Leading the fight against      adult abuse

Need information or support?
Call our helpline     UK:   0808 808 8141
  ROI:    800 940 010  

About Us  |  Contact Us  

What are we doing?

AEA operates at a number of differing levels.  We provide advice and guidance to older people and others through our helplines; we provide training to care staff and others - either as standard packages or specially designed programmes; we speak at conferences and events to raise general awareness and stimulate debate; we interact with, challenge and support regulators, care providers and Government; and we undertake special projects.  As Stephen Ladyman, a former Minister for Social Care, once said, "AEA not only talks the talk, but also walks the walk!"  Alternatively, we have been described as 'social entrepreneurs' and as 'critical friends', by various groups.

In addition to the above we are engaged with partners in a number of  on going projects, many of which commenced early 2007.  This page details those projects and others.

Guidance for the police

When responding to abuse in regulated care settings it may often be non specialist or junior officers who deal with the first contact with vulnerable adults.  Whilst indicators of abuse can be missed this is rarely the case in regulated care settings because of the involvement of other agencies through regulation 37 reporting requirements with CSCI and local authorities inevitably involved.  Action on Elder Abuse, under the BUPA funded project, aim to produce guidance on issues around investigating allegations of abuse in regulated care settings for police officers that will be endorsed and promoted by criminal justice agencies, local authority social services departments and independent care providers.  The guidance is aimed at the Police primarily, but it is planned that this guidance will improve other agencies’ response to crime which occurs in institutional settings.  The objectives of the project are:

• To develop guidance and best practice for investigating allegations of crime in regulated care settings for police officers and

• To effectively disseminate this

• To evaluate its impact in terms of providing positive outcomes for victims of crime in regulated settings.

Creating a Survivors Network

We are establishing a survivor’s network which will provide support to people who have either directly experienced abuse themselves or whose family members have done so.   The initial definition of ‘Survivors’ will include friends and relatives, and the consultation process has sought to establish whether this is the right term.  The consultation has included survivors themselves (involving those currently working with AEA), and also other older people, and other survivor networks (including domestic abuse).  The next phase is to undertake a number of pilot projects to test what systems work effectively. The network will have a separate identity and will be independent of both Age Concern and Action on Elder Abuse, whose joint role is to foster its development.  

 Care home briefings

Both AEA and the Relatives and Residents Association run telephone help lines that receive calls from people expressing concern about abuse or quality of care in homes for older people.  Calls to AEA include a disproportionately high number relating to care homes; and a high number of calls to R&RA are from people seeking help in addressing poor practice and abuse.  The general approach is to respond to the caller's concerns by providing them with information and support to tackle the issue they have raised; sometimes this can involve staff mediating between the home's management and the caller to bring about change.  This project seeks to spread awareness of the issue of abuse and know-how with regard to its practical prevention to managers and staff directly involved in the day-to-day operation of care homes. It targets at managers, care managers and care staff in homes of all sizes and status (corporate, small business; large, small; private voluntary and local authority) and produces briefings identifying good practice, disseminating these materials through a range of means: regional conferences, 'road shows', workshops and 'surgeries' at events mounted by other organisations

Understanding Vulnerability

We are updating research already undertaken by Alzheimer’s Society and linking it to the evidence available from the AEA helpline.  In doing so we need to explore situations where someone is affected by dementia, including understanding the nature of dementia (a disease process) and ways of communicating, respecting personhood and using the remaining abilities and strengths of people with dementia.  We are seeking to identify where abuse is most likely to occur, and what the best form of intervention might be to prevent these situations arising, or to deal with them effectively when they do arise.  In that context we will address the needs of people with dementia living alone who may be particularly vulnerable to abuse.  We will also promote an understanding of the nature of dementia in all those who meet or work with people with dementia who may live alone.  This may range from those who work in the utilities services to social workers, home care workers, meals on wheels etc., and the police.

Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse (i)

In conjunction with or partners in women's Aid, Ballymena, we are developing and delivering an education/training programme relevant to the Northern Irish health and social care infrastructure and legislation, which targets care providers in the independent and community and voluntary sectors.  The purpose is to challenge and eradicate myths and stereotypes surrounding abuse; to promote effective, cohesive responses maximizing available resources; and to target organizations with which older people are in contact.  We are offering training as a way to recruit older volunteers.  The programme seeks to address current gaps in knowledge, including how and when to refer for adult protection, issues of poor care practice, the links between elder abuse and domestic abuse, and the development of robust policies and procedures.

Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse (ii)

This project is focussing upon helping older people and their families to have a clear and understandable route to follow when making an allegation of abuse to their local authority, and that older people receive a satisfactory outcome to any abuse they have suffered.   Its purpose is to enable local authorities, health authorities, relevant voluntary organisations, the police and local community groups to assist vulnerable older adults properly when faced with an abuse allegation by ensuring that suitable policies and procedures are in place to facilitate the process.   To do this we are working upon helping all organisations, both statutory, voluntary or otherwise, to recognise that domestic abuse is applicable to people of all age groups, and to take appropriate action to amend their policies and services to reflect this, enabling older people to access more resources and support

We recognise that "No Secrets" has been implemented in very different ways across Local Authorities, and that there are a number of sources of best practice in existence.  The report by AEA that considered Data Monitoring and Reporting highlighted this as a major issue, while the PAVA 'No Secrets' project brought together 20 good practice sites in adult protection operating in England to consider such matters.  This project explores good practice in policy and practice across England, recognising the key role played by practitioners who are working with vulnerable adults.  This includes recognition of the need to support those working with vulnerable adults to identify and report abuse.  By working directly with practitioners across all agencies the project is intended to build levels of expertise which can then be shared.  This will help practitioners and managers in all settings to locate models of good practice in adult protection and, by doing so, directly aid older people facing abuse.  

More Information:

About Us

Our aims

Our Services

What are we doing

Some of our partners

Our Annual reports