🛡️ Domestic Abuse
Assessment, resources, and management for patients experiencing domestic abuse.
⚠️ High Risk Situations
These are high risk situations. You should speak to your clinical supervisor before deciding on any actions.
Overview
This page contains key points for assessment, links to useful resources, and guidance on practical management for patients using local pathways.
🔍 Key History Points
When assessing a patient for possible domestic abuse, ensure you cover:
- Type of abuse - Physical vs Verbal
- If physical, what is the nature/level of threat?
- Coercion and control - Any financial or other coercion?
- Children at risk - Are there children at the address? (Safeguarding alert!)
- Pregnancy - Is the patient pregnant? (Increased risk)
- Safety - Does the patient feel safe to go home?
- Consent - Are they willing to speak to domestic violence teams?
- History - Any previous history of domestic abuse (received or inflicted)?
- Vulnerability factors - Learning disabilities, mental health issues?
- Suicidal ideation - Any suicidal thoughts?
🚨 Safeguarding Children
If there are children at the address, this becomes a child safeguarding concern that must be addressed.
📋 Actions and Pathways
Low Risk / No Immediate Safeguarding Concerns
Where perceived risk is low and there are no safeguarding concerns, the patient can self-refer to:
| Service | Hours | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Wigan Borough Domestic Abuse Service | 7AM-7PM | 01942 311 365 |
TIP
Provide the patient with this number and encourage them to call if they need support.
Higher Risk / Safeguarding Concerns
🚨 Requires Senior Input
For higher risk situations or any safeguarding concerns, you MUST involve your clinical supervisor and follow local safeguarding pathways.
NOTE
TODO: Establish local pathway for more serious incidents and document here.
🌐 External Resources
| Resource | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Safelives GP Info | DASH risk checklist, IDVA/MARAC referral forms | https://safelives.org.uk/gp |
TIP
The Safelives website contains the DASH (Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-based violence) risk checklist - a validated tool for assessing risk in domestic abuse cases.