Safeguarding
Safeguarding Lead: Dr Timothy Millward
We are committed to protecting the safety, dignity and wellbeing of adults who use our service.
This page explains what safeguarding means, what we may do if we are worried about someone’s safety, and how you can raise a concern.
Last updated: 10th of June, 2026
1. What to do if you need urgent help
Fluence Clinic is not an emergency or crisis service. We are not able to provide an immediate response to urgent safety concerns.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger:
Call 999 now or go to your nearest Accident and Emergency department.
If you need urgent medical help but it is not a life-threatening emergency:
NHS 111 can help if you think you need medical help right now. You can get help from NHS 111:
- by using 111 online
- in the NHS App
- by calling 111
If you are worried about someone’s safety, but there is no immediate danger:
If you are concerned that an adult may be experiencing abuse, neglect, exploitation, coercion or control, you can contact the adult safeguarding team at the local council where the person lives.
They can listen to your concern, advise what should happen next, and decide whether any further support or safeguarding action is needed.
You can usually find the right team by searching online for: “adult safeguarding [town, city or council area]”.
You can also call the person’s local council and ask for the adult safeguarding team or adult social care safeguarding team.
You can tell Fluence Clinic about a safeguarding concern if it relates to your care with us, something disclosed during your care, or a concern involving our service.
However, if someone may be at immediate risk of harm, please contact 999 or the person’s local council adult safeguarding team first.
2. What safeguarding means
Safeguarding means protecting an adult’s right to live safely, free from abuse and neglect. It involves people and organisations working together to reduce the risk of abuse or neglect, and to act when there are concerns that someone may be unsafe.
Safeguarding also means promoting a person’s wellbeing and taking their views, wishes, feelings and beliefs into account wherever it is safe and appropriate to do so.
At Fluence Clinic, this means we will take concerns seriously, listen carefully, and act proportionately if we are worried about the safety or wellbeing of an adult using our service.
3. What safeguarding concerns can include
A safeguarding concern may arise when there is a worry that an adult is being harmed, abused, neglected, exploited or controlled, or may be at risk of this happening.
You do not need to be certain that abuse or neglect has happened before raising a concern.
If something feels unsafe, concerning or difficult to explain, it is still appropriate to tell us or contact the relevant local safeguarding service.
Safeguarding concerns may include:
- Physical abuse, such as hitting, pushing, burning, inappropriate restraint, or misuse of medication
- Sexual abuse, including sexual assault, harassment, inappropriate touching, exploitation, or sexual acts without consent
- Psychological or emotional abuse, including threats, humiliation, coercion, intimidation, isolation, bullying, harassment or controlling behaviour
- Financial or material abuse, including theft, fraud, exploitation, pressure about money, or misuse of property, benefits or possessions
- Discriminatory abuse, including abuse related to disability, race, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy, maternity, marriage or civil partnership
- Organisational abuse, where poor practice, systems or culture cause harm, neglect or loss of dignity
- Neglect or acts of omission, including failing to meet medical, emotional, physical or care needs
- Self-neglect, where a person is unable or unwilling to care for their own health, hygiene, safety or living conditions
- Domestic abuse, including physical, emotional, sexual, financial, coercive or controlling behaviour
- Modern slavery or human trafficking, including forced labour, domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation or other forms of control
Some concerns may not fit neatly into one category but may still require action. These may include online abuse, grooming, radicalisation, extremism, forced marriage, honour-based abuse, female genital mutilation, county lines exploitation, or concerns involving family members, carers, professionals, staff members or people in positions of trust.
Where a concern suggests that a child or young person may also be at risk, we will act in line with our safeguarding responsibilities.
4. When Fluence Clinic may need to act
If you tell us something that makes us worried about your safety or someone else’s safety, we will take it seriously.
Where it is safe and appropriate, we will listen carefully, take your views and wishes into account, and explain what may need to happen next.
We may need to record the concern securely, discuss it with our Safeguarding Lead, and contact other services where this is needed to help keep you or someone else safe.
Where possible, we will try to speak with you before sharing safeguarding information with another service. However, there may be times when we need to share information without your consent, such as where there is a risk of serious harm, someone else may be at risk, a crime may have been committed, or we have a legal or regulatory duty to act.
We will only share information that is relevant and necessary. We cannot promise to keep safeguarding information secret if doing so could leave someone at risk.
5. How to raise a safeguarding concern with Fluence Clinic
As part of your assessment and any treatment with Fluence Clinic, you will have the opportunity to discuss any concerns that may relate to your safety, wellbeing or safeguarding.
You can also contact us about a safeguarding concern if it relates to your care with us, something disclosed during your care, the conduct of someone working with or on behalf of Fluence Clinic, or the way our service has responded to a safety issue.
Please mark your message as Safeguarding Concern so it can be identified promptly. It will be sent to our Safeguarding Lead, our Registered Manager Dr Timothy Millward.
Email: hello@fluenceclinic.co.uk
Phone: 07970 417982
Business hours: 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday (excl. public holidays)
Fluence Clinic is not an emergency service. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, please call 999 so the appropriate emergency support can be provided as quickly as possible.
6. Download our Safeguarding Summary
Our Safeguarding Summary explains how Fluence Clinic approaches adult safeguarding, what we may do if a concern is raised, and how we manage safeguarding information.
This summary is intended for patients, families, carers and professionals who would like more information about our safeguarding approach.
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