Rising numbers of self-neglect cases in Bristol show an increased number of vulnerable adults are failing to look after themselves. Safeguarding referrals for self-neglect are going up, and now form the most common type of abuse referred to Bristol City Council.
Self-neglect is a condition where people don’t care for themselves, including not eating enough food, wearing dirty clothes, and failing to seek help with healthcare needs. An update on safeguarding was given to the adult social care policy committee on Monday, December 2.
Emily Wren, from the Keeping Bristol Safe partnership, said: “This isn’t specific to Bristol, it’s nationwide, but there’s been a clear rise in self-neglect cases. What we’ve found is that there can be many agencies involved, and the engagement from the individual can not be as high.”
Self-neglect is the most common form of abuse when safeguarding concerns are referred to the council. In close second place is physical abuse, followed by emotional, then neglect, then financial abuse.
If an adult dies under suspected abuse or has been seriously harmed, the council carries out a safeguarding adults review. This includes neglect, where agencies could have worked better to prevent the death.
Learning from recent deaths, a new “multi-agency safeguarding hub” is being set up. This tries to coordinate work from different organisations, to protect vulnerable people from abuse and neglect.
Similarly, the council conducts domestic homicide reviews, if somebody in an abusive relationship has been killed or killed themselves. Ms Wren said there has been a significant increase in male victims, and deaths by suicide.
A recent review showed that people needing safeguarding assessments are waiting a long time before the council triages and allocates them. The review was carried out ahead of an upcoming inspection of the council’s adult social care department, expected next month, by the Care Quality Commission. The review found 61 referrals awaiting triage and 487 awaiting allocation.
Mette Jakobsen, director of adult social care, said: “Waiting times are something we’re focusing on. Ahead of our CQC inspection it’s something we are concerned about. We’ve made very significant progress over the last year to reduce both the numbers of people waiting and the length of time they’re waiting.”