Escalation, safeguarding leads and local Prevent routes

Prevent concerns should usually be escalated to the practice safeguarding lead, duty clinician or manager according to local policy. Immediate threats require urgent safety action rather than a routine referral.

Choosing the right level of urgency

Immediate concerns include threats to harm others, references to weapons, named targets, planned action, or someone who is agitated and saying they may act now. These require urgent safety procedures.

Concerns that are not immediate can still be serious: family worries about online influence, growing isolation, repeated praise of violence, or signs of coercion. These need safeguarding ownership and may be managed through advice, review or discussion with your local Prevent contact.

Escalation may involve

• Practice safeguarding lead or deputy for initial safeguarding ownership.
• Duty clinician where there is clinical concern, distress, mental health crisis or immediate risk.
• Practice manager where staff safety, premises safety or operational response is needed.
• Local Prevent, Channel, PMAP or other locally applicable routes where policy directs this.
• Emergency services for immediate danger, serious threat or active harm.

Close the loop

Escalation should not be a one-way message. Staff must know who has accepted ownership, which route was used and what to do if the usual lead is unavailable. If concern remains, keep it visible through local safeguarding routes or by using professional challenge.

Channel

When in doubt, pass factual concern through safeguarding; do not hold it informally.