A personal touch? Managing the risk of abuse during intimate and personal care for people with intellectual disabilities and complex needs

The present paper draws on experience from research and development work on intimate and personal care for people with intellectual disabilities to develop a framework for managing the risks of abuse during the provision of intimate and personal care. A series of considerations for risk management are identified from interviews with the staff and managers of residential and day support services for people with intellectual disabilities and complex needs. These are then explored in relation to adult protection practice and policy, and suggestions are made for improving adult protection in this critical area of development in social care services for people with intellectual disabilities. The key concerns addressed include the boundary between intimate and personal care, balancing privacy with safety, gender, ethnicity and culture, effective communication with individuals, managing agency and bank staff, the nature of records and guidelines, management supervision and peer review, the sexuality of staff, and the sexualized behaviours of service users. The productivity of links with a wider range of vulnerable adults and other policies are also explored.