To be furious about this and think this is a safeguarding issue?

[LivinLaVidaLoki]

Have been awake all night worrying about this and trying to post the story in as an anonymous way as I can as it can be quite outing. But I don't think there's any way to do that and I'm so desperate for help/advice.
I have a brother with learning difficulties.
He has been off the social services radar for most of his life as "back in the day" learning disabilities were never recognised and so parents/grandparents etc took care of him.
Unfortunately they have all now died and it shone a light on how bad things were for him. Myself and other siblings tried our best to support him but it has been so hard.
We finally managed to get some support from social services who did an assessment and he is to be placed in supported living. He is also very happy with this.
However, due to a position he had found himself in (that's a whole other thread) He was given a temporary placement in a home for adults with learning disabilities.
Now, the home where he lives have had an achievement (trying not to give too many details) which involves DB. This achievement has been taken to the local press. So in the printed paper, on the website and the Facebook pages of four local papers (the same newspaper group) there are pictures of my brother with the staff with the article giving out the name of the home and where it is.
Given the situation he was in when he went there I feel this is a major safeguarding issue.
I feel that they could have done the article without mentioning his name just said "a resident" and still had the smiley staff picture without him.
None of us were consulted and I know DB would not have understood the full implications of this. He would have just thought he was doing something nice for the people there. It wouldn't have occurred to him that now, all these people he needed to be away from now know where he lives....
I just feel like he has been exploited for a bit of self promotion here.
So, would I be right to raise this as an issue or am I just overreacting because I'm protective of my brother.

You are right. It is a safeguarding issue. He is a vulnerable adult.
You need to contact the home and ask them why they felt this sort of publicity is in his (not the home's) best interests. Then ask what they are doing to protect him now, given the dangerous situation they have created and what they will do going forward to ensure it won't happen again.
Sorry he has experienced this.
Have you (and the home) seen the very recently published Code of Practice for the care of adults with learning difficulties? Not many setting have heard of it yet. I think it's relevant, even though it's written with those less able than your brother in mind.
www.pmldlink.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Standards-PMLD-h-web.pdf

This is an appalling lapse
He should never have been put in this position and I would make an official complaint. The soc worker and his legal appointees should have been consulted and if he was to be openly used to promote the home then written consent should have been sought by someone with legal responsibility .
I would contact the sw and ask for him to be moved somewhere else until his permenant accomodation is available.

I'm not in the uk but have a son with ASD who is non-verbal. When we sign documents for new school or respite center there is usually one regarding taking photographs & their use. I guess you might have signed without being made clearly aware of it? Ours would be taking pictures & using them in the school premises & on the school website. Not an issue for us but I'm thinking there is a specific reason why it's a problem for your family.

The address thing is definitely irregular. My sons current respite centre just went through a name change as their previous name identified the area too clearly. This was policy directed by HIQA who are the regulatory body for hospitals/nursing homes/care homes here in Ireland.

Whatever the case you definitely need to raise it with the centre & ask them to remove his name & address from any online sources.

It would be a shame if he had to move now he has settled. Perhaps the idiots who caused the initial problems are too stupid to bother causing more problems.

this is a safeguarding issue as your brother is vulnerable and does not have capacity.

However, the incident has happened and your priorities should be

A) ensuring that it never happens again which means an urgent meeting with the managers to explain and lay out the consequences of their poor care.

B) ensuring that no harm comes to him as a consequence, so expecting the staff to be extra vigilant around your brother while he is at home and when he goes out.

I don't think he will come to harm, I imagine the bullies /exploiters will have moved on to another victim, but this should not have happened and you are right to raise it as a concern both now and for the future.

If the home is part of a group I would be writing to ask them to review their procedures for safeguarding residents re naming on social media including the press, as a matter of urgency and asking them to keep you informed.

YANBU

Yes it is a safeguarding issue.

You need to contact them to get whatever it is withdrawn immediately.

Yes you need to go in and see their policies for disclosing the name and address of vulnerable people and if they haven't followed it [or don't have one] you need to report it to them and to the local safeguarding agency.

Well it's not great is it.

From the other side of things as a social worker who has placed adults with LD under these kind of circumstances I would be majorly fucked off if I discovered this had happened because a huge amount of work and money would probably have gone into ensuring he was in a place of safety.

Can the move into supported living be expedited at all in light of this?

How likely is it that his former acquaintances are avid local news readers? As pp have said the fact that he now has people keeping a close eye on him means he will be less of a target now unless they have a really good reason to want to track him down, so I wouldn't worry too much but I can see why you are cross.

I would mention it to the social worker for them to discuss it further with the home, and make a comment/complaint about it to the manager of the home yourself. These things happen, but they shouldn't!

This is a definite safeguarding issue, and YANBU. I also have a DB who is a vulnerable adult; he would also have consented in that situation. You should definitely complain about this, as it could easily happen again.

I also don't think you should get unduly worried, though, as it's likely that his tormentors will have moved onto another vulnerable person, very sadly.

Oh and everyone is throwing the safeguarding word around which is fine and accurate in its usual context, but don't be surprised if social services don't treat it as a formal 'safeguarding alert' because that means something slightly different under the care act and currently probably wouldn't meet their threshold to investigate formally unless actual harm occurs as a result of it.

I hope the social worker bollocks them though.

I don't think you are over reacting at all your brother is very vulnerable and I think you need to speak to the manager of the place and his SW your brother can't really consent to his picture being in the paper he doesn't seem to understand consequences

I know you don’t want to disclose exactly what the original issue was but it could be that they have moved on now that he is in residential care and therefore not an issue. I’m just trying to reassure you but honestly they should have asked his legal guardian (you OP?) for written permission to publish his personal details or even for photography. When I was working with vulnerable adults we could not even take the picture of those without written consent from relatives. It may be that you don’t need to worry about your brother’s safety but it is still worth making a complaint with the manager regarding their lack of safeguarding. It seems like a misguided mistake TBH—nothing malicious. But I understand your fears.

I think under the new GDPR this home has given away confidential information which they had no right or need to give out. If you are concerned then you could contact the Information Commissioner and report it as a breach. The home could end up with a fine if the IC decide that they have broken the rules. I would be extremely annoyed if I were you because it sounds like the home have put your DB at significant risk of harm although of course I say this without knowing the full details of his situation. I guess the question is how far do you want to take it? Are you now looking to move your DB? If the answer is no then it could make things quite awkward for you if you did report them.

It sounds like by giving away your brother’s personal information I.e his name and where he lives and in doing so putting him at risk that this Home has broken GDPR.

Lots of good advice here on dealing with the housing provider. If I were you, I would also contact the newspaper and ask them to take the online piece down. Explain it is a safeguarding issue. You'll need to speak to the online editor or news editor. If you want to PM me the publication, I can help you get the name and phone number of the person to speak to. Otherwise, just check the website.

Hope this helps. I can imagine you must be very worried.