Report concerns about a vulnerable person, such as neglect or abuse

One of our most important tasks in adult social care and health is to protect vulnerable adults – adults who cannot protect themselves – from abuse. A person can be vulnerable because of their age, learning or physical disability, mental health needs, if they are caring for someone else or misuse alcohol or drugs.

What is abuse?

Abuse is a harmful act that goes against someone's human rights. It might be:

  • physical – hitting or rough handling,
  • verbal – shouting or swearing,
  • psychological – bullying or intimidating someone,
  • neglect – not providing food or heating, or a poor standard of care,
  • financial,
  • sexual contact that someone has not or cannot consent to.

Worried about someone? How to report abuse

If someone tells you they are being abused, don't promise to keep it a secret. Share your concerns with someone who can help you (and the person you're worried about). If you contact us, we will take your concerns seriously and respect your confidentiality.

  • Emergencies: phone the police on 999.
  • Office hours: phone us on 0345 60 80 191.
  • Outside office hours: phone us on 01323 636399.

You can also send us an email, letter or even a text message – contact us:

Alternatively, you might prefer to talk to a doctor, nurse, police officer or someone else you can trust.

What happens when you report abuse

Once you've contacted us, we look at the evidence and decide the best action. We make sure the person you suspect is being abused is listened to and respected throughout the process. We also ask if they want us to keep anyone else informed (this might include you).

Sometimes issues can be resolved quickly, but other times we need to conduct a full investigation. This might involve contacting the police – if the person gives us permission.

If you're unhappy with how we have handled the process, you can:

Real life stories

Abuse can take a number of different forms. Some of the people we've helped have shared their stories to help other people in similar situations – names have been changed to protect their identities.