Councillors` briefing on Safeguarding Adults 2014

Councillors' briefing on Safeguarding Adults 2014

To cover:  What is Adult Safeguarding?  Legislative framework  Key agencies  Roles and responsibilities  Harm and Abuse  Local multi-agency policy and process

What is adult safeguarding ?

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Work aimed at preventing or stopping abuse and neglect of adults who are at risk of harm.

Policy and practice around safeguarding adults has developed rapidly over the past 13 years as society has become more aware of abuse and neglect in institutions, people’s homes and in the community. Some of the high profile cases include the deaths of Stephen Hoskin and Gemma Hayter, and investigations into Winterbourne View and Mid Staffs hospitals

6 principles of safeguarding adults

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Empowerment - Presumption of person led decisions and informed consent.

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Protection - Support and representation for those in greatest need.

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Prevention - It is better to take action before harm occurs.

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Proportionality – Proportionate and least intrusive response appropriate to the risk presented. Partnership - Local solutions through services working with their communities. Communities have a part to play in preventing, detecting and reporting neglect and abuse. Accountability - Accountability and transparency in delivering safeguarding

(DoH (2011) Statement of Government Policy on Safeguarding Adults)

How?

Safeguarding of vulnerable adults takes place in communities through a number of different factors:  Awareness raising and an absence of tolerance of abuse  Health and Social Care Services and Police responses that are of decent quality  Effective responses to allegations of harm  Providing access to services, advocacy, justice and support  Using learning from safeguarding reviews (the new term for serious case reviews or SCRs) to improve services

Policy Framework 

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Unlike Children’s Safeguarding, up until now there has been no direct legislation. Many organisations, including Action on Elder Abuse and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), have for some time called for adult protection to be on a legislative footing, in order that it receives equivalent priority We are currently working to the recommendations of No Secrets, the government guidance published in 2000 and reviewed in 2010.

DoH (2000) No Secrets

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required areas to set up a multi-agency framework, coordinated by adult social care and including health and police, with each agency having a lead manager for the issue, and to develop policies for responding to allegations, carrying out investigations and balancing confidentiality and information sharing. includes definitions of ‘Vulnerable Adult’ and ‘Abuse’ looks at roles and responsibilities within and between agencies details indicators, patterns and signs of abuse

DoH (2012-13) Draft Care and Support Bill 

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expected to come into force in 2015, it places the safeguarding of adults on a statutory footing for the first time, and will reform the law relating to care and support for adults care and support covers ‘financial, practical and emotional help’ aims to clarify entitlement to services, improvements in public information provision, support of carers, transitions and provider failure despite calls to the contrary, it provides no powers for the LA to enter a person at risk’s accommodation without permission. This would suggest that the Government believes there are already sufficient powers under current legislation.

Draft Care & Support Bill

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It will be a legal requirement of each LA to set up a Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB), formalising the arrangements most authorities, including PCC, currently have SABs will have responsibility to arrange a Safeguarding Adults Review in some circumstances: for instance, if an adult with needs for care and support dies as a result of abuse or neglect and there is concern about how a member agency of the SAB acted LAs will have a duty to investigate, or cause others to make enquiries, if they think anyone with care and support needs is at risk of neglect or abuse, regardless of whether they are providing care and support services to the person

Related legislation

The Human Rights Act 1988 The Equality Act 2010 The Mental Capacity Act 2007 (incl. powers of the Court of Protection) Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (amended the MCA 2005) Mental Health Act 2007 Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 Youth Justice & Criminal Evidence Act 1999

Who is responsible? Adult safeguarding is everyone’s business. Any person may recognise and report abuse or neglect and everyone can play a part in building communities where abuse does not happen. However, specialist skills are required to investigate. Guidance calls for all agencies responsible for adult safeguarding to work effectively with each other; i.e. community healthcare, CCGs, Health and Wellbeing boards, Children’s and Adult Safeguarding Boards, and Community Safety Partnerships as set up by the Home Office to create links between Police, Local Authorities, Fire, Health and Probation Services, and Healthwatch.

Roles of Key Agencies 

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Councils - to ensure that they set up a Safeguarding Adults Board, commission services that safeguard individual’s dignity and rights, and respond appropriately to concerns about harm or abuse NHS – to identify abuse, play an important part in monitoring and supporting adults at risk, and participate in the local multi-agency arrangements Clinical Commissioning Group - to commission and provide independent oversight of services that are safe and that safeguard individual’s dignity and rights, and to work with partner agencies. Police and Criminal Justice System - to join the multiagency process, investigate where crime is suspected, and to play a key role in promoting community safety

Roles of key agencies

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Care Quality Commission: to register and monitor compliance against essential regulated standards of quality and safety Providers: to ensure they provide quality services that uphold individual’s dignity and rights, and adhere to safe recruitment guidance Safeguarding Adults Board: meets quarterly to co-ordinate the delivery of adult safeguarding across agencies Health and Wellbeing Board: to build strong and effective partnerships, which improve the commissioning and delivery of services across NHS and local government, leading in turn to improved health and wellbeing for local people.

The role of Councillors

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As community leaders, championing the wellbeing of your constituents, you are in a position to raise awareness of adult safeguarding. You may become aware of individual cases of abuse through your work with constituents, and have a duty to report it Councillors, as part of governance, can ask council executives and partner agencies to account for the safety of adults within their area Nationally, every council will have a Lead Member for Adults Services whose role will be to promote wellbeing, prevent social exclusion and protect vulnerable adults

Harm and Abuse

Anyone can be at risk of harm, people may be harmed at home, in their communities, in a care home, at hospital, in college, at work or in community centres. People who harm vulnerable adults largely fall into four main categories:  Paid staff members or support workers  Family members, partners or carers  Neighbours and members of the community and  Other adults who may be at risk of harm

Harm and Abuse Harm and abuse are generally classified under the following headings:  physical  psychological  financial  sexual  neglect and acts of omission  discriminatory  institutional Abuse and neglect lead to negative outcomes such as loss of dignity, negative effects on health, wellbeing, confidence and isolation, substance misuse, emotional trauma, injury and even death.

PCC adult safeguarding structure

Assistant Director Dave Simpkins

General Manager Safeguarding Ian Lightley

Advanced Practitioner Mary Cox

Adult Safeguarding Manager Jane Elliott Toncic

Advanced Practitioner Craig Nixon

6 x Social Workers 2 x CCW

Independent Chair Julian Mouland

Safeguarding Administrator Megan Cleaves

Training Coordinator Debra Lunn

DoLS Officer Roslynn Azzam

AVA (Abuse of Vulnerable Adults) National return   

Total number of alerts from 1.4.13 to 19.12.13: Alerts concluded, abuse ruled out: Alerts which went onto investigation:

981 455 404

8 stage process (see flowchart) 1.Alert 2.Referral 3.Screening and decision 4.Information gathering 5.Strategy discussion/meeting 6.Investigation 7.Case conference/protection planning 8.Review

Raising an alert

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If you have witnessed or received a concern about possible abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult, report this to Adult Social Care Contact Centre by ringing 668000 to raise a safeguarding alert This information will be sent to the ASC Safeguarding Pathway staff as a referral, who will gather information and hold a strategy discussion/meeting with key agencies Priority will be to ensure that an immediate protection plan is in place for the vulnerable adult

Multi-agency policy and procedures

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Following our rewrite of our Adult Safeguarding policy, we commissioned its digitalisation, in line with Children's Services’ arrangements, and the new version went live in November. Public access is gained from our main PCC website: http://www.plymouth.gov.uk/homepage/socialcareandhe alth/adultsocialcare/adultsafeguardingboard.htm Or the policy can be accessed direct: http://plysab.proceduresonline.com It is arranged in clear ‘chapters’, and is regularly updated on legislation and guidance. ASC staff are signed up to receive these updates individually by email.

Multi-agency policy and procedures

Further reading and information  

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SCIE (2011) Safeguarding adults at risk of harm: a legal guide ADASS & LGA (2013) Making effective use of data and information to improve safety and quality in adult safeguarding DoH (2011) Statement of Government Policy on Safeguarding Adults Health & Social Care Partnership (2013) The Care Bill: a summary Prevent Strategy (2011) : part of the government's counter- terrorism strategy, aimed at preventing radicalisation of vulnerable people http://www.thinkjessica.com : campaign to protect elderly and vulnerable people from 'scams' and exploitation MENCAP (2007) Death by Indifference DoH (2012) Transforming Care: a national response to Winterbourne View hospital Francis Inquiry (2013) report on failings at Mid Staffordshire Hospital Cornwall County Council (2007) The Murder of Stephen Hoskin SCR Warwickshire County Council (2011) The Murder of Gemma Hayter SCR

Councillors' briefing on safeguarding adults 2014

Thank you for listening. Any further questions?