately having their liberty restricted these actions have to authorised and all professionals must follow an agreed process.  Please click on the link below for further information:

  SCIE information regarding DOLS

The Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection both work to ensure that people lacking capacity are protected in relation to deprivation of liberty and mental capacity assessments and actions.  Patients and Families can contact both of these if they have concerns regarding this area.  For further information please use the link below to go to the official website:

Office of the Public Guardian

 Safeguarding Vulnerable Adult Concerns

 Where staff, patients, family, friends or volunteers have concerns that a vulnerable adult is at risk of or experiencing abuse the Trust is committed to taking action. This means that all staff and volunteers are provided with training and able to trigger a Safeguarding Vulnerable Adult referral to the relevant Local Authority.  Should patients, family, friends or carers have any concerns they can share this with a staff member or report them independently to the Local Authority.

For further information on the Local Authority process for sharing your safeguarding concerns and definitions of vulnerable adults please see the details below:

Cheshire West and Chester Local Authority Safeguarding Adult Process   or call 0300 123 8 123

Flinthsire Social Services Local Authority Safeguarding Adult Process or call 01352 702000

Reasonable Adjustments

If you are visiting the Countess and need some reasonable adjustments made to enable your access to our service then it may be helpful to let us know what they are in case these haven't been shared at your point of referral.  This can be done in a number of ways...

For patients with a Learning Disability a Hospital Passport gathers together all relevant information to support us provide you with the correct care and support.  This can be accessed by clicking here.  You can also present us with your own healthcare passport.

For patients with Autism the National Autistic Society has produced this Autism specific Health Passport which can be accessed here.

For patients with Dementia the National Ahlzheimer's Society makes a bespoke health passport available to provide guidance for anyone wanting to provide support that meets a Dementia sufferes needs.  This can be accessed by clicking here.

When booking your appointment you can notify the staff taking the booking of the need for reasonable adjustments in the way your appointment is arranged.  This can include requesting extra time and specific times of day.  We will try to accommodate reasonable adjustments wherever possible.

Sources of Information & Support 

Please note that this section will remain under development as services change or are developed and so will develop over the coming months. 

Below you will find some useful links and leaflets across a range of areas.  If you cannot find what you are looking for please notify us so we can address the information gap:

Silver Line - A confidential and free advice and support line for older people

Getting right for people with learning Disabilities - An overview for families and patients with Learning Disabilities about going into a hospital unit.  Provides a concise overview of what should be expected by patients.

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Easy read - A concise overview of the Deprivation of Liberty safeguards process

Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Frequently Asked Questions Sheet - a Brief overview of what Deprivation applications are and where you can go locally for more information.

We do hope that this page has been of use to you and would encourage you to provide feedback if you wish to see additional items in the future.