Safeguarding in Adult Nursing | Report

SAFEGUARDING IN ADULT
NURSING
Student Name:
Student Number:
Date:
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Introduction
Safeguarding in nursing constitutes an important topic, especially in older adults. The
principle of safeguarding includes two underpinning principles of safeguarding being
everyone's responsibility, for the purpose of services to be rendered in an effective
manner. Hence every professional and organization needs to play their full part in
safeguarding their patient practice. Organizations and professionals need to work in
partnership in order to deliver safeguarding protection of children and adults in need.
There are two safeguarding principles that are provided by the RCN Principles of
Nursing Practice. There are eight principles that instill a proactive and empowering
stance for the purpose of preventing issues that might relate to safeguarding. Being
a nurse, I am responsible for safeguarding older patients in my care and respond to
identify the various issues related to safeguarding. The current scope of reflection
makes use of Driscoll's model in contextualizing the discussion in adult nursing and
to conclude with some of the findings from such reflection.
Analysis
In the context of UK adult is any individual aged 18 years or above and those who
are facing considerable risks from harm, abuse and neglect due to their need for
care and support are not able to safeguard themselves (Howatson-Jones, Standing,
and Roberts, 2015). Applying Discroll’s model of reflection is one of the simplest
models that allows overcoming the challenges faced and impacted patient care. The
model has certain stages for reflecting which will allow establishing key findings in
my current domain of adult nursing.
Having experience in clinical practice
Safeguard remains an integral concept in adult nursing and there are principles that
need to be applied to empower stance for effective prevention of safeguarding
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related issues. However, I have observed in my clinical practice, that the
safeguarding concerns applicable in an individual health practitioner’s practice
application are often ignored in it (Cook). For example, in adult nursing, I have seen
often prevalence of physical abuse related to misuse of medication and inappropriate
restraint in physical sanctions. Apart from physical abuse, I have often noticed
psychological abuse related to blaming and unreasonable withdrawal from services
or supportive networks. For example, older patients at my healthcare center were
removed from spiritual counseling without prior notice (Kalbfuss, and Deanus, 2017,
p 11). So according to my experience in the clinical practice, I have noticed various
forms of physical as well as psychological abuse that patients suffer from. May times
this has raised considerable issues related to safeguarding.
Description of the event
Physical and psychological abuses can be of various types. However, the type of
physical abuse that I have witnesses includes misuse of medication and
inappropriate physical sanctions (Elcock, 2015, p 21). In misuse of medication, I
have noticed that healthcare professionals administering medication without having
prior knowledge regarding it. This especially arises in specific cases when certain
medications are unavailable and substitute medications need to be administered
(Burns, 2018, p 10). This raises serious cases of medication-related safe issues
pertaining to safeguarding in older patients. In inappropriate physical sanctions, I
often found healthcare professionals not restricting or limiting activities of patients
even post their surgery or in cases of injury. They keep their activity schedule for
their patients similar to what it was when they were able to move. This might
increase the risks of further injury or pain in older adults.
In psychological abuse I have noticed during my service, that older patient being
uselessly blamed for their ailment or pain. Older patients often suffer from
withdrawing certain services without being prior informed regarding the same. Older
patients are given services from supported networks such that they are able to
manage their illnesses in a better manner (Young, Godbold, and Wood, 2018, p
172). It also helps them develop mental strength to cope with their illnesses. But in
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