Care staff accused in quarter of adult abuse referrals

A quarter of adult abuse referrals in England last year involved allegations against social care staff, official figures published today show.

Social care staff were listed as perpetrators of abuse in 24% of cases where the relationship between the vulnerable adult and the alleged abuser was recorded in 2009-10, the NHS Information Centre statistics revealed.

However, 60% of completed referrals were either not substantiated (33%) or deemed inconclusive (27%), with 27% fully and 10% partly substantiated. In almost a third of cases (31%), no further action was taken.

In half the cases, the vulnerable adult was physically disabled, 21% were learning disabled and 20% had a mental health problem. Physical abuse (31%) was the most common form of abuse, followed by neglect and financial abuse (both 21%).

Figures were provided by 128 of the 152 councils in England.

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