How is someone a vulnerable adult?

A vulnerable adult is someone who, due to their age, disability, illness, or other factors, is at a higher risk of harm or exploitation. Read more in the blog.

Let’s start by breaking this down: ‘adult.’ The dictionary defines the term ‘adult’ as a person who is fully grown or developed. For us at Bluebird, an adult is anyone 18 years old or older. 

The dictionary defines ‘vulnerable’ as someone who is exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally. When describing a person as ‘vulnerable,’ it states: a person in need of special care, support, or protection because of age, disability, or risk of abuse or neglect.

So, when we add the two parts together, a vulnerable adult is: 

Someone 18 years old or older who may require special care, support or protection because of mental, physical or learning disability, age or illness. And is or may be unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves against significant harm, either physical or emotional or exploitation.

You may ask why this is important within the care sector. 

We at Bluebird Care do everything within our power/scope to protect anyone who is vulnerable. As a result, all our care assistants, support workers, and office teams have an enhanced DBS check (a criminal background check). This gives us the information to make a safe and informed decision regarding our recruitment process to protect our customers and staff members. Our staff also complete training for safeguarding, among other relevant training for the care sector. This way, our staff can keep our customers and other staff members safe by spotting signs of/if someone is vulnerable and at risk of abuse happening/accruing. 

Abuse has many forms, and we have to stay vigilant for the signs that this could be happening. 

Below are the types of abuse that may occur within the care sector (these are not listed in order of priority): 

• Physical abuse
• Sexual violence and abuse 
• Psychological or Emotional Abuse 
• Financial or Material Abuse
• Institutional or organisational abuse 
• Neglect and acts of omission 
• Self-neglect 

To learn more about types of abuse, their signs, and indicators to look out for. Go to our next blog about types of abuse.