'Seen something? Say something!'

If you are at risk or suspect someone is at risk ...please say something!

In an emergency dial 999 or adult social care on: 0300 200 1005, or if you need to speak to someone urgently, out of normal office hours our emergency duty team on: 01483 517898.

• Who to contact for further help and advice
• What is adult abuse and different types of abuse?
• What rights do you have?
• What to look out for?
• What you should do?
• What you should not do?
• What we do when you report abuse

Who to contact for further help and advice

• Care Quality Commission
  Telephone: 03000 616161 or email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk
• Elder Abuse Response
  Telephone: 0808 808 8141 or email: enquiries@elderabuse.org.uk
• Respond
  Telephone: 0808 808 0700 or email: admin@respond.org.uk
• Surrey domestic abuse helpline
  Telephone: 01483 776822
• Surrey Police
  Telephone: 0845 125 2222 or 01483 571 212

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What rights do you have?

• Live free from violence, fear and abuse
• Be protected from harm and exploitation
• Be independent – which may involve some risk
• Say 'No' to anything they don't fully understand.

What to look out for?

• Unexplained injury
• Signs of fear or distress
• Withdrawal
• Neglect
• Theft, fraud or financial exploitation.

What you should do?

• Do act if you suspect a vulnerable person is being abused
• Do talk to the person – listen carefully
• Do give the person your full attention
• Do telephone one of the contact numbers below - even if your are not sure.

What you should not do?

• Don't ignore it
• Don't promise to keep it a secret
• Don't put it off

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What we do when you report abuse

• We will decide what we can do to help within four hours of hearing about the abuse. If we hear about the abuse in the evening or weekend we will still decide what to do within four hours.
• To help us decide what to do, we may need to talk to you or the person reported to be at risk and to other people, such as family members, carers and staff, GPs and possibly the police.
• The police may tell us that a crime has been committed. In this case the police will investigate what has happened.
• If we think that you, or anyone you told us about, is at immediate risk of being badly hurt, we will act very quickly to protect you or the person at risk.
• We will have a meeting, called the Safeguarding Adults Planning Meeting, within three working days to plan the best way of finding out what happened to you or the person at risk. We invite people to the meeting who understand how to help keep you or the person at risk safe. This meeting also decides whether there will be an investigation.
• We will act to ensure that you or the person at risk can be kept safe from abuse and to decide what other help can be given to continue to keep you or the vulnerable person safe.
• If there is an investigation, another meeting will be held to discuss the outcome of the investigation and any further action needed.
• If it is decided that there is no need for an investigation, action will still be taken to that ensure you, or the person at risk, is kept safe and the incident that you reported does not happen again.

At all times, the safety of the vulnerable person will be our priority, so please make sure you report abuse because then we can stop it.

In an emergency dial 999 or adult social care on: 0300 200 1005, or if you need to speak to someone urgently, out of normal office hours our emergency duty team on: 01483 517898.

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