Website Review: www.adultprotection.org.uk

www.adultprotection.org.uk 

STAR RATING: 2/5

A single online source of information on adult protection is a great idea and Robert Hill and Grant Wetherall should be thanked for setting up this website, writes Robin Van den Hende. Both have backgrounds in adult protection, so I had high hopes. However, I was disappointed to find that it does not live up to its potential.

The site has good points. Wetherall’s account of uncovering the Longcare abuse scandal is riveting, informative reading. I would recommend that anyone working with vulnerable adults reads it. Although the case is over 10 years old, the Cornwall, and Sutton and Merton abuse scandals show that there are still lessons to be learned from it. The site has links to official reports on all these cases and a straightforward structure. The forum for discussion of issues and good practice is an excellent idea (although it is a shame it is not used more).

However, no matter how much I wanted it to, this site did not live up to its own description as “a source of information and details about adult protection issues and available training and support”. There are too many omissions. For instance, No Secrets and the Safeguarding Adults national framework are not mentioned. There is no information on how to identify abuse, on advocacy and on the many organisations that can help. There are only three sentences on what someone should do if they believe someone is at risk of abuse. Together with the fact that the only training mentioned is the training provided by the authors, omissions such as these made me wonder if the site’s primary purpose is to sell services.

Some of this site is worth a look, but it needs work before it can be a really useful resource.

Robin Van den Hende is policy and campaigns officer for learning disability charities Voice UK, the Ann Craft Trust and Respond