The evolution of adult safeguarding in Northern Ireland: a historical perspective from Joyce McKee

Purpose. This interview provides insight into the development of adult safeguarding policy and practice in Northern Ireland from the early 2000s to the post-2015 policy era. <br/>Design/methodology/approach. An interview took place between the authors of this paper to explore relevant issues in adult safeguarding in Northern Ireland and the second author’s contributions to the field. <br/>Findings. Joyce Mckee, the former regional Adult Safeguarding Officer for Northern Ireland offers a critical historical overview of the development of adult safeguarding policy and practice in Northern Ireland. Joyce reflects on the transition from an ad hoc social work interest to a standardised, purpose-driven, professional regional framework. The role of Northern Ireland’s unique political history and integrated health and social care systems in fostering a culture of relationship-based practice and bottom-up policy development is highlighted. The conceptual move from a largely paternalistic approach to a person-centred, rights-based framework that repositioned safeguarding as "everybody’s business" is discussed along with the tension in creating specialist Gateway teams and the strategic difficulties in aligning police and health priorities. The interview concludes by highlighting the often-overlooked value of sensitive, non-prosecutorial police work in safeguarding and the enduring role of professional social work skills in advocating for adult autonomy.<br/><br/>