Agenda item

8.1

Simon Richards (Head of Quality and Safeguarding) submitted a report providing selected analysis and summarising the main issues in relation to Adult Safeguarding activity across Sheffield in 2011/12, arising from the Sheffield Safeguarding Adult Partnership Annual Report. The report contained information on the level of Safeguarding Alerts and Referrals, including trend comparisons with the preceding year. The report also looked at sources of Safeguarding reports and the locations where abuse or neglect may have occurred. Other issues covered included an ethnic breakdown of Safeguarding cases, audit work to quality assure the Safeguarding process and the outcomes for those at risk and perpetrators.

8.2

Sue Fiennes (Independent Chair of the Sheffield Safeguarding Adult Partnership Board) also attended the meeting. She referred to the issue of the quality of care and that the Quality in Care Homes Board had seen an increased referral rate and interventions where there was a lack of quality of care. There had been a response to the national issues raised by Winterbourne and this had given assurance that they would be able to identify issues in those types of settings. She also referred to the further preventative work around self neglect and a refuge service and that the Board was taking responsibility for links to that work and ensuring a multi-agency response. A Safe in Sheffield Programme had been developed to offer a safe place for people with learning difficulties and had received positive feedback.

8.3

In response to questions from members of the Committee and the LINk representative, Simon Richards and Sue Fiennes indicated that:

·          The Executive Board had discussed the possible inclusion of Healthwatch on the Operational Board.

·          A map of cases by area could be developed.

·          The business plan for adults could link to the Right First Time Programme.

·          In relation to financial abuse, the safeguarding process did allow a challenge to Powers of Attorney but as it was a complex issue it could take time.

·          In relation to care homes, there was considerable emphasis on risk management. Where homes did not work with the safeguarding process this multiplied the risk.

·          In terms of supporting vulnerable adults in a care home who may be reluctant to complain, there had to be an environment where people were not fearful of complaining and were supported. There was a pilot scheme to report issues online.

·          An analysis of alerts would be useful. Where a trend was identified this could be treated as a priority area for action i.e. financial abuse.

·          It was recognised that there needed to be improved feedback to explain why some alerts had not been taken into Safeguarding as referrals.

·          There had been no serious case reviews in 2011/12 and one in 2012/13.

·          The Annual Report aimed to convey the work on Safeguarding to a variety of audiences. Consideration would be given to targeting key messages to particular audiences. The feedback information in the report presented had been provided by individual agencies but it was accepted that this had not made it a coordinated document.

Resolved: That the Committee:-

(a)

notes the work undertaken under Adult Safeguarding as detailed in the Annual Report for 2011/12 and the priorities for action; and

(b)

thanks officers and the Chair of the Sheffield Safeguarding Adult Partnership Board for the Annual Report;

(c)

requests that the Director of Business Strategy and Head of Quality and Safeguarding (i) takes on board the points raised by the Committee in reviewing the Annual Report, including that consideration is given to the presentation of future Annual Reports and they are more appropriate for their intended audiences and (ii) improves the relationship and sharing of information with the BME communities and notes that there are a number of Members representing, or are from, BME communities that would be willing to contribute to that work; and

(d)

requests the Head of Quality and Safeguarding to confirm the process for providing information on how to report a problem to people first using care services.