There are a number of barriers to recognising professional abuse or neglect.
In a thematic assessment completed by NCA's Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command the following were identified. Whilst they focused on children their findings are relevant to practitioners working with adults at risk:
A study completed by Welsh researchers Featherstone and Northcott1 of patients with dementia found that behaviour that is well-intentioned can be abusive. They cite examples from their study of nurses and healthcare assistants raising bedrails on beds, tucking patients in very tightly so they cannot move; preventing others from getting up out of bed by removing walking frames and in some case sedating patients. The rationale behind these actions was a fear of dementia patients falling if they were allowed to move around freely. In these situations, the patients were being both physically and psychologically abused as they were experiencing a loss of liberty, rights and freedom of movement.
Other examples of possible risk of harm by staff include:
1http://www.storiesofdementia.com/2018/04/research-report.html