NHS England has a number of policies in place in order to discharge its statutory requirements and appropriate accountability for the safeguarding of children, young people and adults at risk of harm or abuse. The policies for safeguarding set out in the legislation and codes of conduct and behaviours required of employees of NHS England.

Safeguarding policies

• Safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk in the NHS: Safeguarding Accountability and Assurance Framework (SAAF)

Safeguarding alert policy

NHS England central safeguarding team will no longer support the distribution of safeguarding alerts. It is the responsibility of local statutory agencies in collaboration with the Designated Professionals to determine what further actions are required and to use the networks that are available to them to ensure the safeguarding of vulnerable people takes place.

If you have any further queries please contact the Safeguarding Team: england.safeguarding@nhs.net.

Safeguarding annual report

The publication of this report was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the reader is reminded to be mindful of the reporting period.

This report identifies the progress and accomplishments made within safeguarding, across the health sector, since the last update in 2020 and provides details regarding the key achievements during April 2020 to March 2021 as well as safeguarding priorities for 2021-22.

• Safeguarding annual update 2021/2022