Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding

BASW Annual Conference - Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Children in a Climate of Constant Change Wednesday 30th April 2014

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Lyn Romeo

Chief Social Worker for Adults

Changing landscape for adult safeguarding • Repositioning of social work in adult social care • National legislation and policy (e.g. Care Bill, MCA/DoLs, Mental Health Act; Autism , Dementia) • Personalised, integrated services, e.g. mental health, primary care • Financial and demographic pressures: o Reduced social care budgets o Ageing population: dementia, long-term conditions, end of life, palliative care o Changing expectations of care and support – user of services as equal partner (strengths-based approaches) 2

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)

Care Bill Clauses 42-48 – Adult Safeguarding The first statutory framework for protecting adults from abuse and neglect: • New duty for local authority to carry out enquiries (or cause others to) where it suspects an adult is at risk of abuse or neglect. • Requirement for all areas to establish a Safeguarding Adults Board (SAB) to bring together LA, NHS and police to coordinate activity to protect adults from abuse and neglect. • SABs to carry out safeguarding adults reviews into cases where someone who is experiencing abuse or neglect dies or there is concern about how authorities acted, to ensure lessons are learned. • New ability for SABs to require information sharing from other partners to support reviews or other functions. 3

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)

What does this mean for social work? Further refine and develop core skills and knowledge: • Critical assessment and analysis of risk and ability to make defensible, professional decisions • Working with people and their families/carers in complex situations and networks • Centre on the needs and wishes of the individual • Legal literacy – understand and accessing appropriate legislation • Improving skills and application – e.g. attachment-based social work with adults, family group and asset-based approaches 4

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)

New approaches in personalised, integrated care Making Safeguarding Personal - 53 councils applying an outcomes-based approach to adult safeguarding, focused on: • Developing a real understanding of what people wish to achieve (and how) • Recording their desired outcomes • Seeing how effectively these outcomes have been met • Using a range of responses that seek to reconcile circumstances or conflicting desired outcomes and provide alternative supports • Including specific responses such as mediation, family group conferencing, restorative justice, alongside weaving a person-centred approach into core practice 5

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)

Key findings and benefits 1. Benefits to users of services • People felt more empowered and in control of their safeguarding experience when they were involved from the outset. • Improved effectiveness and resilience • Better relationships with professionals • Protection of key elements of person’s quality of life 2. Benefits to social work practice • More positive, motivated and enthused • Able to assess effectiveness from users’ perspectives • Practice tools and clearer, more transparent plans and records • Clearer endings to safeguarding support 6

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)

And what worked for councils • Involving people from the outset increases awareness and use of advocates, IMCA and others. • Sound application in applying MCA and DoLs in safeguarding adults, particularly where adults lack capacity. • Management of risk as central to supporting enablement. • Improving recording systems. • Revising policies and procedures to ensure person-centred, not process-driven, approach. • Developing core practice skills and tools - evidence base, legal knowledge, good social work skills, training and development. • Improved support for front-line practitioners to shift personcentred safeguarding practice. • Culture change – informed and engaged partners, leadership. 7

Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)

“What good is it making someone safer if it merely makes them miserable?” Lord Justice Munby, ‘What Price Dignity?’ (2010)

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Safe and Happy: approaches to improving adult safeguarding - BASW Safeguarding Conference (30 April 2014)