What should I do if I have an Adult Safeguarding concern?

If you think the adult is in immediate danger, you should contact the PSNI on 999. Don’t delay!

If you have a concern about an adult involved in a club or activity which is affiliated to a National Governing Body (NGB), you should report your concerns to the person appointed to receive and deal with adult safeguarding concerns e.g. Club Welfare Officer.

The process may be similar to this:

• report your concern to the Club Welfare Officer;
• the Club Welfare Officer may then go on to report the concern to the National Governing Body’s (NGB’s) Adult Safeguarding Champion/Lead Safeguarding Officer;
• the Club Welfare Officer or the Lead Safeguarding Officer will then follow their organisation’s own case management process;
• the Club Welfare Officer or the Lead Safeguarding Officer may go on to report the concern to statutory services such as the local Adult Protection Gateway Teams or Police.

They may seek advice from Volunteer Now’s Adult Safeguarding in Sport service.

If the club or activity is not affiliated to a National Governing Body, ask if the club or activity has a person who looks after adult safeguarding concerns (such as an organiser, coach or safeguarding lead). If they do, report your concerns to them. They should seek advice from Volunteer Now and the relevant statutory agencies.

Key contacts: