Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

14.17 Neglect and acts of omission including: ignoring medical, emotional or physical care needs failure to provide access to appropriate health, care and support or educational services the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition and heating

Includes ignoring medical or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health, social care or educational services, the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition and heating.

The failure to meet a person's basic physical and/or psychological needs.

Types of neglect and acts of omission:

Failure to provide or allow access to food, shelter, clothing, heating, stimulation and activity, personal or medical care
Providing care in a way that the person dislikes
Failure to administer medication as prescribed
Refusal of access to visitors
Not taking account of individuals' cultural, religious or ethnic needs
Not taking account of educational, social and recreational needs
Ignoring or isolating the person
Preventing the person from making their own decisions
Preventing access to glasses, hearing aids, dentures, etc.
Failure to ensure privacy and dignity

When you are mistreated by not being given the care and support you need, if you are unable to care for yourself. It may include not being given enough food, or the right kind of food, being left without help to wash or change your clothes, or not being helped to see a doctor when you need to.

Includes ignoring medical or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health, social care or educational services, the withholding of the necessities of life, such as medication, adequate nutrition and heating.

The SCIE definition includes "Preventing the person from making their own decisions". A social worker (with an integrated hospital team background) commented as follows on the definition of Capacity:

"A person's mental capacity may fluctuate over time and may vary depending on the decision to be made. This isn't always understood or recognised by health professionals, although the definitions [of Capacity in this glossary] are reasonably consistent about it. This can lead to people being inappropriately prevented from making decisions which they do have the capacity to make."