Decision details

9.1

The Service Manager introduced the report which provided the six-monthly Adult Care and Wellbeing Safeguarding update for assurance to the Committee.

Endorsement is requested from Committee to continue to the work set out in the Safeguarding Delivery Plan and for the Sheffield Adult Safeguarding Partnership (SASP) Annual Report. Approval is sought for an Early Indicators of Concern Guidance. This sets out an approach to identify early any concerns which may require a planned response and process to follow to prevent harm from occurring. Approval was also sought for a commissioning strategy to undertake best interest assessors where there is little or no capacity within the in-house Deprivation of Liberty Orders Service.

9.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Adult Health and Social Care Policy Committee:-

1. Endorse progress made with implementing the Adult Care and Wellbeing Safeguarding Delivery Plan including actions identified from a self-evaluation carried out for the SASP Board.
2. Endorse the Sheffield Adults Safeguarding Board Strategic Plan.
3. Approve the Early Indicators of Concern Guidance.
4. Approve the Best Interest Assessors Commissioning Strategy
5. Agree that an update is provided in 6 months as to performance and progress made with implementation of the Safeguarding Delivery Plan.
   
   

9.3

Reasons for Decision

9.3.1

An approved delivery plan for the strategy gives a structured approach to delivery of safeguarding improvements so that Members and the public can be assured that Adult Care is delivering upon its commitment to protect people from abuse and harm. It will also provide greater accountability and transparency of how will do this.

Asking for regular updates and refreshes of the plan will keep the Committee, wider stakeholders, and the public the ability to hold the Council to account for progress and provide an additional mechanism to input to future development.

Providing approval for a Commissioning Strategy to recruit an external agency to provide Best Interest Assessors (BIA) for a 5-year period, with option of extension options on a year-by-year basis, to enable a response to surge in demand for mental capacity and best interest assessment will negate the need for / reduce costs associated with agency BIA and ad hoc arrangements and ensure greater quality of provision.

9.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

9.4.1

Alternative Option 1:

To Not Have a Delivery Plan: Adults Care Social Care has duties set out in the Care Act and Mental Health Acts which require a focus on Safeguarding. The Care Quality Commission Local Authority Assurance will specifically look at Adult Social Care approach to Ensuring Safety and due to this a delivery plan is required to mitigate and proactively respond to known risks.

9.4.2

Alternative Option 2:

To not progress a commissioning strategy for best interest assessors:-

Do Nothing - this does leave us with a number of outstanding assessments which would further put which would undoubtedly put the council at risk of unauthorised deprivations.

Recruit more in house BIA - However we may simply have had a one off surge over the past year which may not be sustained and if we were to recruit permanently we might be left with an excess of staff that we may not need in the future. This would be the more expensive of the three options proposed.

Agency BIA - continue to use agency which we have done for a three[1]month period earlier in the year. However, this is a costly option and does not provide best practice.

Independent BIAon a procurement framework – Having a dedicated procurement framework provides consistency of cover