Safeguarding Declaration 2020/21

The Board of Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust (DGT) is assured effective safeguarding arrangements, systems and processes are in place, in line with statutory requirements and Care Quality Commission (CQC) recommendations, to safeguard children, young people and adults accessing our services.

  • DGT applies safer recruitment processes, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for all new employees, volunteers and apprentices and provides compliance monitoring data where cases have been escalated and or referrals made to the DBS.
  • DGT has a clear statement in place regarding its commitment to preventing human trafficking and modern slavery in line with Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015.
  • DGT safeguarding policies and systems are up to date, robust and include processes for following up children and adults at risk who miss appointments and a system for flagging children and adults for whom there are safeguarding concerns. All safeguarding policies are reviewed annually or as guidance changes.
  • All DGT staff, volunteer and apprentices complete safeguarding children and adult training commensurate to their roles and responsibilities, in line with Intercollegiate and NHS England guidance, and can identify and respond appropriately to abusive situations, such as domestic abuse, female genital mutilation, modern day slavery, child sexual exploitation and those at risk of radicalisation.
  • DGT is committed to upholding the rights and wishes of our patients and service users, in line with legislation, statutory guidance and CQC requirements.
  • The Chief Nurse (Siobhan Callanan) is the Board level Executive Lead for safeguarding within the organisation and is a standing member of the Bexley and Kent Safeguarding Children and Adults Boards respectively.
  • DGT fulfils its statutory duties under the Children Act (2004), Mental Capacity Act (MCA, 2005) and Care Act (2014) to have in place Named Nurses for Safeguarding Children and Adult Safeguarding Leads who are clear about their roles, and have sufficient time and support to undertake safeguarding support and assurance work.
  • The Safeguarding Committee provides Board assurance through from the work undertaken by the safeguarding team within the Trust and through multiagency partnership working; assurance is reported via the annual report to the Board and mid-year safeguarding reports to the Quality and Safety Committee.
  • The Safeguarding teams participate in multi-agency audits with partner agencies and Safeguarding Boards.
  • DGT works in partnership with all Safeguarding Boards or partnerships, NHS Kent and Medway, Local Authorities and partner agencies, to develop, review, audit and implement robust multi-agency arrangements that safeguard and protect children, young people and adults.

Reports