Safeguarding Vulnerable People Flashcards
7 cards from real NMC practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Safeguarding Vulnerable People flashcards as text
A patient with full mental capacity refuses a recommended medical treatment, despite serious risk to their health. The nurse should:
Answer: Respect the patient's decision while ensuring they have all the information needed to make it
An adult with capacity has the absolute right to refuse treatment, even life-saving treatment; the nurse's duty is to ensure the decision is informed.
A nurse discovers a colleague has been repeatedly removing small amounts of money from a confused patient's belongings. The nurse should:
Answer: Report the concern to a manager or through the safeguarding referral process
This constitutes financial abuse by a care worker and must be reported immediately through safeguarding and whistleblowing procedures.
When recording a safeguarding concern in a patient's records, a nurse should:
Answer: Use objective, factual language and include date, time, and signature
Safeguarding documentation must be factual, objective, and contemporaneous, as records may be used in legal or disciplinary proceedings.
Healthcare workers in England who raise genuine safeguarding concerns about their employer are protected under which legislation?
Answer: Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998
The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (whistleblowing law) protects workers who report wrongdoing, including safeguarding failures, in good faith.
A nurse raises a safeguarding concern with their line manager, who dismisses it without taking action. The most appropriate next step is to:
Answer: Escalate the concern to the named safeguarding lead or a more senior manager
Nurses have a professional duty under the NMC Code to escalate safeguarding concerns that are not acted upon, even if this means bypassing their immediate manager.
The NMC Code's requirement for nurses to 'act without delay if you believe there is a risk to patient safety' reflects which professional duty?
Answer: The duty of candour and professional advocacy
Raising concerns promptly when patient safety is at risk is a core expression of professional advocacy and the duty of candour in the NMC Code.
The term 'contextual safeguarding' refers to:
Answer: Understanding that harm can occur in social contexts beyond the family, such as peer groups or online spaces
Contextual safeguarding recognizes that children and young people can be harmed in community, peer, and online contexts, not just within the family.