Safeguarding

Home » Your health and care » Safeguarding

The ICB’s Safeguarding Responsibilities

The ICB has a statutory duty to fulfil relating to the safety and welfare of children, young people and adults who have care and support needs through the demonstration of compliance with all related legislation and statutory guidance on safeguarding children including the Children Act 1989 and 2004 section 11, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018), active partnership and co-operation with the Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board and the Stoke-on-Trent Safeguarding Children Partnership; and safeguarding adults including compliance with The Care Act (2014); Mental Capacity Act 2005, Counter Terrorism & Security Act 2015 and active partnership and cooperation with the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Adult Safeguarding Board.

The ICB Chief Executive Officer has the responsibility for ensuring the contribution by health services to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and that this is discharged effectively across the whole health economy. Within the ICB this role is supported by the Chief Nursing and Therapies Officer, who holds delegated responsibility and the ICB Safeguarding Team, led by the Designated Nurses who provide challenge and scrutiny.

The ICB’s philosophy that Safeguarding is Everyone’s Business is the golden thread that runs through everything that we do, ensuring safe and effective safeguarding services and to strengthen system-wide partnership arrangements for adults and children (including the unborn child and children in care) across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent, promoting a preventative, ‘Think Family’ approach and protecting individual human rights, independence and well-being and secure assurance that the child or adult thought to be at risk, stays safe.

The ICB is committed to all processes that safeguard children, young people and vulnerable adults and promotes their welfare, aiming for safeguarding services that will ensure equal access to all children, young people and vulnerable adults regardless of race, religion, first language or ethnicity; gender or sexuality; age; health status or disability; political or immigration status.

How will we achieve this?

The ICB recognises that safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults is a shared responsibility, with the need for effective joint working and lawful information sharing between agencies and professionals that have different roles and expertise. In order to achieve effective joint working, there must be constructive relationships at all levels, promoted and evidenced by clear lines of accountability within the organisation. All employees’ job descriptions will include the fact that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility; we will be compliant with our safeguarding policies and procedures and provide leadership across the wider health economy and safeguarding system; we will ensure staff training and continuing professional development so that staff are competent to undertake their roles and responsibilities through compliance with Adult Safeguarding: Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff Intercollegiate Document (2018) and Safeguarding Children: Roles and Competencies for Health Care Staff Intercollegiate document (2019); we will ensure safe working practices including regulatory recruitment, vetting and barring procedures, whistleblowing and managing allegations against staff and safeguarding supervision for staff.

Concerned about a child?

Staffordshire: 0300 111 8007

Stoke-on-Trent: 01782 235100

Concerned about a child? Staffordshire Safeguarding Children Board

Concerned about a child? Stoke-on-Trent Safeguarding Children Partnership

Concerned about an adult?

Staffordshire: 0345 604 2719

Stoke-on-Trent: 0800 561 0015

How to Report Abuse – Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Adult Safeguarding Partnership Board