Shropshire Safeguarding Community Partnership identified tackling Self-Neglect as one of its strategic priorities between April 2020 and the end of March 2023.
Please use the links on this page to help you understand Self-neglect, find support people who self-neglect or what to do if you are professional working with someone who self-neglects.
What is Self-Neglect?
The Partnership have agreed the below definition of Self-neglect:
Self-neglect covers a wide range of behaviour including neglecting to care for one’s personal hygiene, health or surroundings and includes behaviour such as hoarding (DHSC, 2022: 14.17) to the extent that it endangers the health, safety and/or wellbeing of the adult or others. The risk to the adult and others is greater when they are not accepting services that would mitigate the risk of harm to themselves or others. (Preston-Shoot:2018).
Research often refers to three types of self-neglect;
- Lack of self-care,
- Lack of care of one’s environment
- Refusal of services that could alleviate issues connected to self-care or care of the environment.