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The Covid-19 pandemic has created new levels of isolation and loneliness for people increasing the risk of self-neglect. Self-neglect can be a complex and challenging issue for practitioners because of the need to find the balance between respecting a person’s autonomy and fulfilling a duty to protect the adult’s health and well-being.
“There were two dominant narratives about self-neglect. The first narrative concerned the early identification by volunteers of ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ people that they were supporting. Some people had care and support needs and were known to adult social care services, others either did not care and support needs but were at risk of abuse or neglect or they were not considered to have been at risk of abuse or neglect. The second predominant narrative was the increasing difficulties that practitioners were experiencing in getting people who were self-neglecting to engage with them during the pandemic; the pandemic was given as an additional reason as to why people were unable to communicate with professionals. Health partners were reported as identifying increased numbers of patients who had been ‘hidden’ during lockdown and then presented with more acute self-neglect when they presented at the health setting following the easing of lockdown.”
“While the pandemic has shown how we can all pull together and support our communities, sadly it also means that abuse and neglect can be harder to spot.”
This conference which features extended interactive sessions focuses on the difficult issue of self neglect and adult safeguarding during Covid-19 and includes an extended focus on hoarding. Through national updates, practical case studies and extended interactive group work the conference will cover self neglect, meeting the statutory safeguarding guidance, safeguarding people who self neglect: the evidence and what works, developing guidance for professionals when dealing with self neglect during Covid-19 and resistance to engage with services, an extended session on hoarding, and an extended session on dealing with the underlying causes of self neglect working in partnership with people who are self neglecting in a multidisciplinary way.
The conference will provide an opportunity to:
- Reflect on the challenges of Covid-19 in managing self neglect
- Understand the latest evidence about what works in managing self neglect
- Learn and reflect on serious case reviews involving self neglect
- Managing risk and support a strengths based way of working to work together to identify meaningful solutions
- Understand hoarding behaviour and the psychological / mental health issues associated with Hoarding
- Share experiences and learning with other colleagues around working on difficult self-neglect cases through interactive facilitated group work
- Self assess and improve your local guidance for professionals when dealing with self-neglect and resistance to engage with services
- Reflect on professional decision making with regard to capacity and unwise decisions vs unacceptable risk?
- Explore responses to Hoarding and how this fits with in the self neglect safeguarding response
- Understand issues of Mental Capacity, Choice and Autonomy when responding to self neglect concerns and resistance to service engagement
