Safeguarding Reporting Authority and Legal Standing:
This form constitutes a formal safeguarding notification under the clinic’s safeguarding governance framework. It must be used to record and escalate any concern, disclosure, allegation, or suspicion of abuse, neglect, exploitation, coercion, boundary violation, or unsafe practice that may place a child or adult at risk of harm.
Safeguarding duties under this framework apply irrespective of consent, seniority, professional role, contractual status, or perceived reputational impact. Safeguarding obligations cannot be overridden by internal management considerations, commercial interests, or employment processes.
The clinic recognises safeguarding as a statutory duty grounded in patient safety, public protection, and professional accountability. All safeguarding concerns are therefore treated as risk matters, not complaints, grievances, or performance issues.
Confidentiality, Information Sharing, and Protection from Reprisal:
Information disclosed via this form is handled on a strict need-to-know basis in accordance with safeguarding information-sharing principles, UK GDPR, and the clinic’s Information Governance Policy. Confidentiality will be respected wherever possible; however, it cannot be guaranteed where disclosure is necessary to protect individuals from harm or to meet statutory reporting obligations.
No individual will suffer detriment, retaliation, or disadvantage for raising a safeguarding concern in good faith. The clinic maintains a zero-tolerance approach to victimisation or suppression of safeguarding disclosures, including where concerns relate to senior staff or persons in positions of authority.
Independent Oversight, Threshold Decision-Making, and External Referral:
All safeguarding submissions are reviewed directly by the Governance & Assurance Officer (GAO), who holds independent authority for safeguarding oversight and escalation. This role operates separately from operational management and clinical supervision structures to ensure impartial decision-making and to prevent conflicts of interest.
Where a concern involves the Designated Safeguarding Lead, a Director, or any person in a position of trust, internal reporting routes are formally bypassed.
The GAO is responsible for determining safeguarding thresholds and for making timely external referrals. Where statutory thresholds are met, referrals will be made without delay and, in all cases, within one working day. External agencies may include the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), Derbyshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (DSCP), Derbyshire Safeguarding Adults Board (DSAB), the Police, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), or other relevant regulators or statutory bodies.
Safeguarding investigations are led by the appropriate statutory authority. The clinic will cooperate fully and will not seek to manage, dilute, or substitute external safeguarding processes.
Audit, Governance, and Continuous Assurance:
All safeguarding submissions, actions, and outcomes are recorded within the clinic’s safeguarding governance system and are subject to audit, review, and board-level oversight. Learning arising from safeguarding concerns is reviewed to inform service improvement, staff training, and risk management, without compromising confidentiality or ongoing investigations.
