Report suspected adult abuse
Report suspected adult abuse
We are committed to safeguarding and preventing the abuse of adults. If you think someone is at risk of abuse, neglect or domestic violence, you need to report this now.
If you are concerned that immediate action may be needed from the emergency services, please dial 999.
What is abuse and neglect?
Abuse and neglect is when someone does or says things to someone that makes them upset, angry or frightened.
This may be deliberate or unintentional and may only happen once or could happen repeatedly.
Abuse and neglect can come from lots of different people, including:
- friends
- family members
- people who provide care
- strangers
It can also happen anywhere, for example:
- in a persons own home
- a public place
- in a care home
- at the hospital
- in day centres
in education
Types of abuse
The Care Act 2014 identifies ten categories of abuse and neglect, these are:
- Physical abuse
- Sexual abuse
- Emotional abuse
- Financial abuse
- Discriminatory abuse
- Organisational abuse
- Neglect and acts of omission
- Domestic violence
- Modern slavery
- Self-neglect
You can see more information and examples on our types of abuse and neglect page.
Who can be abused or neglected
Safeguarding duties apply to an adult who:
- has care and support needs, whether or not the Local Authority is meeting those needs
- is experiencing or at risk of abuse or neglect
can't protect themselves due to their needs
What we will do to help
We will take steps to ensure the immediate safety of the person and anyone else who it may affect. We will talk to the person, or a suitable representative on their behalf, to find out what is happening.
We will work with them to plan what we can do to help keep them safe and as independent as possible.
Where necessary we will investigate allegations of abuse with our partner agencies. Following investigation we will make sure to take the appropriate action.
We will always do what we can to prevent abuse happening again.
Visit our reporting abuse: what happens next? page to find out more about what happens after someone has reported abuse or neglect.
What information will you need to raise a Safeguarding Adults Concern?
A guide is available that provides an overview about what information is required to raise a Safeguarding Adults Concern in Gateshead
Information required to raise a Safeguarding Adults Concern in Gateshead (PDF) [107KB]
Contact Adult Social Care
There are many ways to contact the adult social care team, both online and over the phone.
We encourage people who can contact us online to do so, as it helps to free up phone lines for emergencies or for those who don't have access to or the skills to use computers.