Neglect and acts of omission
Failure to respect an adult at risks’s privacy, dignity, and individuality.
What is neglect?
Organisational abuse includes neglect and poor care practice within a specific care setting. This could be a hospital or a care home, but also the care you receive in your own home.
The abuse can either be a one-off incident or an ongoing culture of ill-treatment. The abuse can take many forms, including neglect, and poor professional practices as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices in an organisation.
Examples of neglect include:
Ignoring medical or physical care needs.
Ignoring a person’s cultural, religious or ethnic needs.
Failing to provide access to appropriate health, social care, or educational services.
Withdrawing the necessities of life, such as medication, glasses, hearing aids, dentures, adequate nutrition, and heating.
Refusing access to visitors.
Ignoring or isolating a person.
Preventing a person from making their own decisions.
The signs of neglect and acts of omission
A dirty, cluttered or unhygienic environment.
Pressure sores or ulcers, as well as other untreated injuries and medical problems.
An accumulation of untaken medication.
A generally poor physical condition, or poor personal hygiene.
Unexplained weight loss, or other signs of malnutrition.
Inappropriate or inadequate clothing.
Failure to provide or allow access to food, shelter, clothing, heating, stimulation and activity, personal or medical care
Failure to provide care in the way the person wants
Failure to administer medication as prescribed
Not taking account of individuals’ cultural, religious or ethnic needs
Not taking account of educational, social and recreational needs
Ignoring or isolating the person
Failure to allow choice and preventing people from making their own decisions
Failure to ensure appropriate privacy and dignity
Poor hygiene/cleanliness of the person in need of care and support
Repeated infections e.g. urine or chest infections
Dehydration, unexplained weight loss, malnutrition
Repeated or unexplained falls or trips
Not having the proper items they needs to help them e.g. walking frame, hearing aid, glasses, pressure mat
Inconsistent or reluctant contact with medical and social care organisations
Neglect and acts of omission sometimes take place in care settings – see the section on organisational abuse.
It’s also possible for an adult at risk to neglect their own needs – see the section on self-neglect.