Safeguarding

Integrated Care Boards (ICB’s) are responsible for the safeguarding element of the services they commission. They have a statutory responsibilities to employ Designated Professionals to provide expertise and leadership to the ICB, local health services and safeguarding partnerships to influence local thinking and practice.

The NHS Devon safeguarding team consist of nurses, doctors, midwives, health visitors, allied health professionals and administrative staff. Their work covers safeguarding adults and children, as well as domestic abuse and sexual violence, FGM (female genital mutilation), modern slavery, trafficking and all forms of exploitation.

If you are concerned about a child’s welfare or worried, they are at risk of harm or abuse, you can contact

Plymouth Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

01752 668000 Select Children’s Services – Option 1

Email: MASH@plymouth.gov.uk
Torbay Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub on 01803 208100 or email mash@torbay.gov.uk
Devon MASH call 0345 155 1071 or complete the request for support online form
If you feel a child is in immediate danger, please call 999.

If you suspect that a vulnerable adult is being abused, or you are being abused yourself and live within:

the Devon Local Authority boundaries please report your concern to Devon here
the Torbay Local Authority boundaries please report your concern to Torbay here
the Plymouth Local Authority boundaries please report your concern to Plymouth here

Safeguarding Boards and Partnerships in Devon

Safeguarding boards and partnerships in Devon, Plymouth and Torbay coordinate the work of all agencies to protect children and adults with care and support needs and work to ensure from abuse and neglect.

Community Safety Partnership

Community Safety Partnerships work together to tackle community safety issues to make Devon safer for residents and communities.

If you are concerned about a child’s welfare or worried, they are at risk of harm or abuse, you can contact

Plymouth Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)

01752 668000 Select Children’s Services – Option 1

Email: MASH@plymouth.gov.uk
Torbay Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub on 01803 208100 or email mash@torbay.gov.uk
Devon MASH call 0345 155 1071 or complete the request for support online form https://devoncountycouncil.outsystemsenterprise.com/MASH/homepage
If you feel a child is in immediate danger, please call 999.

If you suspect that a vulnerable adult is being abused, or you are being abused yourself and live within:

the Devon Local Authority boundaries please report your concern to Devon here
the Torbay Local Authority boundaries please report your concern to Torbay here
the Plymouth Local Authority boundaries please report your concern to Plymouth here

Domestic Abuse

National support

National Domestic Abuse helpline – A free, confidential, and open 24 hours a day, all year round. Calls will not appear on an itemised bill or you can use their online chat service. Call 0808 2000 247
The Men’s Advice line – This service is free and confidential, and any calls will not appear on an itemised bill. They also operate a webchat service for online support. Call 0808 8010327
Galop National LGBT+ Domestic Abuse helpline – If you identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans* or non-binary and would prefer to speak to an LGBT+ service. Call 0800 999 5428
Respect is an anonymous and confidential helpline for men and women who are harming their partners and families . Call 0808 8024040

Local support

Devon Domestic Abuse Service or call 0345 1551074
Torbay Domestic Abuse Service or call 0800 916 1474
Plymouth Domestic Abuse Service or call 0800 458 2558

Modern Slavery Act

We fully support the Government’s objectives to eradicate modern slavery and human trafficking. As an authorised statutory body, NHS Devon ICB is responsible for commissioning health care services (including acute, community, mental health and learning disability services) in the Devon area covering a population of approximately 1.2 million.

NHS Devon ICB is committed to social and environmental responsibility and has zero tolerance for Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Any identified concerns regarding Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking would be escalated as part of the organisational safeguarding process and in conjunction with partner agencies, such as the Local Authority and Police

NHS Devon ICB have produced an annual Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement which is reviewed annually .

For more information visit our website.

NHS Devon have produced a Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement which is reviewed annually .

Modern Slavery Statement

Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights. Modern slavery is the recruitment, movement, harbouring or receiving of children or adults through the use of force, coercion, abuse of vulnerability, deception or other means for the purpose of exploitation. Individuals may be trafficked into, out of or within the UK, and they may be trafficked for several reasons including sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and organ harvesting.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 introduced changes in UK law, which focus on increasing transparency in supply chains. As both a local leader in commissioning health care services for the population of Devon and as an employer, NHS Devon provides the following statement in respect of our commitment to, and efforts in, preventing slavery and human trafficking practices in the supply chain and employment practices.

Our organisation

As an authorised statutory body, NHS Devon is responsible for commissioning health care services (including acute, community, mental health and learning disability services) in Devon, covering a population of approximately 1.2 million.

NHS Devon is committed to social and environmental responsibility and has zero tolerance for modern slavery and human trafficking. Any identified concerns regarding modern slavery and human trafficking would be escalated as part of the organisational safeguarding process and in conjunction with partner agencies, such as the Local Authority and Police

The Chief Executive for NHS Devon has ultimate accountability for ensuring that the health contribution to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults is discharged effectively across the whole health economy through commissioning arrangements. The Chief Nursing Officer is the executive lead for safeguarding and has responsibility for providing leadership and gaining assurance in relation to safeguarding issues within the ICB and locality. NHS Devon employs the expertise of Designated Safeguarding Professionals for both children and adults who support the delivery of the adult safeguarding and safeguarding children’s agendas.

Our approach

Our approach will be governed by compliance with legislative and regulatory requirements and the maintenance and development of good practice in the fields of contracting and employment.

NHS Devon expects commissioned organisations and other companies it engages with to ensure their goods, materials and labour-related supply chains fully comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and are transparent, accountable, and auditable.

All our staff have mandatory safeguarding training which includes awareness of modern slavery.

As part of our commissioning assurance process, we will request evidence from those providers who are required to publish an annual statement about their arrangements to prevent slavery in their activities and supply chain.

Our policies and arrangements

Our recruitment processes are robust and adhere to safe recruitment principles. NHS Devon complies fully with the NHS Employment Check Standards and the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) Code of Practice which includes strict requirements in respect of identity checks, work permits and criminal records.

Our policies such as Safeguarding Adults and Children policies, Fair Treatment (including Grievance and Dignity at Work/Bullying and Harassment) policy and Whistleblowing policies provide an additional platform for our employees to raise concerns about poor and inappropriate working practices.

Our procurement approach follows the Crown Commercial Service standard. When procuring goods and services, we apply NHS Terms and Conditions (for non-clinical procurement) and the NHS Standard Contract (for clinical procurement). Both require suppliers to comply with relevant legislation and have understanding of and compliance with the expectations in relation to the NHS terms and conditions.

Review of effectiveness

We will continue to raise awareness of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 internally and as part of all procurement processes.

We commit to:

continuing to provide expert support and advice, via our Designated Safeguarding Professionals, into the commissioning process and supporting multi-agency work to respond to modern slavery and human trafficking
continuing to gain assurance that all commissioned services have access to training on how to identify those who are victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. This training will include the latest information for staff to develop the skills to identify and support individuals who encounter health services
continuing to work with NHS funded and partner organisations to ensure modern slavery and human trafficking are appropriately prioritised

This statement is made pursuant to section 54(1) of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and constitutes our slavery and human trafficking statement for the financial year ending 31 March 2027.

If you require further information, please make contact with the Modern Slavery Lead via d-icb.safeadults@nhs.net