Kenny is Deputy Director for NHS Safeguarding, overseeing the all-ages and integrated safeguarding portfolios including tackling any and all forms of neglect, abuse, exploitation, radicalisation & violence. He leads nationally on statutory safeguarding; contextual safeguarding; trauma informed care and the Child Protection Information System. Having begun his NHS career as a laundry assistant in 1980 at a mental health unit in Aberdeen, Kenny was encouraged to become a nursing assistant and then trained as a nurse and later a midwife. Prior to becoming the Head of Safeguarding for NHS England, Kenny was the Head of Public Health Commissioning (Vaccines and Screening) for London. He was awarded an MBE in January 2022 for services to healthcare leadership. You can follow Kenny on Twitter at: @KennyGibsonNHS or @NHSSafeguarding.

Susan is currently Senior Nurse in NHS Tayside Adult Protection Team. She has a background in mental health nursing and worked as a Care Manager and Council Officer in a Local Authority substance use service for 18 years. During this time, she developed a particular interest in obstacles to safeguarding people with backgrounds of trauma and substance use difficulties, who might often be deemed to be ‘making choices’. Her view is that this choice paradigm is often inappropriate, her feeling being there are missed opportunities to utilise the Adult Support and Protection (Scot) Act 2007 to support this client group. Susan had the opportunity to explore her thinking further in a recently completed MSc in Adult Support and Protection (Adult Services, Support and Protection) at Stirling University. Her final year dissertation will provide the focus for her presentation within a broader context of the ‘health’ role in supporting and protecting adults.