Taskforce to Protect Vulnerable Adults

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 19th Jun 2006

Milton Keynes Council launched its first ever Area Adult Protection Report on June 15 to coincide with World Elder Abuse Day, which it hopes will be an apt reminder that adult abuse can take place anywhere and can be committed by anybody - from family members, carers and professionals to strangers.

The report is the work of Milton Keynes Area Adult Protection Committee, an interagency and multidisciplinary group which was set up to help protect vulnerable adults from abuse.

Over the course of a year, Milton Keynes Council can deal with more than 200 reports of adult abuse that are handled through the Adult Social Care Assessment Team for the community and the Hospital Social Work Team for patients in Milton Keynes General Hospital and Bletchley Community Hospital.

Examples of the kind of cases that are brought to the council's attention are:

• A 30-year-old man living in rented accommodation has hate mail pushed through his letterbox. The young man has a learning disability. He wants the letters to stop, as he is frightened.

• An 80-year-old man, who has dementia, lives at home with his wife. His wife does not understand the extent of his needs and is not looking after him properly. Concerns are raised by the man's Community Psychiatric Nurse.

• An older person who has had a stroke is living in a care home. His social worker becomes concerned about the standards of care he is receiving.

John Heseltine, Chair of Milton Keynes Area Adult Protection Committee, said: "Responses to such referrals require a multi-agency approach to ensure that all aspects of the vulnerable adult's situation are dealt with in the most appropriate way - from working with the local beat police officer or trading standards officers, to addressing safety in the community for a vulnerable adult, to working with the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the care home provider to improve the quality of care being delivered.

"Every adult has the right to live a life free from abuse and neglect and to be treated in a way that reflects the principles of equality, respect, dignity, autonomy and privacy."

Liberal Democrat Councillor Irene Henderson, cabinet member responsible for Social Care, Housing and Health, added: "The publication of this report is an important step towards ensuring that we provide the right kind of support for vulnerable adults. It is evidence of the commitment of the different agencies to doing exactly that."