O2.1 Safeguarding Policy | Adults & Children | Haus of Ästhetik

Safeguarding Policy (Adults & Children)

Haus of Ästhetik Ltd


Category: Safety, Safeguarding & Governance

Effective Date: 1st Ocotber 2025

Review Date: 1st October 2026

Approved by: Managing Director, Governance & Assurance Officer, and Designated Safeguarding Lead

Responsible Person for Policy: Michelle Caudren (DSL)

Version: 2.1

Previous Versions: 2.0 (28 Sept 2025), 1.0 (10 May 2025)

 

1. Policy Statement

Haus of Ästhetik is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare, dignity, and human rights of all service users, including children, young people, and adults at risk.

We will:

  • Protect service users from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and improper treatment.

  • Establish clear systems for reporting and escalating concerns, including those relating to the Nominated Individual (NI) or Registered Manager (RM).

  • Ensure all staff are trained, competent, and supported in safeguarding responsibilities.

  • Embed safeguarding in all aspects of clinical governance, with independent oversight by the Governance & Assurance Officer (GAO).

  • Provide a framework that links with specific policies: Children & Young People Safeguarding Policy, Consent & Capacity Policy, and Under-18 Treatment Policy.

 

2. Purpose

This policy ensures compliance with:

  • CQC Regulation 13 – Safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment.

  • Statutory requirements: Children Acts 1989 & 2004, Care Act 2014, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2018).

  • Local safeguarding procedures (Derbyshire).

 

Purpose:

  • Define safeguarding responsibilities for all staff.

  • Provide internal and external reporting pathways.

  • Demonstrate independent oversight and accountability.

  • Act as the umbrella safeguarding policy for the clinic, under which age-specific and specialist safeguarding policies sit.

 

3. Legal & Regulatory Framework

This policy aligns with:

  • Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014

  • The Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021

  • Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

  • Mental Capacity Act 2005

  • Prevent Duty (Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015)

  • NICE Guidance on Consent & Safeguarding

  • Save Face Standards

  • Derbyshire Thresholds of Need

 

4. Scope

Applies to:

  • All staff (clinical and non-clinical), contractors, agency staff, students, and visiting clinicians.

  • All patients, including:

    • Adults (18+) – full safeguarding protection.

    • Children & Young People (13–17) – safeguarding applies, with treatment restricted to acne care in line with Under-18 Treatment Policy.

     

  • Safeguarding concerns relating to staff, patients, visitors, or contractors.

For under-18 cases, this policy must be read alongside the Children & Young People Safeguarding Policy, which provides specific escalation and Gillick competence procedures.

 

5. Roles & Responsibilities

Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)

  • Michelle Caudren (Child Mental Health Nurse, Level 3 Adults & Children).

  • Leads safeguarding, maintains register, triages/escalates concerns, liaises with statutory agencies, reports quarterly to governance.

 

Deputy DSL

  • Level 3 trained clinician to act in absence.

 

Governance & Assurance Officer (GAO)

  • Rachael Divers.

  • Provides independent review of safeguarding cases.

  • Audits safeguarding register quarterly.

  • Ensures actions are closed.

  • Escalates unresolved risks or systemic failures directly to CQC.

 

Managing Director (MD/NI/RM)

  • Ensures resources and accountability.

  • Signs off safeguarding policies with DSL and GAO.

  • Excluded from handling allegations about themselves (goes direct to DSL/LADO).

 

All Staff

  • Enhanced DBS check prior to appointment.

  • Mandatory role-specific safeguarding training.

  • Must report concerns immediately using Safeguarding Concern Form.

 

6. Identification & Types of Abuse

Abuse may include:

  • Physical, emotional, sexual, neglect.

  • Financial exploitation.

  • Institutional/organisational abuse.

  • Radicalisation (Prevent Duty).

  • Modern slavery & trafficking.

  • Grooming, coercion, controlling behaviour.

 

7. Consent & Capacity

  • Safeguarding considerations override normal consent rules where risk of harm exists.

  • Adults: governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

  • Children & young people: governed by the Consent & Capacity Policy (inc. Gillick Competence).

 

8. Reporting & Escalation

Internal

  • Concern identified → Safeguarding Concern Form completed → DSL notified immediately.

  • DSL triages using Derbyshire Thresholds of Need.

  • Entry recorded in safeguarding register.

  • Interim protective actions documented.

 

Allegations about NI/RM or Staff

  • Must be reported directly to DSL.

  • DSL refers to Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) within 1 working day.

  • GAO provides independent oversight.

  • CQC notified if threshold met (allegations, systemic failure, repeated concerns).

 

External

  • Derbyshire Child Protection Team: 01629 533190

  • Out of Hours Careline: 01629 532600

  • Derbyshire Police Safeguarding Unit: 101 / 999

  • DSCP Referral Portal: www.ddscp.org.uk

  • NSPCC: 0808 800 5000

  • CQC Safeguarding Concerns Portal

 

9. Thresholds for Escalation

  • Immediate danger / risk of harm: 999.

  • Suspected abuse: referral to Local Authority within 24 hours.

  • Allegations against staff/NI/RM: referral to LADO + CQC.

  • Systemic failures: escalation to CQC via GAO.

  • Anonymous/third-party concerns: always logged, risk-assessed, and escalated if threshold met.

 

10. Confidentiality & Information Sharing

  • Information shared without consent where safeguarding risk exists.

  • Sharing follows the principles of: necessary, proportionate, relevant, accurate, timely, secure.

  • Records stored securely with restricted access.

 

11. Accessibility & Equality

  • Interpreter, and communication support available for disclosures.

  • Reasonable adjustments recorded and reviewed quarterly by DSL/GAO.

 

12. Record Keeping

  • Safeguarding Register maintained by DSL, audited quarterly by GAO.

  • Entries include concern, risk assessment, action taken, referrals, outcome.

  • Records retained 7 years.

  • Stored separately from clinical notes, access controlled.

 

13. Training

  • Clinical staff: Level 3 (Adults & Children) annually.

  • Non-clinical staff: Level 1 or 2 annually.

  • DSL & Deputy: Level 3 + supervision training.

  • Induction includes Prevent, domestic abuse awareness, unconscious bias.

  • Annual safeguarding scenario exercise for all staff.

 

14. Oversight & Audit

  • Safeguarding Register reviewed quarterly by DSL & GAO.

  • Annual safeguarding audit benchmarked to Regulation 13.

  • Findings reported at Clinical Governance Meetings and tracked to closure.

  • Unresolved risks → escalated by GAO to CQC.

 

15. Review

  • Reviewed annually or sooner if legislation, DSCP thresholds, or CQC standards change.

  • DSL responsible for initiating review; staff briefed within 14 days.

 

16. Conclusion

This umbrella Safeguarding Policy establishes a robust, independent, and transparent framework for protecting all service users at Haus of Ästhetik. It ensures:

  • Independent escalation where NI/RM implicated.

  • Defined thresholds, external referrals, and oversight.

  • Integration with the Children & Young People Safeguarding Policy, ensuring no duplication but a seamless safeguarding system.

  • Quarterly governance oversight and external accountability.

By embedding safeguarding in governance and linking to age-specific policies, this policy demonstrates full compliance with CQC Regulation 13.