Our values

Safeguarding

Safeguarding Definition

At Mercy Health, Safeguarding means taking reasonable and proactive measures to protect the safety, dignity and human rights of every person in or connected to our care. We strive to support people throughout their lives to live as well as possible by delivering safe, person-centred care, services and by preventing harm, abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Safeguarding Commitment

At Mercy Health, we are committed to creating safe, respectful and inclusive environments where every person is protected from harm, abuse, neglect and exploitation. Guided by our values, we foster a shared responsibility for safeguarding and support people to speak up, be heard and feel safe.

Safeguarding is embedded across our care, services and culture, with practices tailored to the needs and circumstances of children, young people and adults at risk across the lifespan.

For children and young people, safeguarding means taking proactive steps to protect them from abuse and harm, and supporting their safety, well-being, development and participation.

For adults at risk, safeguarding means upholding their right to live safely and free from abuse and neglect, while respecting their choices, wishes and lived experience.

We are committed to:

  • Promoting safe, inclusive and culturally safe environments where people feel respected, valued and protected.
  • Listening to and respecting the voices, rights, choices and lived experiences of those in our care.
  • Responding to concerns, complaints and allegations in a timely, compassionate and appropriate manner
  • Actively identifying and responding to indicators of abuse, neglect or exploitation and taking proactive steps to identify and address risks to people’s safety, well-being and rights, even where concerns have not been explicitly raised.
  • Working together with families, carers, communities and partners to strengthen safeguarding and well-being.
  • Investing in education, training and capability development to ensure our safeguarding practices remain effective, responsive and aligned with best practice and meeting community expectations.
  • Continuously improving our safeguarding practices to ensure they remain effective, responsive and Person-centred.

Safeguarding policies

Mercy Health’s commitment to safeguarding children and vulnerable people is captured in key policies and procedures including:

National Catholic Safeguarding Standards

Mercy Health is required to comply with the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (NCSS)- Edition 2 2022, which aligns with key national initiatives including the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.

The NCSS provide a framework for Catholic organisations to foster a culture of safety and care for children and vulnerable adults. The NCSS standards are:

  1. Committed leadership, governance and culture
  2. Children and adults are safe, informed and participate
  3. Partnering with families, carers and communities
  4. Equity is promoted and diversity is respected
  5. Robust human resource management
  6. Effective complaints management
  7. Ongoing education and training
  8. Safe physical and online environments
  9. Continuous improvement
  10. Policies and procedures support the safety of children and adults

Contact details

Concerns with Safeguarding within Mercy Health can be escalated to the Safeguarding Coordinator [email protected]

For more information on Feedback please refer to the Legal and policy – information page