Meet Lakeside's safeguarding team
Lakeside Healthcare has a dedicated safeguarding team working to help vulnerable and at-risk patients across our practices. It was originally set up to deal with children's safeguarding and has expanded to take on adult cases.
The 11-strong team handles thousands of cases a year, working with safeguarding GP Leads and co-ordinators at sites and external professionals including health visitors, school nurses and social workers.
Head of Safeguarding, Alison, has been a nurse, midwife and health visitor. She joined the team six years ago. She said: 'As Lakeside Healthcare expanded so the safeguarding team has grown. We currently cover around 172,000 patients in our practices so it is very busy. We work with families at different levels of needs across the sites and there are cases that can be serious and distressing.
'We have regular team meetings, support each other, especially during difficult cases and draw on other's expertise and knowledge, as well as having regular training to keep up to date with legislation. I absolutely love my team. We offer a supportive element for families and individuals that need it, encouraging them to make things better within the home.'
Linda, the newest member of the team, said: 'I am a paediatric nurse but have always worked in the community, surrounded by quite complex safeguarding cases. Coming to Lakeside has been a good move and my colleagues really know their stuff.
'In my previous experience getting GP surgeries involved in safeguarding had been a real challenge so when I saw this job it was a lightbulb moment of "Wow, Lakeside is doing what everyone should be doing" and I wanted to be part of that. The first few weeks have been a dream and I have been really welcomed to the team.'