SAFEGUARD Essay

This essay analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of current legislation related to safeguarding individuals from abuse, focusing on the Care Act 2014 and the Sexual Offence Act 2003. It examines the effectiveness of these laws in protecting vulnerable individuals and highlights areas for improvement. The essay also discusses the role of the NHS in addressing health inequalities and promoting social welfare.

SAFEGUARD
ESSAY

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
P 2. Strengths And Weaknesses In Current Legislation.............................................................1
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
Report will lay emphasis on strength and weakness in current legislation. It will also
highlight various laws like Care Act, 2014 and sexual offence act, 2013.
TASK 2
P 2. Strengths And Weaknesses In Current Legislation
In current legislation, following are the acts that talk about the, actions taken on abuse or
deceased person.
Care Act, 2014:- It talks in respect of Winter Bourne View Hospital. This act places a general
duty in respect of abuse and deceased people on the local authorities with the motive of
promoting the individual well being in the society and organisation (Beronio and et.al., 2014).
Now, the definition of well-being includes:-
 Personal dignity of any individual including respect.
 Complete physical and mental health along with the emotional well being of that person.
 Providing complete protection to someone from physical and mental abuse and getting
neglected by others.
 There should be suitability of living accommodation. The Winter Bourne View hospital
should have provided the proper and suitable accommodation to all the patients who are
actually suffering from any severe problem.
 The Hospital should also support the economic and social well being of an individual.
The hospital is actually, abusing the clients by giving them physically and mentally all kind of
tortures. The hospital staff and the doctors working over there were least bothered, whether, the
patient is in age or its young guy. They are just torturing that person and behaving like an animal
with them.
Sexual Offence Act, 2003:- This is such a act, which was framed with the intention of punishing
all those criminals who are indulged in the such type of hyneous crime with the sex of opposite
person. In the past, such type of offence used to take place with those persons who are lunatic or
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suffering with any type of mental disorders (Beronio and et.al., 2014). This law, in future
modernised the law, with respect to the fact, that, any sort of sexual offence taking place between
a person of sound mind with that of unsound mind irrespective of fact that, relationship of care
continues.
Winter Bourne View Hospital, comes in category of such a hospital, where, such type of
incidents/mishaps take place any day or any time. But, with respect to the strict prohibition of
such acts, if anyone is found guilty of doing such type of work then, he should be either
sentenced to death or should be sent for lifetime imprisonment. The act has nothing to do with
the rights of people suffering from mental disorder who have mental capacity to take decisions to
get engaged for make out. This Act of Sexual Offence, also attempts to make prosecution of rape
easier by making the meaning of consent clear (Penhale and et.al., 2017).
Ill-Treatment And Wilful neglect:- Doing improper check-up and neglecting that patient is a
very serious concern in respect of hospital staff. In such cases, the licence of hospital can be
cancelled. Under Section 127, if the staff is employed to ill treat or to wilfully disregard a person
with unsound mind, then, it's a very big offence. The offence is applied to all people who are
paid and unpaid having lack of mental capacity in case of brain injury or dementia. Maximum
imprisonment for such offence is five years
Treating someone badly or giving ill treatment to someone and wilful neglect both are
completely different things (Cornes and et.al., 2018). Ill treatment must be intentional and
considered as an offence irrespective of whether, someone is getting harm or involves
appreciation from the culprit that they were treating someone badly or being reckless with that
person. Now, it all includes:- hitting; administering depressant for keeping someone quiet;
pulling hair; treating someone roughly; verbally abusing or humiliating the person.
In Winter Bourne View Hospital is exercising such practces, that arte actually, in human
and humiliating the deceased person. The people are very sad because of such type of foolhardy
behaviour. As per the law, such hyneous work would not be tolerated any further.
Public interest Disclosure Act, 1998:- One of the most important part of promoting dignity is to
ensure that, working environment should encourage people to challenge the practices in their
own workplace. Now, the law offers some sort of remedy from the exploitation to those who
blow whistle under this act. The person who is making disclosure should not perform any such
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offence. Reason Being, organisations like Winter Hospital are encouraging illegal and offensive
practices and promoting inhuman behaviour with the patients and clients arriving to them.
Following points should be kept in mind.:-
 If a criminal offence has been committed or about to be committed.
 Any person who has failed or about to get failed in complying with the legal obligations.
 Any sort of miscarriage has occurred or likely to occur.
Department of health has responsibilities of-
 public health
 National health service.
 Social care
 Public safety and emergencies.
Description of the NHS in England- NHS had set out the goals of and focusing on the
area of health and care where government want to improvement. There are 5 domains where the
Govt. expects the NHS board (Slasberg and Beresford, 2014).
In UK National Health Services which is working for health inequalities in England. The
health and social care act 2012 was firstly introduced to reduce inequalities regarding health
care. It includes special duties and acts related to the people (Penhale and et.al., 2017). It also
includes social value act which has also introduced to increase social values. It considered social
values, economical values, geographical values. It increases in employing and housing. It
directly decreases the inequality of social health care. It helps to reduce risk factors of people
according to healthcare. NHS meets with the legal duties to know about the equalities and
inequalities.
They made changes in the legislation for medicines. Supplementary prescription
describes by medicines. Patient right act also helps to patient in term of any vulnerable to abuse.
They move towards the social welfare of the country.
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CONCLUSION
From the above study, it has been summarised that abuse has been happened in the
hospital for which various laws has been passed. Laws has helped region in overcoming the
various types of vulnerable abuse. It has provided protection to general public.
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REFERENCES
Penhale, B. and et.al., 2017. The Care Act 2014: a new legal framework for safeguarding adults
in civil society. The Journal of Adult Protection.19(4). pp.169-174.
Beronio, K. and et.al., 2014. Affordable Care Act will expand mental health and substance use
disorder benefits and parity protections for 62 million Americans. Mental Health.2.
Beronio, K., Glied, S. and Frank, R., 2014. How the Affordable Care Act and Mental Health
Parity and Addiction Equity Act greatly expand coverage of behavioral health care. The
journal of behavioral health services & research.41(4). pp.410-428.
Slasberg, C. and Beresford, P., 2014. Government guidance for the Care Act: undermining
ambitions for change?. Disability & Society.29(10).pp.1677-1682.
Cornes, M. and et.al., 2016. The Care Act 2014, personalisation and the new eligibility
regulations: implications for homeless people. Research, Policy and Planning. 31(3).
pp.211-223.
Cornes, M. and et.al., 2018. Increasing access to Care Act 2014 assessments and personal
budgets among people with experiences of homelessness and multiple exclusion: a
theoretically informed case study. Housing, Care and Support. 21(1).pp.1-12.
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