Page 12 - Community Living Magazine 35-1

safeguarding

The cold

comfort of

safeguarding

Left out: people with learning disabilities are being denied genuine friendships and family life because of rules on professional conduct

Has the very practice of safeguarding, designed to protect need for friendship throughout life,
people from harm and exploitation, become a form of abuse particularly in his paper Loneliness is the
Only Real Disability (Pitonyak, 2005).
itself? Paul Williams explores a disturbing question Safeguarding, as currently practised, far
from tackling this, actually enforces
loneliness, isolation, a lack of friendship
he concept of “safeguarding” has Policies such as these are being and a lack of family experience on people
gradually taken on greater implemented by statutory, private and receiving care services.
Tsignificance in social care services in voluntary social care providers throughout This was brought home to me recently
recent decades. It is underpinned by the country, led by legislation, by when I was with a person with learning
legislation on data protection and mental safeguarding, commissioning and disabilities and a supporter from the
capacity, by concepts of “professionalism” inspection procedures, and by professional home where she lives. I asked her if she
and by modern ethical principles of standards and guidance. The rules are had a friend and she replied with the
privacy and autonomy. enforced through staff induction training, name of another member of staff,
All social care services are expected to inspection and regular supervision. whereupon the supporter said in a stern
implement procedures to protect people’s Staff are told this approach constitutes voice: “No they aren’t. They’re not
privacy, ensure their choices are professionalism, and that must preclude allowed to be your friend.”
respected and prevent physical, personal relationships of friendship and The instruction to staff not to share
emotional, sexual or financial abuse. This life sharing. It protects people from harm, information about themselves, not to
includes instructions to staff on how to exploitation and unfairness. introduce people to their family and
behave towards those they support. However, I believe the implementation friends, not to take people home, not to
Local authority safeguarding guidance of these concepts of safeguarding can in give them your phone number, simply
policies include provisions such as: not itself constitute a major form of abuse. In reinforces the inequality between staff
disclosing any personal information about my view and experience, this fails to meet and the people they support and denies
someone with whom you are working to a desperate need of very many people any possibility of genuine friendship. It
any unauthorised person (including your with learning disabilities. also denies people the experience of
own family and friends); not giving friendship and family life.
personal information about yourself or Few friends The instruction not to talk about the
your mobile or home number to people In 2005, a survey of a large sample of person to “unauthorised” people or take
you support; not taking them to people with learning disabilities in them to “unauthorised” places can mean a
unauthorised places (including your own England (NHS, 2005) found that 75% had person remains invisible and their strengths
home); and not giving them gifts. no friends without learning disabilities and achievements go uncelebrated in their
Staff may also be required not to show and, of those, nearly half had no friends at community. Not giving gifts can mean
any physical affection to a person. all. Nearly one in five (19%) of the sample failing to properly and reciprocally Seán Kelly; photo posed by model
Offering to foster or provide an adult had no contact with any family members. celebrate birthdays and other festivals.
placement for someone you support may American writer David Pitonyak has If staff were allowed to offer genuine
also not be allowed. written powerfully about people’s great friendship to those they support, all these

12 Vol 35 No 1 | Autumn 2021 Community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk