Protection of Children and Vulnerable Adults - Case Studies Analysis

This article analyzes case studies related to the protection of children and vulnerable adults. It discusses ethical dilemmas and safeguarding plans for each case.

Running head: CHILDREN AND ADULTS PROTECTION
Protection of children and vulnerable adults
Name of the student
University name
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
Analysis of case study 1:............................................................................................................2
Analysis of case study 2:............................................................................................................4
Analysis of case study 3:............................................................................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Analysis of case study 1:
The case study here focuses upon Leo who is a 42 year old man with Down’s
syndrome. Leo has been living in supported tenancy with another person. Leo has been
receiving home based care and support services during the morning hours. However, there is
a lack of any such services during the evening or night hours. Recently, Leo had been
frequenting a pub where he had befriended a number of suspicious people. Leo had been
delivering packages for them during the day which he believes to be washing machine spare
parts. However, Leo’s support staffs doubt that he is getting involved in some wrong business
and should immediately stop meeting these men. However, Leo insists that these men are his
friends and has the liberty to decide his course of actions.
In this context, Leo had been suffering from Down’s syndrome which means that he
had restricted decision making and intellectual abilities. Hence, it was necessary to guide or
warn him regarding getting involved in illegal activities though the company of the
suspicious men he befriended in a pub. It was very much possible that these men would have
been drug dealers and had been using the innocence and trust of Leo to support their illegal
objectives. Therefore, focusing upon some of these indicators I think serious monitoring of
the activities undertaken by Leo needs to be done.
In my opinion, Leo had been suffering from Down’s syndrome which had limited his
judgement skills or decision making abilities. In the current scenario, Leo had fallen prey to
the malicious objectives of the men who he befriended in the pub. Therefore, on repeated
warning Leo still insisted that these men were his friends and he could handle his concerns.
This resulted in a huge ethical dilemma on the part of the support carer. As mentioned by
Montgomery et al. (2016), the mental health capacity act allows a person aged 16 and over
to take their own decisions related to daily life situations . The mental health act had been

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implemented to provide sufficient freedom and empowerment to a person with restricted
cognitive abilities (MacIntyre and Stewart 2017). As argued by Mackay (2017), a person may
be lacking decision making abilities in one area but may possesses decision making abilities
relevant to other areas. Therefore, as per the regulation Leo had to be given sufficient space
and freedom in making effective decisions. However, the security concern often calls for the
support carers to take harsh decisions.
In December 2014, the HSE had implemented some of the new regulations such as –
safeguarding vulnerable persons at risk of abuse. It had been implemented in order to
promote the welfare of vulnerable people and prevent them from any kind of abuse (Stewart
and MacIntyre 2017). Here, Leo was in the danger of suffering from a number of abuses such
as – psychological and material form of abuse. Therefore, in order to prevent Leo from any
forms of victimization a safeguarding plan needs to be developed for the support carer.
Safeguarding plan:
 In this respect help will be taken by the support carer from the local government
disability and special care agencies in dealing with the client.
 In dealing with the patient a support carer will ensure that the patient is not coerced or
forced into abiding by the decisions of the support carer.
 Another alternative step which will be taken is accompanying Leo to the pub instead
of pressurising him not to go and meet his friends. In case of any suspicions, the
support carer will directly report the matter to the police. This has been further
supported though the mental health capacities act, 2015, which allows a support carer
to take decision on behalf of a patient, in case they lack the decision making
capability.

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Analysis of case study 2:
The case study discusses regarding Mrs. B who is an 85 year old lady and had been
living on her own with some help and support from her daughter. However, very recently she
had suffered from a fall which had restricted her movement patterns. Recently, she had also
been unable to manage some of her daily care activities effectively. The patient here also
suffers from mental confusion or dilemma at times. The physiotherapist visiting Mrs. B had
suggested that she be better moved in a nursing home for better support and care. Though, the
daughter of Mrs. B has supported the proposition of the doctor, Mrs. B refused and had rather
expressed to receive the care and support services within the comfort of her home.
Some of the factors, which were of considerable importance over here, were the
restricted mobility patterns of Mrs. B. Due to the fall. She had also been complaining of the
inability to bear her weight which could be due to hip fracture, which had limited the
activities of daily living of the patient. Additionally, the patient had also been experiencing
mental confusions at times. It could be attributed to age related dementia or an effect of the
fall, which may have caused damage to the cerebocortex region of the brain. As commented
by Stevens et al. (2017), limited movements could be associated with the biggest risk of fall
in the old age patients. Therefore, based upon these assessment and results the patient was in
urgent need of being admitted to the hospital for support care activities.
I think one of the ethical dilemmas faced over here will be convincing the patient
regarding the hospital stay and care. The physiotherapist attending to the patient was of the
opinion that the patient should be moved into a hospital. However, he could not presumably
force the patient, as the patient had the sufficient mental potential of making instrumental
decisions pertaining to her life, health and care. This was in lieu of the Mental health capacity
act, 2005, which had been implemented to provide sufficient support and empowerment to a
patient into making effective decisions. Therefore, at no point of time the patient could be

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forcibly asked to agree to the decision of the attending physician, as this would be breach of
the mental health capacity act (Flynn and Arstein-Kerslake 2017).
One of the biggest concerns which were faced over here was that the patient was not
provided with any social care worker. Therefore, in order to meet the care concerns of the
patient within the premises of her home there was a need to recruit an efficient social care
worker. Some of the steps have been further detailed though a safeguarding plan.
Safeguarding plan:
 In order to recruit an effective social care worker for the patient one could
approach the local community services centre. The involvement of the
community care agencies will help in the improvement of care and support
services delivered to the patient.
 Additionally, the nursing professional looking after the care concerns of Mrs.
B will need to provide a home visit to the patient at least three times a week.
This will help in effectively monitoring the physical deterioration experienced
by the patient effectively.
 The nursing professional will also stay in touch with the patient through
telephonic mediums, which could be used to give reminders to the patient
regarding her next clinical visit
 The nursing professional entrusted in the care concern of the patient will also
need to ensure that the patient has a safe drop till the clinic as Mrs. B
experienced movement difficulties over here.

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Analysis of case study 3:
The current study focuses upon the case history of Susi who is a 45 year old female
with moderate learning disability. She had been living in her own rented accommodation
where she would be visited by a support worker at least few times a week. Susi had sufficient
practical skills which helped here provide an effective account of her condition to the support
carer. Susi had a history of dysfunctional family and had been sexually abused a couple of
times in her life. She had been married twice and also divorced. The history of being
subjected to violence has made her docile in nature and she rarely retaliated against the
violent attitudes and behaviours inflicted upon her. She had also mentioned that she has a
child who is in permanent care and Susi had lost all contacts with her child. She had also
disclosed the facts to her support carer that she had been lately sending picture of herself to
strangers online.
Therefore, based upon the account provided by Susi of her activities online, she was
in the high risk of befriending treacherous men. Therefore, such online interaction with
strangers could possess her severe risk in the future. As commented by Stevens et al. (2016),
the one being subjected to abusive history often have tendency of keeping up secrets which
could make management of the particular condition difficult. Hence, the support carer
looking after the concern of Susi needs to be careful and monitor her activities well.
Though, Susi had moderate learning disabilities she had effective practical skills
which made managing mist of her daily life activities easy for here. Hence, Susi was in the
best of mental capacities to make decisions. Therefore, the support carer attending to Susi
could hardly prevent her from talking to strangers online. However as argued by Stewart and
MacIntyre (2017), moderate learning disorders have in many cases seen to affect decision
making powers of an individual. For example, Susi felt passive or could hardly react against
the abusive behaviours or violence inflicted upon her. As mentioned by Phelan (2014),

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counselling support sessions and moral counselling have been proved to be effective in
bringing about changes in the insight or the behaviour of the patient.
From the narrative and detailed speculation into the condition of the patient it could
be ascertained that Susi was prone to depression as she had been living alone and even
lacked the company of her child . As suggested by Powell (2014), depressive bouts could
cause an individual to react furiously in certain situations.
Safeguarding plan:
 Therefore, based upon the act of safeguarding vulnerable people at risk of abuse, one
will need to ensure that sufficient protection measures are offered to the client.
 In this respect, the support carer will need to involve the various mental healthcare
agencies to help Susi cope up with her loneliness and develop a more confident image
about her own self.
 The support carer will empower her by helping her develop her skills around her
activities of interest which will help her in making an independent living.

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References
Flynn, E. and Arstein-Kerslake, A., 2017. State intervention in the lives of people with
disabilities: the case for a disability-neutral framework. International Journal of Law in
Context, 13(1), pp.39-57.
Graham, K., Norrie, C., Stevens, M., Moriarty, J., Manthorpe, J. and Hussein, S., 2016.
Models of adult safeguarding in England: a review of the literature. Journal of Social
Work, 16(1), pp.22-46.
MacIntyre, G. and Stewart, A., 2017. Safeguarding Adults With and Without Mental
Capacity. Safeguarding Adults: Key Themes and Issues, p.53.
Mackay, K., 2017. The UK Policy Context for Safeguarding Adults: Rights-Based v Public
Protection?. Safeguarding Adults: Key Themes and Issues, p.35.
Montgomery, L., Anand, J., Mackay, K., Taylor, B., Pearson, K.C. and Harper, C.M., 2016.
Implications of divergences in adult protection legislation. The Journal of Adult
Protection, 18(3), pp.149-160.
Phelan, A., 2014. Elder abuse: A review of progress in Ireland. Journal of elder abuse &
neglect, 26(2), pp.172-188.
Powell, J.L., 2014. Governmentality, social policy and the social construction of old age in
England. International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 16(2), pp.108-121.
Stevens, M., Martineau, S., Manthorpe, J. and Norrie, C., 2017. Social workers’ power of
entry in adult safeguarding concerns: debates over autonomy, privacy and protection. The
Journal of Adult Protection, 19(6), pp.312-322.

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Stevens, M., Norrie, C., Manthorpe, J., Hussein, S., Moriarty, J. and Graham, K., 2016.
Models of adult safeguarding in England: Findings from a study of costs and referral
outcomes. British journal of social work, 47(4), pp.1224-1244.
Stewart, A. and MacIntyre, G., 2017. Safeguarding Adults: Key Issues and
Concepts. Safeguarding Adults: Key Themes and Issues, p.13.