Safeguarding Adults & Children Flashcards
6 cards from real NMC OSCE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Safeguarding Adults & Children flashcards as text
What is the purpose of a Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH)?
Answer: A co-located multi-agency team that brings together professionals to share information and make joint decisions on safeguarding referrals
A MASH brings together professionals from police, social services, health, and other agencies to share information, assess risk, and make joint decisions on how to respond to safeguarding referrals. Co-location enables faster, more informed decision-making.
Which of the following behaviours in a nurse would constitute professional boundary violation in relation to a vulnerable patient?
Answer: Establishing a personal relationship or friendship with the patient
Professional boundary violations occur when a nurse's behaviour departs from the professional, therapeutic relationship. Developing personal friendships or romantic relationships with patients is a violation that can be exploited and leads to NMC fitness to practise proceedings.
A nurse suspects that a colleague is sexually abusing a patient. What is the immediate action?
Answer: Report to the senior nurse or manager immediately and document the concern
Any suspicion of sexual abuse by a colleague must be reported immediately to the most senior person available. This triggers the organisation's safeguarding and HR procedures. Delay, confrontation, or informal discussion risks further harm to the patient and destruction of evidence.
Under the Children Act 1989, what does 'significant harm' mean?
Answer: Ill-treatment or impairment of health or development that is significant in the context of the child's life
'Significant harm' under the Children Act 1989 is the threshold for child protection action. It includes ill-treatment (physical, emotional, sexual abuse, neglect) or the impairment of health or development that is significant, judged against what could reasonably be expected of a similar child.
What is a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS) authorisation for?
Answer: To lawfully deprive a person who lacks mental capacity of their liberty in a care home or hospital for their own best interests
DoLS (under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) allows the lawful deprivation of liberty of a person who lacks capacity and who is in a hospital or care home, where this is in their best interests and is the least restrictive option available.
A nurse is working with a patient from a different cultural background and notices patterns that could indicate female genital mutilation (FGM). What are they required to do?
Answer: Report under the mandatory reporting duty for FGM if the patient is under 18, or refer to safeguarding if an adult
In England, there is a mandatory reporting duty for healthcare professionals who identify or suspect FGM in a girl under 18 — they must report to the police. For adults, FGM is handled through the standard adult safeguarding pathway. FGM is illegal in the UK regardless of cultural background.